Betrayal - The Story Of Broken Marriages And Broken Hearts

Betrayal is, as the title suggests, a story of deceit, lies, distrust and broken relationships. It centres around the love triangle between Emma (Kristin Scott Thomas) an art gallery owner, Robert (Emma's husband) and Jerry, a literary agent and Robert's best friend. The affair between Emma and Jerry continues for 7 years, and we (the audience) see the trail of destruction, played out backwards from the end of it all. The end of the play, finishing at the beginning, where it all started.

This original story written by Harold Pinter, only involves three main characters (plus an arbitrary waiter) and is famed for the use of the minimal dialogue, veiled emotions and dishonesty which paints a picture of tortured relationships and broken hearts. Betrayal is critically regarded as one of Pinter's most dramatic works - its simplicity, clever dialogue and face-saving dishonesty paint a perfect picture. Often hailed as a modern classic, it is the perfect telling of an otherwise outwardly cliched story. The backwards retelling adds a nice twist to the story, but hardly helps you decipher the characters and their constant lies and deflections.

'I've always rather liked Jerry. To be honest, I've always liked him rather more than I've liked you. Maybe I should have had an affair with him myself.'

Pinter helps the audience realise that the betrayal is not just between the lovers, but also between friends. The consequences of lust and desire are all too clear. It is said that the story for Betrayal is inspired by Pinter's own clandestine, extra-marital seven year affair with a television presenter. His experiences clearly seep through into the characters and add an extra level of believability to the tale.

With BAFTA award-winning actress Kristin Scott Thomas at the helm of this Olivier award-winning play, it's bound to be a winner. Together with Douglas Henshall and Ben Miles, they manage to reinvigorate Pinter's original play as it was written in 1978. The director, Ian Rickson, has himself had many successes in recent years and is highly praised among the theatre-going critics. It's easy to see why. Betrayal is a magnificent story with adult themes of deceit, desire and decadence. It is both shocking and thought provoking. Those that know anything of love and friendship will easily realise the hard truths that the story is trying to tell. The story of Betrayal is certainly a moving one. Anyone that has ever experienced heart-break or betrayal themselves will easily feel the pain portrayed by the actors, which is why Betrayal is so clever - it speaks to the audience.

With its adult themes Betrayal is certainly not suitable for young audiences - for obvious reasons. But it is also clear that young audiences would not appreciate the subtle intricacies and complexities of adult relationships. It is reasonable to say that the play would be wasted on them - without sounding too snobby or patronising.

Betrayal is only running at the Comedy Theatre in Panton Street until August, so be sure to book your tickets now to save disappointment. Remember, you can save up to 50% on Betrayal tickets using our comparison service. Book online today!

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The Story Of Ballerina Anna Pavlova

Anna Pavlova was born January 31, 1881 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her mother was a poor washerwoman and her father was unknown, although it is believed he died when she was age two. Born premature, she was a very delicate, frail child who spent her summers with her grandmother. It wasn't until she was eight years old, after seeing a performance of The Sleeping Beauty, did she know she wanted to become a dancer. At the age of ten, she was accepted to the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet School where she had to give her complete dedication to her ballet studies. Although she was slim, fragile and not to attractive, she was spotted by the famous ballet master Marius Petipa, who was taken with her agility and flexibility, schooling her in the fundamentals of classic Russian ballet. With added training by other famous dancers and choreographers at the Maryinsky Theater, she made her company debut September 1899. Anna soon became a favorite for the artistic and passionate beauty in her dancing. 1907 in Moscow, she began the first of her many tours and came to American in 1910, performing at the Metropolitan Opera House.

While most Americans had not seen her form of classic ballet, all agreed they loved her. In 1912, Anna purchased the Ivy House in England where she opened her own school of dance, and lived there for the remainder of her life. Her early tours were with the consent of the czar, but while traveling to London in 1914, Germany declared war on her homeland and her commitments to the Maryinsky Theater ended. In 1923 she toured Japan, China, South Africa and Australia and in 1926 she performed for the first time in New Zealand. She dedicated her tour in 1927-28 to Europe. Her last world tour was from 1928 to 1929 and her last appearance was in England in 1930.

Anna Pavlova was also featured in some silent movies, most noted for her role in The Immortal Swan, shot in 1924, but was not shown until after her death. In 15 years this remarkable woman traveled 300,000 miles and gave 4,000 performances, all without the use of air travel. Anna Pavlova died January 22, 1931 of pleurisy, performing up until her death. She was, and maybe still is, the world's most famous dancer, giving the world a new sense of the creative dance form known as classic ballet.

