Scottish Ballet Presents COPPELIA Next Month

Scottish Ballet's new production of Coppélia, which has its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival this August, will test the boundaries of dance, theatre, music and film in a jaw-dropping new adaptation of the classic ballet, blending location and real-time film projection with live performance, accompanied by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra.

The innovative new version of the ballet, which here tells the story of Silicon Valley's hottest inventor Dr Coppélius and his new AI creation Coppélia, is choreographed and directed by UK-based duo Morgann Runacre-Temple and Jessica Wright (known as Jess and Morgs), building on their previous film works for Scottish Ballet, Tremble and The Secret Theatre. The choreography will highlight Jess and Morgs' trademark quintessentially dry humour, with sharp, witty solos and stunning full company routines combined with wall-to-wall projections and cinema screens, featuring live film shot onstage by one of the performers.

The multi-media approach aims to warp audiences' sense of reality, leaving them wondering what is real and what is artificial, as they are lured into Dr Coppelius' world of robots, artificial intelligence and clones.

Scottish Ballet has garnered an acclaimed international creative team for this 21st century Coppélia. The original Delibes music will be referenced and reimagined by composers Mikael Karlsson (Sweden) and Michael P Atkinson (USA). The new score will combine traditional orchestral sounds with synthesizers, processed samples and beats, performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, accompanied by voice-over dialogues written by UK-based dramaturg Jeff James (a regular collaborator with Ivo van Hove). The spectacular film projections by video designer Will Duke (who originally studied at Glasgow School of Art) will be complemented by striking set and lighting by Swedish designer, Bengt Gomér, and chic, 80s-inspired costuming from UK designer Annemarie Woods.

Coppélia has been generously supported by patrons of The Five in Five Campaign, which was launched in 2019 to commission and stage five new full-length ballets in five years; a legacy of work to commemorate Scottish Ballet's 50th anniversary year. This is the fourth ballet in the campaign, following The Crucible, The Snow Queen and The Scandal at Mayerling. All five works engage international and homegrown creatives of the highest calibre, and aim to appeal to new audiences, creating an important legacy for the company, the dance world and Scotland.

Coppélia will premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival, where it is set to wow audiences in August, before touring Scotland in autumn 2022.

Christopher Hampson, Artistic Director/CEO of Scottish Ballet said:

"Commissioning the creative talents of Jess and Morgs was always going to produce something unique and relevant. Their vision of Coppélia is of and about today; never has Scottish Ballet attempted to combine live dance and film in such an ambitious way. The Edinburgh International Festival is the perfect place to give the World Premiere of this highly inventive, and subversive, take on a classic and I cannot wait to share it with festival audiences in August and then the rest of Scotland when we tour to Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen this autumn."

Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple (Jess and Morgs), choreographers and directors, said:

"We've always been drawn to the crossover between cinematic storytelling and dance, so creating Coppelia with Scottish Ballet has allowed us to take this to another level. The film on stage will cut between live capture and pre-recorded footage - but the audience won't necessarily know which is which. We're working with the film in a playful way, allowing the audience to see the characters much more than they normally would at a ballet. We want to find that subtle language where something feels not quite right, or slightly uncanny. We're thrilled to be working with such an incredible team of creatives and can't wait to share this new work with audiences in Scotland.'

Rimbaud Patron, Dancer and Photographer in Residence with Scottish Ballet, said:

"Working with Jess and Morgs is such an incredible experience, because they bring new ideas and perspectives to the stage. Being both a dancer and photographer means I was already comfortable working with a camera, so they have involved me in the filming from day one. It's been a challenge moving between the two creative roles, remembering my own performance, as well as filming the other dancers, but it's great fun!"

Tour dates 2022:

14 - 16 August Festival Theatre Edinburgh (Press night Sun 14 August)

22 - 24 Sep Theatre Royal, Glasgow

29 Sep - 1 Oct His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen

6 - 8 Oct Eden Court, Inverness

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