Most recent performance
There are currently no scheduled performances of The Age of Anxiety. It was last on stage 7–17 November 2014 as part of the Autumn 2014/15 season.
Introduction
Liam Scarlett sets Leonard Bernstein's Symphony no.2, 'The Age of Anxiety', inspired by W.H. Auden's epic poem. In a New York bar in wartime four lonely strangers attempt to find spiritual meaning in an industrialized world.
Background
British choreographer Liam Scarlett was appointed The Royal Ballet's first Artist in Residence in 2012. His dark, probing narrative works for the Company – Sweet Violets on the main stage and Hansel and Gretel in the Linbury Studio Theatre – have won acclaim, and so too the unique language of movement exemplified in his abstract works such as Asphodel Meadows and Viscera.
In his new work for the Company Scarlett sets Leonard Bernstein's Symphony no.2, 'The Age of Anxiety'. Bernstein had an intense emotional response to Auden's poem, later writing 'When I first read the book I was breathless'. This deep personal resonance is married with Bernstein's instinctive sense of rhythm, which has made his music so attractive to choreographers. John Macfarlane, who collaborated with Scarlett on all his previous main-stage works for The Royal Ballet, creates the designs.
News and features
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Going Underground: A day in the life of the orchestra pit
22 January 2015How do beautiful performances emerge from such dark, cramped conditions?
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The Royal Ballet to tour the USA in June 2015
15 January 2015The Company will perform in Washington D.C., Chicago and New York over the course of three weeks.
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Stories without words: Narrative ballets and their many inspirations
20 November 2014How and where choreographers find stories has changed throughout the art form's history.
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Cast change: Sarah Lamb to dance in The Age of Anxiety on 14 November 2014
14 November 2014Sarah Lamb to replace Laura Morera in the role of Rosetta.
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Your reaction: Ceremony of Innocence / The Age of Anxiety / Aeternum
8 November 2014What did you think of The Royal Ballet's latest mixed programme featuring works by Kim Brandstrup, Liam Scarlett and Christopher Wheeldon?
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Auden, Bernstein and Scarlett's Age of Anxiety: Representing a war-torn world in dance
3 November 2014The poem and symphony that inspired Liam Scarlett's new ballet depict the behaviours of four lonely people in a society teetering on the brink.