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The Story Of Enrico Cecchetti

Enrico Cecchetti was born June 21, 1850 in Rome. Cecchetti was the son of two dancers in the costuming room of a Roman theater. Cecchetti is most known for the development of a strict training regime called the Cecchitti method. The method enforces internalization of classical ballet techniques throughout seven grade levels, reaching to the diploma level.

Cecchetti is recognized as one of the greatest ballet virtuosos to ever live. As a dancer he had starring roles in such productions as The Sleeping Beauty. Following the introduction of the pointe shoe, male performers received less substantial roles and instead became a helper of sorts for the ballerina. In 1890, Cecchitti played two starkly different roles in The Sleeping Beauty and introduced the understanding that male performers could do the same movements as female performers. After joining the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia he went on to teach ballet to such students as Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky at the Imperial School. He also held a teaching position at the Warsaw State School in Poland for three years.

In 1910, Cecchetti was hired as ballet master and mime for the Ballets Russes dance company. The company director, Sergei Diaghilev, wanted to take his company on tour, but many of his dancers refused because they would be missing out on their classes with Cecchetti. Thus Diaghilev hired Cecchetti to travel with the company. He performed mime roles choreographed specifically for him by members of the company. Cecchetti is said to be responsible for linking modern ballet to the dance of the past. He specialized in assisting dancers in maintaining the physicality required of them while also maintaining perfect technique.

In 1918, Cecchetti opened his own dance school in London. After several years of successful and world famous teaching he decided to retire. However, Arturo Toscanini invited Cecchetti to teach at La Scala. Teaching at La Scala had been a lifelong goal of Cecchetti's and he could not pass up the opportunity. A mere five years later, Cecchetti collapsed while teaching a class. He was taken home and died the following day on November 13, 1928.

Enrico Cecchetti is remembered foremost for the marvelous ballet dancing he gave to the world. He left a training method that is still used today by many dance companies, even the National Ballet of Canada. Cyril Beaumont and Stanislas Idzikowsky are responsible for preserving the Cecchetti method after its creator's death.

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The Story Of Ballerina Marie Camargo

Ballerina Marie Anne de Cupis de Camargo, occasionally known as La Camargo, was born on the 15th of April 1710 in Brussels. She was a French/Belgian dancer known for being the first woman to perform the entrechat quatre, a move where the dancer crosses their legs over four times in the air. She also was very innovative in her dancing days and is famous for the introduction of wearing slippers in place of heeled shoes. She is also famous for being the first female to wear a short calf-length ballet skirt, with tights underneath, which are now a standard part of dress for ballerinas. Her father, Ferdinand Joseph de Cupis, was a violinist and also a dance master. Marie was trained from early childhood to perform on the stage.

The first dancer at the Paris Opera, Francoise Prevost, became her dance instructor when she was only ten and through that connection she gain the role as premiere daneuse in Brussels and then later at Rouen. On 5 May, 1726 she made her debut in Paris, at the Paris Opera ballet, in the production Les Caracteres de la Danse. It was here that she performed the entrechat quatre and began to gain fame. She soon afterwards introduced wearing slippers and shortened skirts, which eventually became regulation length. Because of these innovative ideas, her name was soon given to every new fashion. She was then copied by many, even to the extent that all those who came to court began to copy her hairstyles.

Among her list of admirers was Count Louis de Bourbon of Clermont, who was one of many who were nearly ruined by her extravagance. She became his mistress and at his request, she retired from the stage for several years from 1736 to 1741. In 1741, she then resumed her dancing career for ten more years before retiring on a government pension in 1751. During her career, she performed in 78 ballets and operas. She had a famous portrait painted by Nicolas Lancret that exists in several versions. Some of these works are now placed in the Wallace Collection, London and in the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. One thing that is interesting about these paintings is that she is portrayed in heeled shoes while poised a demi point. On April 28th 1770, after a brilliant career, the ballerina Marie de Camargo died in Paris at the age of 60.

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The Story Of Ballet Dancer Nijinsky

Vaslav Nijinsky was born in Kiev, Ukraine to Polish parents in 1890. Both his parents were ballet dancers who ran their own company giving performances all over Russia. With his older brother and younger sister, Nijinsky began dancing under the tutelage of his father. Then at eight years old he joined the Imperial School of Dancing where the teachers recognized his great talent.

