Mere Mortals, San Francisco Ballet
Mere Mortals’ at Edinburgh International Festival © Andrew Perry/Edinburgh International Festival
Pandora’s Box, the ancient tale of a woman who opens a jar full of the world’s worst things, should have been ripe for a modern morality tale about AI. Especially in a work created by, not just any arts company, but a ballet company based in tech bro heaven San Francisco.
This was San Francisco Ballet’s first performance in London since 2019 and their first under their new director Tamara Rojo, who for many years ran English National Ballet. Instead of bringing a tried and tested classical work to Britain’s shores (they first performed at Edinburgh International Festival before travelling south), they set a mission statement of innovation by touring Mere Mortals, their 2024 contemporary ballet work by Aszure Barton.
Mere Mortals’ at Edinburgh International Festival © Andrew Perry/Edinburgh International Festival
If Mere Mortals was anything it was overwhelming. The score, composed by Floating Points, flipped between rising electronic tones, jarring avant-garde contemporary classical with off-beat tempos and screeching strings that put your teeth on edge, and military drumming that sounded two notes away from breaking into Star Wars’ Imperial March.
Behind the dancers were large screens projecting images (by Hamill Industries) of starlight, boiling red abstract lava, and timelapses of clouds. At random moments they would establish dominance by flashing intimidatingly bright lights at the audience, which, combined with the loud music, was so overstimulating for my tired, sensitive little brain that I wanted to shut my eyes from it all and cover my ears.
A strong story and choreography could have rescued this marmite backdrop. I have tolerated and even found enjoyment in the drollest of electronic beats and scattiest of contemporary classical when movement unveils some hidden beauty (the work of Pam Tanowitz comes to mind). However, the dancing, while superbly performed, was giving me little. The choreography featured the light footwork I love in William Forsythe’s ballets, but comparatively struggled to find the musical nuance in the score to make it fit together. An out-of-nowhere romantic duet struggled to pull on the heart strings and no matter how many drop-to-the-floor splits moments there were, the higher attack moments struggled to energise me.
That’s not to say the piece was completely uninspired. Pandora’s gravity defying entrance where she leant over an ocean of dancers was memorable, as was a chain of gold arms, forming continuous waves as Wei Wang (portraying Hope, the only thing to not escape Pandora’s box) danced in the centre.
Mere Mortals’ at Edinburgh International Festival © Andrew Perry/Edinburgh International Festival
The choreography’s main issue, however, was its inability to portray any sense of plot or meaning. A lack of box meant this was never going to be a straight narrative retelling of the famous myth, but there wasn’t an obvious overarching message either. No warning to humanity. No evident thought piece on AI as we had been promised, unless the digital backgrounds were made by AI in which case ughhhh. And if they were human-made, then my mistrust in knowing if anything digital is human made or not anymore is the commentary the show needed. Without it, I lacked any emotional investment in the work.
This is not a commentary on the ability of the dancers by any means. They were highly precise performers, flourishing in both moments of fast footwork and military marching drills where not a toe could be stepped out of line. In high attack moments, Joseph Walsh gave it his all in a captivating and bold performance as Prometheus. But the star was Pandora herself. Jennifer Stahl performed a liquid mix of mind-bending twists and turns that neared on body horror. My uneasy reaction to the most mind-boggling was the most emotion I felt all night.
★★
Mere Mortals by Aszure Barton
Performed by San Francisco Ballet
Sadler’s Wells, London / 9 September 2026
Press invite
Until 12 September. Tickets →
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