In Raining Again two young dancers, Chris Dennis (who also choreographs) and Dane Quixall, appear on a stage dressed as Norma Desmond. To a soundtrack that mixes dialogue from the movie and the musical of Sunset Boulevard, Judy Garland concerts, fifties cinema and — incongruously — the theme music from "Dallas," the pair mime then dance for 40 minutes.
Raining Again is both a tribute to fifties showbiz and the story of a love affair that goes wrong. Its presence in a theatre studio space is further evidence of the blurring of barriers between dance and theatre — a blurring made the more pointed by the inclusion of live opera and other songs, sung by a soprano and a counter tenor at the side of the stage.
Raining Again is only on this Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 8 PM with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 5 PM. Box office number is 020 7609 1800.
