DIRECTOR / CHOREOGRAPHER / MOVEMENT DIRECTOR
KALLY LLOYD-JONES
press
FOR DIRECTING
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THE CHOSEN
'it uniquely appeals to our times' ★★★★★ Edinburgh Festival Magazine
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"'the layers of sound and visual imagery cannily underpin episodes of movement that catch at the ebb and flow of our existence. '
​★★★★ The Herald
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'more than once I found myself in tears at the thoughts and feelings evoked by the movement and its touching execution'
★★★★ the Scotsman
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'Intensely physical; athletic, near violent, exhilarating' ★★★★ the List
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'layered metaphors and rich depth of emotion' ★★★★ Edinburgh Guide
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'an impressive piece of choreography by Kally Lloyd-Jones' ★★★★ Scots Gay
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'a beautiful and moving piece' ★★★★ Broadway Baby
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'As an ensemble piece, it was flawless....With a cast of such impressive dancers/actors, stunning choreography, and excellent technical back-up, I wonder if this production is destined for greater fortunes' ★★★★ the Fountain
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'the Chosen is demanding. The cast works hard....it is intense and tests stamina' Fest Mag
Recommended by the Guardian, the Herald, the List, BBC Arts and is a highly recommended show in the Fringe Review.
LAUDER
"An in-missable, five-star tribute to one of Scotland’s greats by a production and performing team of the highest quality."
Glasgow Theatre Blog ★★★★The Herald
LADY MACBETH: UNSEX ME HERE
Winner of the Sunday Herald Culture Award for Best Live Performance
In top 10 Dance Shows of 2017, Judith Mackrell, The Guardian
"elegant and eviscerating" ★★★★★ The Stage
"bold and haunting" ★★★★The Guardian
"a masterpiece of intellect and imagery" ★★★★★ Edinburgh Guide
"This production is elegant, eloquent; rigorously considered; viscerally actualized; magnetically and magnificently performed" MUST SEE SHOW Fringe Review
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FRENCH TRAGEDIES DOUBLE BILL / ROYAL CONSERVATOIRE OF SCOTLAND
"Kally Lloyd-Jones directs with the knowledge that the slightest intake of breath or turn of a hand can impart utter tragedy." **** The Herald
Kally Lloyd Jones knows how just the right amount of movement, a tiny shake of a costume for a zephyr, the casual turn of a palm outwards adds to the drama." *★★★★ Bachtrack
LADY MACBETH: UNSEX ME HERE
The Guardian Unmissable Culture 2017 (Lady Macbeth: unsex me here / Company Chordelia)
"elegant and eviscerating" ★★★★★ The Stage
“Visually, the piece is compelling, from the blood-red skirts worn by the performers to the visceral, frenzied interpretation of the sleepwalking scene” ★★★★The Times
​"To peel back and examine each layer of Company Chordelia’s new work in a review this size is an impossibility. So rich in thought, detail and execution is it, you would need an entire thesis to do it justice" ★★★★The Scotsman
​"a dance-drama of quite troubling beauty, psychological insights and richly symbolic imaginings” ★★★★The Herald
​“an original and successful take on one of Shakespeare's most famous dramas” *★★★★★Plays To See
"exquisite” Sunday Herald
"a detailed psychological study of Macbeth's partner in crime" ★★★★ The List
​"both moves and shocks" Oxford Dance Writers
NIJINSKY'S LAST JUMP
Number 5 in Judith Mackrell's top 10 Dance for 2015.
http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/dec/16/judith-mackrell-top-10-dance-of-2015?CMP=twt_gu
Daily Telegraph: Mark Monahan's Review of the Year included Nijinsky's Last Jump in it's highlights of 2015 - "almost intolerably moving two-hander .. This burnished little pearl was the work of Company Chordelia"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/dance/what-to-see/dance-in-2015-has-the-royal-ballet-lost-the-plot/
“Lloyd-Jones does not sentimentalise her material, yet in this impeccably researched, beautifully performed piece, she conjures a world in which genius and insanity, youth and age speak to each and make perfect sense.”
★★★★★ The Guardian
“a remarkable new piece by Company Chordelia” ★★★★★ The Herald
“By its close Nijinsky’s Last Jump shapes up into a memorably tender but unsentimental portrait of the love and loss of self.” ★★★★ The Times
"Bouquets to director Kally Lloyd-Jones for turning such tricky material into a concise, precise emotional experience." The Spectator
“devastating” *★★★★ The Skinny
“The intriguing central notion of a meeting (as well as the love and loss) of one’s self is realised with uncommon sensitivity and intelligence.”
