"Grief fractures you. And if it's grief you can't share with those around you, it becomes even more corrosive. Such is the grief afflicting George, the central character of Christopher Isherwood's 1964 gay novel, A Single Man, now turned into an affecting ballet, which has opened the new season at the Linbury Theatre, RBO, following its world premiere at the Manchester International Festival in July."
"That it does so is due to a remarkable combination of creatives, led by two of the most charismatic dancers of their generation, the former Royal Ballet principal Ed Watson and the versatile dancer and actor Jonathan Goddard. The two alternate in the lead role of George, with Goddard also playing Jim to Watson's George in the first cast. I attended the Manchester premiere, led by Ed Watson, and the second performance at the Linbury led by Jonathan Goddard,"
"As Goddard told me when we spoke in the run up to the Manchester premiere, "There's me, Jonathan [Watkins] and Ed [Watson], and I think there's three ideas of what George could be in that pot. The steps are the same, but even if I tried I could never be what Ed Watson is and he'd never be what I am, we have""
A Single Man has been adapted into a ballet exploring the grief of George, a British middle-aged professor in early 1960s Los Angeles mourning his partner Jim’s death in a car crash. The ballet centers on forbidden gay grief while presenting the emotion as ultimately universal and capable of moving any audience who has experienced loss. Choreographer Jonathan Watkins leads a creative team featuring former Royal Ballet principal Ed Watson and versatile performer Jonathan Goddard, who alternate the lead role of George; Goddard also performs Jim in the first cast. Premieres occurred at the Manchester International Festival and at the Linbury Theatre, RBO.
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