A Conversation with Carmel

In Barrowland Ballet's heartwarming and intimate A Conversation with Carmel, the audience plays special guest at a series of family gatherings that centre on a grandmother's 80th birthday celebrations. Mixing dance with video projection, the ensemble cast recreate the collective experiences common to every family. The inventive staging takes us from an attic and its boxes full of memories, to a buffet and a dinner table argument.

Both Natasha Gilmore's strong ensemble choreography and the versatile dancers offer similar variety: the still-supple 83-year-old Diana Payne-Myers draws gapes as the grandmother, moving from contemporary to jazz to just a little bit of breaking. Matthew Hawkins, as her son, is a particular delight, his poise and comic expression injecting humour into many of the scenes. The handful of core dancers that represent the family find their ranks swelled by dancers from the local community, who play party guests in the tradition of the great classical ballets. Courtly dances are replaced, however, by the witty staging of a series of tableaux that mimic the kind of snaps recognisable in every family photograph album.

An enchanting original score by Quee MacArthur sweeps us along with the changing scenes, and an exceptionally cute baby is wheeled in occasionally to look delighted and shamelessly steal the limelight. This is a touching and accomplished piece about the nature of family life and is by turns poignant and joyous. Add to that some video footage of septuagenarians dancing to Beyonce's 'Crazy in Love', and A Conversation with Carmel becomes a completely memorable performance.