★★★★ The List
★★★★ The Scotsman
★★★★★ ScotsGay Magazine
L’ELISIR D’AMORE
(Edinburgh Grand Opera)
“With Kally Lloyd-Jones as director, the staging was on a par with the orchestral playing—‘prudent, affectionate, honest’, to quote the surtitle translation of one of Adina’s lines form the finale. Without resorting to gimmickry, Lloyd-Jones and her designer Janis Hart, updated the action to the English countryside circa 1943 ... but what really lit up the performance was its consistency, resourcefulness and wit.”
Opera Magazine
DANCE DERBY 2013 & 2014
"a beautifully wrought landscape of public humiliations and private griefs that reach beyond our entertainment to a cruel reality that is maybe not so bygone as we would like to think"
"acting and dancing with a fierce integrity that truly honours those long ago contenders"
***** The Herald
"It’s a testament to both the dancers, and choreographer Kally Lloyd Jones, that we believe in the contestants’ exhaustion as they dance round and round the stage endlessly – yet never tire of it ourselves."
**** The Scotsman
"an intelligent, touching show"
**** The Independent
“Telling the bitter tale of the Depression’s gruelling dance marathons, Dance Derby packs a mighty punch. Thought-provoking theatre at its best, Company Chordelia’s latest show embraces the cruel audience pleasure of reality shows through its exploration of a six week dance marathon.”
Rachel’s Theatre Reviews
MACBETH
“Kally Lloyd-Jones was entrusted with this revival and did an excellent job”
Andrew clark, Opera Magazine (Macbeth/Scottish Opera)
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS (2013)
"Kally Lloyd-Jones's Scottish Opera/Company Chordelia co-production is sharp, witty and dark"
"The incisiveness of Lloyd-Jones's directing is matched by the sharpness of Janis Hart's 1930's set"
"Do not miss"
**** The Times
“Kally Lloyd-Jones, directing as well as choreographing, has created some highly-charged and sensuous movement.”
The Opera Critic
THRASHING THE SEA GOD
Joby Burgess/Tête aTête Opera Festival
“it was dramatic, bittersweet, and enacted with finesse”
**** bachtrack
“This was a beautifully conceived piece of music theatre”
I Care If You Listen
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS (2011)
Co-production Company Chordelia and Scottish Opera
Kally Lloyd-Jones, Herald Angel Award Winner for directing The Seven Deadly Sins
“The Seven Deadly Sins was sharp, sexy and bitterly sad.”
***** The Independent on Sunday
“Sins was an inventively realised and vibrant spectacle”
**** The Scotsman
**** The Herald
**** The Edinburgh Guide
“Credit for the successful revival of this period piece must go to director Kally Lloyd-Jones and designer Janis Hart, who have figured out a way to make everything that happens onstage look not only fresh and appealing but pertinent to our times.”**** Total Theater
www.scottishopera.org.uk/simply-sinful-director-kally-lloyd-jones
KATYA KABANOVA
Scottish Opera
“by focusing on dramatic essentials, the emotional punch of Katya’s suicide comes across with full force”
Andrew Clark / Financial Times
“how refreshing to see this small scale travelling production offer a bit of light and shade in its slick presentation. An illuminating evening”Kenneth Walton / The Scotsman ****
“…sensitively directed by Kally Lloyd-Jones. It will sear your senses”
Michael Tumelty / The Herald ****
MACPHERSON’S RANT
Byre Theatre/St Andrews Festival
"an excellent production"
St Andrews Citizen
“Haunting & delightful performance “
St Andrews News
“Great night in St Andrews! Play was fantastic, performances were
amazing, highly recommend it.”
Audience member
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PRESS FOR MOVEMENT DIRECTING & CHOREOGRAPHY
"movement sequences by Kally Lloyd-Jones that conjure up the rebellious fighting discipline of Cyrano’s Gascon cadets in unforgettable style" ***** The Scotsman (Cyrano de Bergerac / Citizens/NTS/Lyceum)
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"the deft choreography from Kally Lloyd Jones kept things very lively" **** Bachtrack (Die Fledermaus / RCS)
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"The whole production was choreographed immensely well, if anything this emphasised the gripping drama of the music"
Seen and Heard International (Rigoletto/Scottish Opera )
"Kally Lloyd-Jones's choreography to Kielty's music makes you feel like you are at back in the early days of the Assembly Rooms" British Theatre Guide ( The Belle’s Stratagem/ Lyceum)
"gorgeous dancing choreographed by Kally Lloyd-Jones" Edinburgh Guide ( The Belle’s Stratagem/ Lyceum)
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"deft choreography from Kally Lloyd Jones kept things very lively" Backtrack, (Die Fledermaus/RCS)
"Kally Lloyd Jones, choreographer, has a real eye to what looks good on stage." **** Bachtrack ( Ariodante / Scottish Opera)
"In the celebration of their betrothal, a ballet duet between two blindfolded dancers symbolises that love is blind. It is well done, not an intrusion but a logical step of the plot, with dancers Lucy Ireland and Vince Virr interpreting Kally Lloyd-Jones easy on the eye choreography."
