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Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Hippodrome
***** EVERY once in a while the theatrical gods
smile upon a production and lift it to a thing of exquisite beauty,
something quite magical. You cannot put your finger on it, you cannot even
hope to replicate it, rehearse it or predict it – it just happens. Thus it was with the opening night of Romeo and Juliet. From the opening notes of Prokofiev’s sumptuous score to the fading requiem for our star-crossed lovers it was raised to another plane This is a production full of richness and colour
with many more scene changes than we are used to in ballet with a market
place, street scenes, the Capulets’ fine house in Verona, a ballroom,
bedroom, chapel, the Capulets’ family crypt and, of course, a balcony. It is also full of life as it tells the world’s
greatest l It is a love story that is doomed from the start of course – even though Prokofiev initially wanted a happy ending when he wrote it in 1935, with our lovers skipping off together into the sunset. It is also a love story that demands acting as well as dancing. This is not a folk tale fantasy with sprites, or sorcerers, wicked fairies and queens, it is a well-known, much-loved story about real people, a story full of real emotions, real feelings and real drama- and one which cries out to be told which the entire cast manage admirably.
The clash between the two sworn enemies flares in
the opening scene when Montagues and Capulets become embroiled in a
beautifully choreographed mass brawl in the marketplace, the clatter of
sword on sword not only looking realistic but adding an extra rhythmic
element to the music.
And in the red corner we have the Capulets led by
Tybalt, danced with an unsmiling, menacing air by Tyrone Singleton, who
does a good job of letting us all know who is the baddy in this piece.
Relations, incidentally, are not helped by Romeo trying to woo Rosaline,
a Capulet. A couple of deaths on either side cut the cast
numbers down before the Prince of Verona, danced by Jonathan Payn,
arrives and admonishes both houses, demanding the feud ends there and
then. Some hope. It all gets into a romantic tangle with first
Lord and Lady Capulet, Michael O’Hare and Samara Downs, trying to marry
their teenage daughter Juliet off to wealthy nobleman Paris, a kinsman
of the Prince, danced by Steven Monteith and then Romeo and friends
gatecrashing a ball at the Capulets’ house so lover boy can plight his
troth yet again for Rosaline. Except he falls head over heels for Juliet, and
she for him; Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers are embarking on the most
famous love story of all time, a love story which saw the opening act
close with one of the most joyous, passionate, romantic and tender pas
de deux seen for many a year. Mackay and Jenna Roberts as Juliet are just
mesmerising, as near to perfection as you are likely to see, quite
beautiful to watch. Juliet in Shakespeare’s play is 13 and Rob The pair, aided by Juliet’s nurse, another
wonderful character appearance from Marion Tait, then persuade Friar
Laurence to secretly marry them. It probably helped in the persuasion,
of course, that the good friar was Iain Mackay’s brother Rory
If it was hoped the marriage might end the family feud it didn’t work, for back in the market place it is swords drawn again as Tybalt goads Mercutio into a fight and kills him in a quite cowardly act. So Romeo avenges his friend’s death by killing
Tybalt – and both victims could fill a complete scene, or even a short
ballet in Mercutio’s case, with their death throes.
So she enlists the help of the good friar again
who provides a potion that, once swallowed, will feign death. The plan
is simple: she will appear dead and will be lain in the family tomb;
Romeo will be told and will return to rescue her and take her away to
live happily ever after. Sadly, no one manages to get the message to Romeo
who just hears she is dead, and he finds her lifeless body in the family
crypt. Full of grief he picks up her rag doll body for a final, sad,
moving pas de deux. With his Juliet gone he takes a dose of poison he
just happened to have in his pocket – don’t ask, maybe everyone carried
one back then, just in case, I don’t know. Juliet then awakes and finds her husband and
lover dead so kills herself to the funereal dying notes of the score. This version, choreographed by Sir Kenneth
MacMillan, dates back to 1965 and originally had Margot Fonteyn and
Rudolf Nureyev in the title roles, and it works well with the already
strong and well known narrative. Of all Shakespeare’s plays this is the one which
is easiest to transl
It is about love defying seemingly impossible odds with echoes all around in modern plays, books and films, whether it be Protestant-Catholic, black-white, Arab-Israeli. It is story spanning generations, religions, cultures, tribes and centuries. It is a big cast with well ordered crowd scenes and dramatic fight scenes as well as splendid contributions from the likes of Céline Gittens, Yvette Knight and Angela Paul as three harlots and Tzu-ChaoChou leading the Mandolin dance. Paul Andrews’ designs
of sets, with their opulent flags and standards hanging from the flies,
and especially the costumes, give a real flavour of 16thcentury
Verona while John B Read’s lighting ranges from delicate to dramatic,
with the moonlight in the balcony scene particularly effective. And once again the Royal Ballet Sinfonia,
conducted this time by Koen Kessels, did not disappoint, bringing the
well-known score alive. The music, dancing, lighting, costumes all
combine into something wonderful and quite unmissable. To 27-02-15. Roger Clarke
And another day in Verona***** IT’S hard to imagine this famous love
story without the wonderful words of William Shakespeare to explain the
joys and heartbreak of Romeo and Juliet. But the brilliant Birmingham Royal Ballet achieve
it with extraordinary dancing and mime, embellished by the sublime music
of Prokofiev played by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, conducted by Paul
Murphy. This really is a remarkable ballet, dealing with
the sworn enmity between two families – the Capulets and the Montagues -
which reaches a poisonous level when Romeo and Juliet, from opposite
camps, fall in love. Playing the star-crossed lovers, Chi Cao and Nao
Sakuma produce some stunning moments, especially in the tragic crypt
scene as the story reaches its inevitable conclusion. Outstanding performances, too, from Valentin
Olovyannikov (Tybalt), Tzu-Chao Chou (Mercutio), plus an amusing
contribution from the veteran Marion Tait as Nurse, and some superb
dancing by Celine Gittens, Jade Heusen and Maureya Lebowitz (the Three
Harlots). The entire cast deliver dancing of the highest
quality, while Dominic Antonucci shows considerable stage presence in
the role of Lord Capulet whose desire to see daughter Juliet married off
to wealthy nobleman Paris (Tom Rogers) is doomed from the start. There are many superb scenes with spectacular
sets and glorious costumes, but for me the highlight came with the
incredible massed swordfight between the warring families and their
friends. It was quite brilliantly choreographed and so realistic…the
Three Musketeers never reached this standard. Romeo and Juliet, with choreography by Kenneth
MacMillan, runs to 27.02.16 Paul Marston
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ove
story; two warring families, the Montagues and the Capulets are at each
other's throats and amid the feuding Romeo, a Montague, falls in love
with Juliet, a Capulet. 
erts
beautifully portrays an innocent, vulnerable, girl who has just entered
her teens, lifted effortlessly by MacKay in a dazzling performance.
ate
and tell through dance, a romantic, moving and ultimately tragic
love story which is universal in its narrative, whether it is Montagues
and Capulets or, in, its modern descendent West Side Story,
Sharks and Jets.