We’ve all heard of the famous phrase, ‘it was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. But do we know where it actually comes from?

 

Let me tell you: from Dickens himself in A Tale of Two Cities. The unfortunate thing is, though it’s a timeless classic, within the younger generation it’s not widely known- probably due to the lack of cinematic versions or adaptations to keep it alive. The power of the book gradually faded out overtime, in a way where another generation might not be able to experience such an important part of history to others. 

 

Until now, with a contemporary adaptation created by Lost Dog Dance, giving the book’s plot a new life.

 

A Tale of Two Cities is a story set in the time period of the French Revolution, and about how different families coped with it. And more than anything, how the stories intertwined with each other, putting one piece of the puzzle together at a time. Lost Dog Dance told this story by using creativity to the limit- from the use of projection and video manipulation to the unspoken words, raw talent and technique of contemporary dance.

 

The story of the show itself I found to be harrowing, intense, and incredibly thought provoking. As stated on the Theatre Royal and Lost Dog Dance official website, the recommended age to see this would be above the age of 14, as it requires maturity and understanding of history and covers sensitive topics (such as alcoholism), which makes it all the more intense as you’re aware that it’s very real. 

 

Something that I was touched by was the use of dance, even when explaining those difficult to watch scenes. With the famous line of the show being ‘it was the best of times, it was the worst of times’, the show in turn gave a perfect visual of the intended juxtaposition. It stuck out to me that some characters would say one thing, while a video projection or dance was happening at once doing the opposite. The chosen adaptation of contemporary dance was perfect, because of the meaning of certain stories and words that were so often unspoken within- both in the time period of which A Tale of Two Cities was set, and in the scenario of a family where having unspoken rules about the past was a form of *intended* protection for the younger characters. A prime example of this was the father’s survivor’s guilt hidden while trying to protect his family from his own plaguing thoughts. The fact that dance was able to bring out those unspoken words was more than powerful to me.

 

When attending the show, I brought a student who once danced professionally in Jerwood Dancehouse and trained in jazz, ballet and contemporary. I quote: ‘the dance was incredible, the way they moved their bodies and the control they had even when they were wild was- ugh, just amazing.’ With those words, I don’t need to add anything on to that to tell you the quality of the performance.