Rambert and Ballet National de Marseille, under the direction of (La)Horde join forces to transform the entire Royal Festival Hall and the wider site of the Southbank Centre with the UK Premiere of We Should Have Never Walked On The Moon. 

The performance brings together a cast of 80 artists to transform the Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall into performance spaces incorporating backstage spaces usually inaccessible to the public.

Such a bold and imaginative production was not without its issues, so let’s deal with the negatives first. Audience experience would be dramatically enhanced by better signage, particularly at the lower levels of Queen Elizabeth Hall. The area around the costume archive was particularly congested as a one-way system (marked with arrows on the floor) led the audience to an external courtyard with no indication of an exit. The map used a numbering system to indicate locations, but these were not featured on the signage adjacent to each performance area. The finale was supposed to have started at 10pm, however when I made my way down at a few minutes before, the performance had already started, and the view was completely blocked by earlier arrivals. Shame, as the few moments I did see towards the end with the synchronised movement of jump style and shuffle dance were brilliant.

There is so much happening it’s difficult to know where to start; with15 live performances and 10 installations/films, it’s a jam-packed experience. The dancers are clearly all very talented and dedicated.

In Grime Ballet four performers dance en poite in a mixture of placed geometric lines and dancehall hips to street dance beats. Twerking in pointe shoes is no easy feat as they hobble spider-like on bent knees.

Weather is Sweet is exhibitionist and voyeuristic with enough changes of partner to illustrate the Karma Sutra.

To my mind, Hop(e)storm was most outstanding. It begins with six female dancers running at their male partners, jumping against their chests and both falling to the floor. At first it seemed abusive but when the music changed to Elvis’s Jailhouse Rock the work took on a spirited dynamic. With a blend of River Dance, Tiller Girls and Lindy Hop, the dancers linked arms, and the piecepossessed an energy that was infectious.

With nudity, sexual simulation, a remote controlled, bucking bronco rodeo car, and digital works there is something for everyone although not everything will be to your taste.

Brave, bold and ambitious.

4 stars

Reviewed by Nina Gardner

We Should Never Have Walked on the Moon is showing for 4 days 03rd Sept – 06th Sept 2025. Tickets and further information can be obtained by following the link below.

https://southbank.london/whats-on/we-should-never-have-walked-on-the-moon