Nijinsky trained at the Mariinsky Ballet located in Saint Petersburg, Russia after graduation from the Imperial School of Dancing. He had great success with this company and danced several leads beginning at the young age of 18 which was unusual. Nijinsky caught the eye of ballet producer, Sergei Diaghilev, who featured him in several of his ballets.

The partnership between Nijinsky and Diaghilev may have led them to orchestrate a great scandal. After Nijinsky's engagement with Diaghilev was over he was required to return to his company at the Mariinsky Ballet. At this same time Diaghilev desired to have Nijinsky dance in his productions which were being performed in cities such as Paris. In order to extricate Nijinsky from his Russian engagement he neglected to wear modesty trunks around his tights. This was grounds for dismissal with the label obscene applied to the performance.

In 1913, a fateful event took place for Nijinsky. Diaghilev's company toured South America, but Diaghilev did not accompany Nijinsky on the ship because of a fortune teller's prediction that he would not survive a boat trip should he ever take one. Without the object of his affection Nijinsky had to turn his sights elsewhere and he placed them on a Hungarian Countess by the name of Romola Pulszky. They were married when they arrived in Buenos Aires. This did not please Diaghilev and he promptly released Nijinsky from his company.

From 1913 to 1916 Nijinsky choreographed four ballets of his own. Nijinsky began to be known as someone who as someone who is daring and his ballets reflected that. The ballets, L'apres-midi d'un faune, Jeux, Till Eulenspiegel and Le Sacred du Printemps, all fall under the genre of modern dance. This is what Nijinsky was famous for, creating a new style of dance which created a major stir among the audiences. The scandals might have continued had Nijinsky remained healthy.

In 1916 when Nijinsky choreographed his last ballet, Till Eulenspiegel, it became evident that he was suffering from dementia and it led to a nervous breakdown. He was diagnosed with Schizophrenia which ended his career at the age of 29. He died on April 8, 1950.

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The Story Of Fokine

Modern ballet can attribute its lyrical artistry and dramatic expression to one particular man, Mikhail Mikhailovich Fokine. Michel, as most people in the west knew him, was often referred to as the father of modern ballet. Born in St. Petersburg, Russian on April 25, 1880, to working-class parents, Michel would go on to become one of the most influential dancers and choreographers in the realm of modern ballet. Against his father's wishes and disapproval of dancing as a career, Michel secretly auditioned for the Imperial School of Ballet in St. Petersburg. He received the highest ranking possible in the audition; thus, finally securing his father's approval to attend the ballet academy.

Michel's experience at the Imperial School of Ballet was intensive and often overly technical in nature, which was frustrating for Michel. However, Michel sought out other, more artistic endeavors, such as music and art, to compliment the rigidity of this training. These experiences would eventually form the basis of his future dance style and choreography. Having graduated from the Imperial Ballet School, Michel went on to join the Maryinski Imperial Ballet as a soloist. It is here that Michel began to make his first impression on the ballet scene with one of his dance partners, Anna Pavlova. During this time, Michel began to experiment with the basic premises of ballet. His experience with multiple artistic forms of expression during his years at the Imperial School of Ballet had cultivated in him a desire to see ballet as more of a theatrical creation that would appeal to the audience's emotions and passions. Michel would eventually go one to create the "Five Principles," which was a set of revolutionary ballet concepts that he applied to all of his choreography and would forever transform the universe of ballet.

Michel Fokine danced and choreographed throughout Europe and North America for the better part of his career. He would eventually create an incredible resume of eighty-one ballets, such as, Les Sylphides, Firebird, and his last ballet, The Russian Soldier. Michel's personal life also contributed to the advancement of ballet. Michel married one of his students, Verotchka Antonova in 1905, and together, they had a son whom they called Vitale. Vitale would eventually become a ballet dancer and choreographer in his own right. As a family, the Fokine's would tour and eventually open a school of dance. Vitale continued the family tradition with his own daughter, Isabella Fokine, whom also became a successful dancer and choreographer. In 1993, Isabella paid homage to her grandfather when she choreographed The Return of the Firebird, which was debuted at the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Mikhail Mikhailovich Fokine passed away on August 22, 1942 having amassed an astonishing career, both as a dancer and choreographer. His brilliant career left a legacy that continues to have lasting influence on the world of ballet.

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