Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Sadler's Wells

This piece is a kind of manifesto of  Pina Bausch's belief in the human spirit and the power of theatre. Though its title refers to the worst year of her life, when her companion and stage designer, Rolf Borzik, died of leukaemia, it's about ways of surviving. She tapped into her dancers' individual memories of childhood, adolescence, love and loss to make a dreamlike tapestry. Like life, 1980 doesn't make sense, but there's a mass of material to which audience members can relate. Bausch's method of questioning her performers to reveal their innermost fears and secrets has since been much imitated, as have her juxtapositions of cruelty and laughter. She, however, had a unique sense of theatrical timing: surrender and you'll be charmed, entertained and surprised. Walk out and you'll be sorry.
1980 is set in a limbo, on grass-covered turf that is watered during the three and a half hours 'piece', less dance than absurdist revue. Music and costumes evoke the past, as if the performers are channelling their parents' or even grandparents' behaviour as well as their own youth. A few cast members were in the original production, some 30 years ago, including the present director, Dominique Mercy; others, like his daughter, are too young to have worked with her. The mix of ages and nationalities is typical of Bausch's preference for a company that reflects a range of experience. All are trained dancers (with rare exceptions), though in 1980 you won't see any dance-as-such until about three hours in. But only dancers could run on grass in high heels and parade elegantly through the audience without missing a beat.