Pepperland @ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
A tribute to the iconic cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's, Pepperland is hypnotic at times and disjointed at others
Pepperland is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' eighth – and arguably most influential – album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The production is a collaboration between the esteemed choreographer Mark Morris and composer Ethan Iverson, who've crafted scenes full of dreamlike dances set to some of the album's most famous songs. This isn't a nostalgic sing-along of the album; instead, it's more of a tribute to the iconic album cover, as the dancers, enveloped in differing block colours, portray many of the historical figures that feature on the album cover, including Marilyn Monroe and Oliver Hardy.
Michael Faba uses neon lights to let colour burst out and illuminate Stephanie Sleeper’s crayon costumes, recreating both the aesthetic of 1960s Carnaby Street and the Fab Four's military costumes from the album cover. Johan Hencken’s minimal foil set complements the kaleidoscope aviator glasses the dancers wear that reflect celebrity status. As it begins, we're introduced to the dancers through the lyrical accompaniment of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with the welcoming lines of ‘So may I introduce to you’ and ‘We hope you will enjoy the show’. This song also concludes the show with ‘We’re sorry but it’s time to go’, a line that reverberates around the theatre.
Some of the dances directly parallel the actions in the lyrics with vaudeville charm, whilst songs such as When I’m Sixty-Four are conceptual, just like the album itself. During this number, the dancers physically fragment and stiffen as they move, symbolising the aging process. In Within You Without You, which explores seclusion as an effect of fame, the dancers form a spiraling nucleus that continually rejects performer after performer.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the dance sequences are the centrepiece of the show, and the musical accompaniment becomes background noise, much to the disappointment of any Beatles superfans in the audience. That said, Colin Fowler’s orchestra never falters but delivers a successful homage to the album’s quirky ballads.
However, while Pepperland has moments of sensory hypnosis and nostalgic emotion, the dance always seems out of touch with the music.
Pepperland @ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, run ended