Synopsis If the Greeks had 14 words to describe different ways of loving, how many dare we experience? A major new work of dance theatre created by one of the world’s leading dancer/choreographers, Akram Khan, and actress Juliette Binoche. Throughout their careers, Binoche and Khan have both sought out surprising and daring collaborations. Akram Khan has always taken an inter-disciplinary approach to dance and his collaborators have included Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Antony Gormley and Nitin Sawhney (zero degrees), Sylvie Guillem (Sacred Monsters) and Hanif Kureishi. Similarly, Juliette Binoche has made artistically challenging choices with directors such as Michael Haneke (Hidden) and Louis Malle (David Hare’s screenplay Damage), and has starred in award-winning films including The English Patient and Chocolat. Creating the environment for the duet is Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor. in-i is a unique collaboration between three of today’s most exciting artists.
in-i - the new contemporary dance theatre piece co-created, performed and directed by French stage and screen actress Juliette Binoche (pictured) and dancer and choreographer Akram Khan - received its world premiere last week (18 September 2008, previews from 6 September) at the National Theatre (See News, 4 Jul 2008).
Binoche, who makes her dance debut in the piece, has been in training for two years in preparation. The piece also marks a first for Khan, who acts, sings and plays guitar on stage for the first time, in addition to dancing. Binoche and Khan are the sole performers in in-i, which has a set designed by Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor and an original score composed by cellist Philip Sheppard.
It runs in rep at the NT Olivier until 9 October ahead of an international tour, which will see it return to the UK in 2009 for three days only (5 to 7 February) at the new Leicester Curve venue (See News, 2 Sep 2008).
in-i received a mixed bag of critical reaction. Detractors highlighted the “navel-gazing” approach of Khan and Binoche, many seeing it as a “vanity project”. Binoche’s newly-learnt dance skills polarised opinion, with some praising her “remarkable stamina”, providing a “gentle contrast” to Khan’s “contained whirlwind”. However, for others it was Anish Kapoor’s “deceptively simple set” that was the show-stealer - the “most expressive thing on the stage”, according to one critic.
Triona Adams on Whatsonstage.com (four stars) – “An exploration, through words, music, and dance, of love, of loving, of a couple, it has moments of eloquence … Whilst technically superb, Khan never owns his first acting role. His monologue, an improbably extreme experience in a madrassa, does not fully engage. Binoche’s strength is not in her dancing, though excellent, but in her constant habitation of the character from vulnerable teenager to ferocious lover. Expression floods her whole frame and reaches out to us; something you just can’t train for … With a vital wall, Anish Kapoor makes a deceptively simple set that is stunningly lit by Michael Hulls and Philip Shepphard’s fusion soundtrack is excellent; ebbing and flowing but never intrusive but shadowing the dancing tides of submission, dominance, violence and affection.”
Sarah Crompton in the Daily Telegraph – “Dancers have the ability to express thought and emotion through precise movement. Juliette Binoche simply cannot do that. She looks exactly what she is; an attractive woman who has spent some six months in intensive dance training … As a setting, the artist Anish Kapoor has provided a great oblong slab of wall, which changes colour from hot reds, to bright oranges, to vivid purples, yellows and greens. Lit by Michael Hulls' magnificent lighting, it moves slowly forward as the piece progresses and is, in many ways, the most expressive thing on the stage. In front of it, to a score by Philip Sheppard, Binoche and Khan enact in words, movement and a few snatches of song, scenes from love affairs … The clue to the problem lies on the front of the programme. ‘Co-directed and performed by Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan.’ They have formed their own self-congratulatory circle. But in letting them stage this vanity project at the National Theatre, dance lover Nicholas Hytner has done neither dance nor theatre any favours.”
Donald Hutera in The Times (two stars) – “As monumental vanity projects go, this one is surprisingly absorbing. It is also intermittently excruciating … This flimsy, navel-gazing show, like their onstage relationship, proceeds bumpily. Binoche expresses ironic disillusionment by singing snatches of ‘The Man I Love’ during a tango. Eventually she and Khan, a bottled-up brute, argue in an overblown, quasi-therapeutic fashion. Their pained - and painful to hear - banalities remind you why playwrights exist … Khan is plainly pushing his abilities here, but the bigger stretch may be Binoche's. She is not known for her dancing, and yet she more than holds her own alongside the muscular, contained whirlwind that Khan becomes when in motion … The roughly intimate, visceral drama of their duets compensates for another of the evening's partial embarrassments, a monologue by Binoche about abuse that sounds and feels undigested, unshaped. When she shuts up and gets physical, she rocks.”
Zoë Anderson in the Independent (two stars) – “Binoche spends much of in-i being a clingy ditz or a victim. Khan is grumpy or violently aggressive. Neither gets anywhere near the emotion that might drive such behaviour … Physically, she and Khan make an interesting match, close in height but different in style. She doesn't have his speed or precision, but her softer movements are grounded and easy, a gentle contrast to his extremes. In a tango, they're both slightly tentative, getting to know each other and the dance … Binoche's remembered anger involves a jealous boyfriend trying to strangle her. She dangles against the wall of the set, croaking out objections. When Khan lets go, she's left dangling, hung on concealed hooks. The idea of these scenes is always obvious. That wall is the best thing in in-i. Anish Kapoor's set design is simple and astonishingly beautiful.”
Sarah Frater in the Evening Standard (three stars) – “Binoche is an unexpectedly able mover. Although not a trained dancer, she has a nimble, bendy bod, and remarkable stamina for a 40-something mother of two. She is also unstarry, with no make-up and a costume best described as bedsit chic. Khan also surprises, performing with all his stunning charisma but playing against type as a man poleaxed with sorrow … in-i is not Khan's best work. Its dramatic arc is too speedy, taking us from happy to distraught in about two minutes. Another problem is that Khan is too angsty for too long, and there are some jarring theatrics for a minimal set (by Anish Kapoor). There's also what I call the Curse Of Plenty. The National has so many resources it can't resist throwing everything at a production that needs only the charisma of its performers. With less largesse, and some emotional and theatrical remodelling, in-i would better convey the maddening misunderstandings of love.”
