For the third and final time, Artistic Director Ivo van Hove opens the Ruhrtriennale festival with a distinctive approach to music theater: a story told through songs that actually have nothing to do with the narrative, and without any connecting dialogue. The first year featured the music of PJ Harvey; last year, Frank Sinatra; and this time, David Bowie. In practice, this means a (actually quite good) Bowie cover band, led by Henry Hey, plays many well-known songs alongside a few lesser-known ones, set against a Romeo and Juliet plot involving youth gangs in a dystopian future.
The gang members are choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui for his company Eastman—pleasing, yet internally coherent, blending urban dance and classical ballet (in 2024, (La)Horde was still responsible for the ...
