Tableaus of riveting fight sequences

WHEN done convincingly, stage violence rarely looks elegant. But there's something graceful and mesmerising about the way several young men brutally punch, kick and beat each other up in Alexandra Spencer-Jones's stylish adaptation of A Clockwork Orange.

These fight scenes are scuzzy and savage - as many of the characters are. But the fights are orchestrated like potent pieces of contemporary dance, with bodies arched, stretched and twisted to form beautiful, angry tableaus at any one moment.

Once, between scenes, an actor twirled and leapt like a ballet dancer to distract the audience from the set changes behind. One can't help but ask, just what is director Spencer-Jones creating - a play or a dance?