✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper plus a pair of free tickets to a London event sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper


Sign up by Email or Facebook.

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we sent newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Turning tips into memories

Get started Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • About us
  • Tickets
  • Membership
  • Get Started
  • Membership
  • Tickets
Get our exclusive content
+ choose a pair of free tickets from our edit of favourite events
Dance

Rosie Kay Dance Company, MK Ultra Review ★★★★★

On 08 Nov 18, 19:30 Dur.: 2 hours approx

MK Ultra blends the talents of choreographer Rosie Kay and documentary film maker Adam Curtis in a visually sumptuous, though often perplexing work

By Teresa Guerreiro on 9/11/2018

MK Ultra
MK Ultra
Rosie Kay Dance Company, MK Ultra Review 3 Rosie Kay Dance Company, MK Ultra Review Teresa Guerreiro
Billed as ‘a pop brainwashing experiment’ MK Ultra may not be to everyone’s taste, but if your curiosity is piqued by bright lights, superhuman dancing and pounding music, then you’ll most probably derive a lot of pleasure out of this show.


Make no mistake, though: you need to read the very extensive programme notes, so from that point of view, this piece is hard work; and at any given time there is so much going on on stage that sensory overload sets the tone.



MK Ultra takes its name from the real CIA LSD-fuelled mind-control experiments of the 1950s and 60s, which provide a starting point for its exploration of the rise of widespread conspiracy theories, currently believed by millions of people and spreading like wildfire on the internet. In one of its most bizarre variations, a conspiracy theory has it that the CIA teamed up with Walt Disney to programme actors and singers, so they could spread occult messages to the wider population.


Adam Curtis, whose documentaries (The Century of the Self, The Power of Nightmares) focus on power and how it works in society, contributes an episodic film voiced by himself, which blends cabalistic images with footage drawn from pop culture, including Disney cartoons and pop stars such as Britney Spears and Justin Bieber.


Curtis’ film is projected onto a large triangular screen at the back of the stage – triangles are an important part of esoteric symbology, as is the disquieting all-seeing eye which appears on the screen at regular intervals.


Kay references the importance of certain numbers in occult lore by placing her dancers in groups of seven or three.


Kay’s high octane choreography turns dance into ritual, the dancers of her Rosie Kay Company alternating between contemporary pop – much of it straight out of pop videos – and imagery that references one of the most widespread conspiracy theories: that the world is really controlled by a centuries-old occult order, The Illuminati (familiar to fans of Dan Brown's novels).


All this to a pulsating electronic score by Annie Mahtani, who provided the score for Rosie Kay’s critically acclaimed 2016 work 5 Soldiers, with arresting triangular projections by Louis Price and costumes by Lady Gaga designer Gary Card.


Card’s costumes are a performance in themselves. Unisex unitards in bright colours, they are covered in detailed and intricate symbols, including triangles, chains, the omniscient eye, pyramids and carefully placed hands.


Rosie Kay’s MK Ultra is heavy on concept and visual stimuli and it’s not clear that without the extensive programme notes her intentions would communicate themselves coherently to the audience. Still, as a visual spectacle MK Ultra is at times rather dazzling – and Kay’s seven dancers are a pleasure to watch.

by Teresa Guerreiro

What Rosie Kay Dance Company, MK Ultra Review
Where Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX | MAP
Nearest tube Waterloo (underground)
When On 08 Nov 18, 19:30 Dur.: 2 hours approx
Price £20 (concessions available)
Website Click here to book via the Southbank website

You might also like
Free for Members
Highlights to catch at the Roundhouse this season
Free pairs of tickets available
22 Nov 19 - 21 Dec 19

Roundhouse, Camden Winter Season

Members only All booked Members only

Most popular

UK Disneyland? Paramount Theme Park, Kent. Photo: Paramount
Everything you need to know about UK Disneyland, Kent's London Resort
Things to do in London this weekend: 6 – 8 December
Things to do in London this weekend: 6 – 8 December
Ring in 2020: London's Best New Year's Eve Parties
Ring in 2020: London's Best New Year’s Eve parties to book early

We recommend nearby

  • Green Room

    A great place to eat or relax, the Nation Theatre's Green Room is enclosed in a sustainable garden, which acts as an urban oasis amid the hustle and bustle of the Southbank. The Green Room is open from noon until midnight from Monday-Saturday, and until 10pm on Sundays.

    Read more...

    Culture Whisper is your ultimate guide to the newest, most exciting cafés, bars and restaurants in London and we are sure you will love Green Room!

    Book Map

Rosie Kay Dance Company

Rosie Kay

Adam Curtis

Annie Mahtani

Gary Card

You might like

  • James Wilton Dance, The Storm, photo Steve Tanner

    James Wilton Dance, The Storm Review ★★★★★

  • Dystopian Dream, photo Johan Persson

    Wang Ramirez & Nitin Sawhney, Dystopian Dream, Sadler's Wells review ★★★★★

  • Rosie Kay Dance Company, 5 Soldiers: The Body Is The Frontline, photo Tim Cross

    Rosie Kay Dance, 5 Soldiers Review ★★★★★

  • The Culture Whisper team
  • What is Culture Whisper membership
  • Corporate membership
  • Give a gift membership
  • Retrieve a gift membership
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY
TO CONTINUE TO ENJOY CULTURE WHISPER

You’ve clicked to view the best of our content that we
save exclusively for our members.

If you liked what you saw, subscribe from just £15 and get
unlimited access to our unique culture service as well as
all of our membership benefits.

BECOME A MEMBER ×

Want a pair of free tickets every month?
Upgrade to Gold Whisper now
and save 10% with GOLD10.
Become a premium member today.

UPGRADE NOW ×