Words: Elodie Marriott 

4 stars 

Love takes on many forms. Giselle: Remix covers the times it feels like a Judy Garland film, and the other times when you feel like a red-lipped latex beast. Relatable. 

The show captures the violent emotions that emerge when the person you’re romantically attached to doesn’t share your feelings. The wide-eyed optimism during a burgeoning crush is presented through lip-synched declarations from Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts rom-coms. Though this idealism is swiftly displaced, the monologues interjected by primal grunts of lust, representing the tragedy of unrequited love. The death of the romantic. 

This queer reimagining of classical ballet begins with the dancers in sheer pastel dresses, whirling around the space to soft, dreamlike music. After the fall into a neurotic spiral of insecurity, the music intensifies. Gone are the pastels, in is the skimpy black mesh. As anguish hardens into self-hatred, the dancers’ physicality embody this with heavier, spikier contemporary movements that get increasingly explicit. 

The shades of love-moving from ethereal to monstrous and finally acceptance-are instantly recognisable and a pleasure to watch. 

Giselle: Remix
Forth at Pleasance Courtyard
15:40
16 -25 Aug