'The Trocks' works wonders by easing you in, having you laugh along with it before your breath catches in your throat.

For a piece of theatre that pulls on its tropes, as somebody who has never seen a lick of ballet I was worried about not getting anything out of this. But luckily, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo knows that all you have to do to get people to laugh is to fall over. 

“The Trocks”, as it is more commonly and easily known, is an all-male ballet troupe that has been performing for over fifty years, combining excellent ballet skills with physical comedy, elements of drag, and parody. Starting off with “Swan Lake” sees performers out of breath, falling over, and ostentatiously waving to the crowd. Every gag that can be mined from the seriousness of the artform is done so, and by the end of the first of three acts, you’re out of breath too from the whirlwind of jokes thrown your way. 

My personal highlight was the second act’s “The Dying Swan”, as ‘Olga Supphozova’ (Robert Carter), just one of many ridiculous names in the ilk of Russian performers, dons the stage in a ridiculous swan outfit, malting feathers throughout. You will be surprised how long laughs can last at such a simple gag. 

While by itself, this piece was ridiculously funny as well as extremely technically impressive, its placement has the downside of feeling disjointed. Having two intervals may not feel like a fact worth mentioning, but this combined with the second act’s vignette structure, gives the whole piece a constant feeling of stop and start.

However, while it may not flow as a whole piece, you cannot deny the extreme talent of the cast. While starting off as a capable parody of the traditionally serious medium, the last act flips it all on its head through sheer display of poise and aptitude. As a first ballet show, it works wonders by easing you, having you laugh along with it before your breath catches in your throat.