Jasmin Vardimon Company in NOW
Jasmin Vardimon Company celebrate iconic moments from their 25-year history in NOW…
Jasmin Vardimon Company in NOW. © Ben Harries
Jasmin Vardimon Company
NOW
★★✰✰✰
London, Sadler’s Wells East
05 March 2025
www.jasminvardimon.com
www.sadlerswells.com
I write about Jasmin Vardimon’s NOW with something of a heavy heart - I had a 2-star night in what felt like it could be a 4-star show. Now that’s frustrating.
Here is what Sadler’s Wells says about the show:
Celebrate 25 years of Jasmin Vardimon Company — past and present
Revisiting iconic moments from their 25 year history, while also reflecting the NOW, Jasmin Vardimon tells a story of our time.
A celebration as much as a reflection on our ever-changing world, NOW examines the beauty of imagination and art.
With a repertoire that includes Park, Yesterday and ALiCE, and a remarkable international cast, don’t miss this journey through Jasmin’s distinctive dance theatre.
I have not had the pleasure of seeing Park, Yesterday, or ALiCE, so NOW seemed a good way to catch up, interestingly in a new context. The problem is that there is no programme or even a PDF leaflet providing any more context than the above. The result is a 1½-hour show with some stunning movement and ideas, spread over many scenes without any arc or giving you any clear idea of what is going on. Sitting for 90 minutes straight proves far too long, and the last 30 minutes, with what felt like many false endings, is pure purgatory.
What I like about Vardimon’s movement and ideas all seemed to come in the first half of the show. There is such a huge emphasis on legs, which, in her hands (excuse the pun), become gloriously expressive and fluid in their movement — almost like we are used to seeing with arms and hands; they speak to us. Vardimon is more about movement as emotional gesture rather than what we think of as free-flowing dance, and I appreciate that.
The staging is theatrically clever, with live video of the dancers often projected on the backdrop and some close interactions with a camera in the footlights. There are thrilling changes in scale as you watch both the dancer and the huge video, which provides a very different perspective. But the best of the live video comes courtesy of a camera placed centrally above the stage, looking down, where the dancers shuffle about on the floor to give the appearance of walking on a tightrope or climbing a mountain — it’s charmingly childlike and appeals to the small person in us all. Flags are also used inventively, and late in the show, we also get a snowstorm, which lifts the spirits. I also liked the accessible mix of music tracks, from pop ballads to Nikki Nair & DJ ADHD, Vivaldi, and Margaret Leng Tan hammering her toy piano.
So, theatrically, there is great eye-candy at times, but as NOW unfolds you increasingly realise that you are not sure to what end all this is happening. There seem to be sections on twosome love, love across the divide, protest, torture and persecution. And moments of just surreal fun? I suspect Vardimon wants you to just go with the flow, but it really needs to be more open about itself, or frustration and boredom beckon for some of us. A shorter show would also help - there was a definite feeling of some scenes outstaying their welcome.
I should absolutely mention that the dancers danced their socks off, and I would love to see them again, and in Vardimon’s bold theatrical movement too — but hopefully in a piece with greater structure and programme support.
A short update on the new theatre itself - Sadler’s Wells East (SWE) - which I covered in my first review of a show there. Thankfully, house management have done the right thing and now moved security to building entry rather than auditorium entry — so there are no significant queues to get to your seat now. However, I would reiterate that SWE generally has less legroom than most theatres I go to and for shows that don’t have intervals, not being able to stretch your legs will be an issue for some. It’s certainly something I notice. That said, the upside of SWE is great sightlines for all and plenty of social space - impressive.