Judith Mackrell in the Guardian (two stars) – “The opening scene sets the bar high. Anish Kapoor's set, a solid but movable screen, is lit to suggest the flickering interior of a cinema, and Binoche is in character as a teenage girl, fantasising rashly about a man sitting nearby. Khan, the object of her desire, dances a riveting solo, at times liquid and spinning, at times remote and still … Details are striking, yet each scene is dragged out too long, with phrases of both dance and text repeated to diminishing effect, and after a while the performers' lack of experience in certain areas starts to matter … There is no question that Khan and Binoche are fascinating together as they venture into new terrain. But when the novelty fades, there is also no disguising the fact that this is a 30-minute piece extended far beyond its natural length.”
Am I i? Am I in-i? Where is my I? Where was the shift key? By all means catch the ever luminous La Binoche in this intriguing piece but please, don’t ask questions.
With not only a film retrospective but an art exhibition at the BFI no-one can have missed that French Oscar winner Juliette Binoche is in town and has trained for 2 years to collaborate on this dance piece with innovative Brit Bangladeshi dancer and choreographer Akram Khan. Leave it there. Interviews and articles can only infuriate. Even without the credit crunch and a soggy Summer it would be hard to feel for Binoche’s terror, “It has to be brave … I have to overcome a lot of fears, being out of breath, of losing balance.” And then there is the title, don’t ask about the title. “It’s about questions. Do we dare?” “If we had to say one word we would choose the word ‘dare’.” And I, reading the reams of self-regarding Left Bank/cultural angst would choose one sentence, “How very dare they?”
However, I liked it. An exploration, through words, music, and dance, of love, of loving, of a couple, it has moments of eloquence. Laughing or wincing these were moments of audience reocognition. Perhaps best of all was the opening sequence where Binoche’s teenage self falls in love with the movies and, thus, with a man in the cinema. As she yearns in a gauche, essentially female way “I fell in love with the back of your head, I want to be with you, to live together, maybe?” Akram’s fluid rapidity physically describes the awakening of her maturity, of her strength of desire. And their classic first morning together is very funny.
Whilst technically superb Khan never owns his first acting role. His monologue, an improbably extreme experience in a madrassa, does not fully engage. Binoche’s strength is not in her dancing, though excellent, but in her constant habitation of the character from vulnerable teenager to ferocious lover. Expression floods her whole frame and reaches out to us; something you just can’t train for.
With a vital wall Anish Kapoor makes a deceptively simple set that is stunningly lit by Michael Hulls and Philip Shepphard’s fusion soundtrack is excellent; ebbing and flowing but never intrusive but shadowing the dancing tides of submission, dominance, violence and affection. Je ne sais pas, pourquoi?
I have seen some fantastic work in the past by Akram Khan so know how good he is. The only good thing to say then about in-i is that this was a missed chance. As dance it wasn't very interesting and the dancing is pretty poor and the story such as it is laughable. I'm also annoyed because this really was a wasted evening, how it got staged is beyongd me indeed the man outside the NT playing his guitar was so much more entertaining. - CAA
03 Oct 08
Acting meets dance in what may be a vanity project, but somewhat surprisingly tells a story in a unique way and holds the attention for its 60 minute running time. Unlike the pointless experimentation of Katie Mitchell on the same stage, this one seems just about worth the effort. But is it what the National is for? This month we have one of the aforementioned pretentious experiments, two dance pieces, an Irish import, three return runs (two of which are monologues), a Pinter platform expanded to a full evening.....and one new in-house production. Meanwhile the Donmar, the Almeida, The Young Vic, the Old Vic, the Barbican and others unfunded or less funded are providing theatre goers with the quality productions the National used to provide. Time for a wake-up call, Mr Hytner - are you still in tune with your audience? - Gareth James
03 Oct 08
self gratulating work of two artists (three including anish kapoor) interesting in the first two scenes, repetitive and irritating for the rest. juliette binoche can't dance and both can't tell stories ... shame, it could have been so good. - til
26 Sep 08
Forget yourself for 70 superb action -packed minutes in this wonderful piece of theatre. The reviews are wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece and thought both actor and dancer were spellbinding. Go and see it. - Kim
22 Sep 08
I really enjoyed it. I think the broadsheets have been too harsh. The dancing was superb and I really enjoyed A.K.'s monologue - I think he is a very good actor. Binoche expressed herself very well through dance and through her performance overall. I recommend it. - C Bhasin
19 Sep 08
Too selfindulgent and far too long. It may have worked as a 20 minute piece, as it is its just tedious. - AD
19 Sep 08
65 minutes of pure tedium, I don't know what exactly constitutes dancing these days but this was a complete and utter waste of time, effort and money. There are 36 blocks in the wall, believe me you'll have time to count and the magnet is quite clearly in the back of the coat. Gets one star for the funny business with the toilet. Avoid. - QuincyMD
18 Sep 08
One star is too generous. It was self-indulgent drivel. Binoche is no dancer -- and the discrepancy between the two is the only drama in the performance. The sweat smeared on the wall disgusted me. The lighting of the wall was pleasant. Give your tickets away or just drink in the foyer. - KP
10 Sep 08
An engaging and thoughtful piece of theatre. For the most part intriguing. Excellent performances and all technical elements are spot on.
- TS
09 Sep 08
This play is 75 minutes long. There are a few ineresting minutes but it is still 75 minutes too long. - ILS
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