Public loses out in PR disaster

CONSIDERING how rare onshore performances by internationally renowned dance companies are on this island, writing a bad review comes as quite a difficult task. The company’s opening night was nothing short of a disaster and a disappointment.

On coming out here, the crew had not factored for the nocturnal humidity and the material on the dance floor became too slippery to perform on. As such, the show was cut in half with no explanation given. An initial 90-minute performance was reduced to 40 with no warning and half-hour delays between acts.

All this may have been easier to swallow if the audience had been informed of the unfortunate circumstances. Instead we were sat down and after an initial 30-minute delay were reassured that the performance would go ahead as planned. After the first act, we were told there would be another delay before the start of Revelations.

Most galling was that no one was told they got less than they paid for and no one was told of the appropriate (and expected) offer of tickets for another performance. The audience was allowed to leave believing they saw the entire show – unacceptable at the best of times, but even more so when theatregoers have shelled out £25 and £35 for what is supposed to be a world-class event.
To their credit, the Ailey group tried their hardest to make the best of a bad situation. Their skill was evident and their performance betrayed flashes of the brilliance attributed to them, but you really can’t put your heart into a performance with the risk of breaking a limb hanging over your head.

Let’s hope for theatre’s sake (and the safety of the troupe) that everything goes to plan for the next two performances.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.