John Weaver’s unique inspiration to combine the characters, narrative and expressive gesture of the early eighteenth century London theatre with the ultra-fashionable French style of court dancing was to change the future of ballet.  Our Dramatick Entertainment is a rich mix of baroque music, dance and words.

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The Loves of Mars & Venus

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This tells the story of John Weaver's struggle to create a proper dance drama in a theatre world which saw dance as a frivolous (if lucrative) side show.  The magic and excitement of early 18th-century theatre is evoked by an actor portraying Weaver and his stage character Vulcan, and baroque dancers playing Venus and Mars.  The on-stage ensemble perform music of the time by Lully, Purcell, Croft, Paisible, Eccles and Jeremiah Clark, and the production uses original eighteenth century choreographies.

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The Loves of Pygmalion

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In the sequel, the Weaver Ensemble reimagines the Pygmalion story to encompass John Weaver's 'passions and affections' expressed through dance, using choreographies of the day, with the occasional song!  Four on-stage musicians play music by Handel, Lully and Rameau.

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