**** AllEdinburghTheatre.com ( Ariodante / Scottish Opera)
"As well as looking fascinatingly anachronistic – and giving the ever-dependable Kally Lloyd-Jones some real dancers to work with – this Ariodante is also consistently well sung" **** The Herald ( Ariodante / Scottish Opera)
"Lloyd-Jones' movement was a key feature of this production, with many individual vignettes to enjoy." **** Bachtrack (Jenufa / Scottish Opera)
“Choreographer Kally Lloyd-Jones also produced some wonderful set-pieces, particularly in the final act in the wood, where suddenly a forest of arms with twisting hands and fingers would appear thrust into the air before disappearing into the swirling melee of midnight fairies. The final stylised dance in between the verses of the lively closing chorus with the whole company moving in unison provided a breathtakingly exuberant ending.”
**** Bachtrack (Sir John In Love / RCS)
“eloquently choreographed by Kally Lloyd-Jones”
theartsdesk.com ( Il Trovatore / Scottish Opera)
“the addition of seven dancers added welcome fluidity and movement. It is a delicate opera in the main and choreographer Kally Lloyd Jones produced subtle movements for her performers with added twists of hornpipe for departing sailors, and some cleverly elegant set pieces.”
**** Bachtrack (Dido & Aeneas/The Opera Project/RCS)
“Kally Lloyd Jones has choreographed both the dancers and the singing company in both shows in what is an admirable example of integration at work.” **** The Herald (The Opera Project / RCS)
“Kally Lloyd-Jones was entrusted with this revival and did an excellent job”
Andrew clark, Opera Magazine (Macbeth/Scottish Opera)
“Lloyd-Jones' movement was a key feature of this production, with many individual vignettes to enjoy.” Bachtrack **** (Jenufa, Scottish Opera)
“fine dance sequences evoking the relentless meaninglessness of it all, superbly put together by movement director Kally Lloyd-Jones”
The Scotsman (Dr Faustus, Citizens Theatre)
“Kally Lloyd-Jones’ exuberant movement pulls it all together” The List **** (Dr Faustus, Citizens Theatre)
“and this show is another triumph for choreographer Kally Lloyd-Jones, whose movement of the chorus is masterly”
The Herald **** (The Flying Dutchman, Scottish Opera)
"If you don't know Ibsen, but get Austen, you'll love it, although Zoe Strachan's libretto is more explicit and emotionally direct than anything either of them wrote. As a concise, lucid and poetic text it is exemplary and the narrative she, (Craig) Armstrong, and choreographer Kally Lloyd-Jones have put together with director Harry Fehr could hardly be bettered." The Herald ***** (The Lady From the Sea, Scottish Opera)
“The abiding memory of this production was the flamboyant, elaborate choreography of Kally Lloyd-Jones”
Neil Jones / Opera Now (Betrothal in a Monastery, Scottish Opera/Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
“ ... without caricature or exaggeration, informed Kally Lloyd-Jones’s choreography in a goose-bump inducing ‘dream-pantomime” Andrew Clark / Financial Times (Hansel and Gretel, Scottish Opera)
“Kally Lloyd-Jones scored another choreographic triumph”
Andrew Clark / OperaExperience (War and Peace, Scottish Opera/RSAMD)
“from choreographer Kally Lloyd-Jones, some of the best choreography I have seen on a small stage: upbeat, trendy, brilliantly co-ordinated, full-on dancing that should have you falling about with laughter”
Michael Tumelty / The Herald (Die Fledermaus, Scottish Opera)
“the chair choreography of sassy lassie Musetta, a show stopper on its own”
Keith Bruce / The Herald (La Boheme, Scottish Opera On Tour)
“the movement direction is consistently slick”
Independent On Sunday (Secret Marriage, Scottish Opera)
“Kally Lloyd-Jones has the cast moving with the speed and skill so important to the delivery of this kind of comedy, with its touch of farce”
Sunday Herald (Secret Marriage, Scottish Opera)
“Kally Lloyd-Jones’s movement direction, as ever, had its own integrity: .. it was a real touch of brilliance…”
Michael Tumelty / The Herald (The Love for Three Oranges, Scottish Opera/RSAMD)