Woolf Works

After my post yesterday I’ve calmed down a bit and down some research. McGregor’s new project will be his first full-length ballet for the Royal Ballet, and it will also weave The Waves and Orlando around the main text of Mrs Dalloway, and  incorporate themes from Woolf’s own life. The ROH booking form just names it as “New Wayne McGregor” – suggesting it hasn’t been finally named yet!

An excellent post from On The New dips into Woolf’s diaries here. Although I’ve not read The Waves, Orlando is one of my favourite novels of its era and its theatricality – not to mention its themes of personality, gender and time – make it another incredibly exciting prospect for the stage.

 

Exciting news!

Serious Wayne fan over here, woop woop!

And guess what!

I just found out that his new production has been announced as…

MRS DALLOWAY!

How perfect is that?!

Seriously excited. I actually taught MD this year (I work in Higher Ed) and one of the tasks I set my students was to “map” Mrs Dalloway. We were thinking about space and physicality in literature. A lot of them produced intricate dance-like pieces that showed footsteps, like dance notation, twirling and skipping around London.

I think a dance production is a fab and and particularly fitting idea, and I’m excited to see how McGregor’s approach to choreography works with this intriguing text.