Romeo and Juliet, Northern Ballet (2024) Review

`Dominique Larose and Joseph Taylor in Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Emily Nuttall`

Reviewed by Natasha for Theatre and Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review

Someone once told me that everything is beautiful at the ballet, and Northern Ballet’s visually stunning production of Romeo and Juliet certainly doesn’t disappoint in that respect. The curtains open to reveal imposing classical ruins, beautifully lit, foreshadowing the tragedy that will take place. Dazzling colour palettes underpin the costuming and lighting, creating an amazing visual spectacle. And that’s before we encounter the dancing itself, which is after all what everyone is here for, and delivers on every level. The audience encounters striking choreography performed with exceptionally talented movement and dramatic expression as the company ignites the stage. Add in a live Profokiev score exquisitely played by the Northern Ballet Sinfonia, and prepare to fall in love with this show in the same way that Juliet is infatuated by her Romeo.

This ballet version of Romeo and Juliet premiered in 1991, devised and directed by Christopher Gable in collaboration with choreographer Massimo Morricone. The movement is everything you could expect from a story filled with such intense passion and feeling. Menacing fight scenes and riotous partying are juxtaposed with dazzling love duets. The stage is buzzing with energy - jazzed-up, contemporary ballet invigorates the ensemble pieces. The rivalry between the Montagues and Capulets is more Jets and Sharks than tame masquerade ball, as dramatic, imposing Shaolin-esque warriors with staffs dance commandingly in vivid black and red costumes.

Although framed by this rivalry between the Montagues and the Capulets, however, the main theme that emerges is the turbulence of adolescence, with Juliet’s girlish capriciousness and subsequent sexual awakening are brilliantly illustrated through the medium of dance. Abigail Prudames performance entrances, portraying a young woman still prone to childish play dealing with the intensity of her feelings for Romeo, sometimes in delight, sometimes in the throes of a tantrum. Paired with musical elements including sultry strings that incorporate provocative glissandos, Juliet’s experience of first love is extraordinarily conveyed through music and dance. The delight of the languorous pas de deux she joyfully enters into with Romeo (brilliantly danced by Joseph Taylor) compares powerfully with the devastating emptiness of the reprise danced with Paris. The moment where she and Romeo experience love at first sight is, ironically, created through stillness - providing a beautifully heightened contrast with the wonderful, riotous dancing delivered by the rest of the company as a whole. There is an underlying adolescent playfulness to everything, including some delightful comedy moments enhanced by Mercutio (Harris Beattie) and the Nurse (Dominique Larose).

Strengths aside, however, if you are looking for a full, detailed danced version of Shakespeare’s play, it won’t be found here. Profokiev’s original composition simplifies the (admittedly convoluted) plot of the source material considerably; one moment Juliet witnesses Romeo as a murderer, the next they are waking up together after their wedding night. Thankfully Profokiev was persuaded not to proceed with his revisionist happy ending, so it at least remains a tragic love story. Without exposition, dialogue and poetry, however, what we are left with is more a series of vignettes than a story layered with dramatic irony, nuance and intrigue.

But what a series of vignettes they are. The Northern Ballet version strives and succeeds in fantastically conveying the drama within the material’s confines, allowing for an impressive exploration of belonging, conflict and arranged marriage alongside the impulses of adolescence. As well as the telling of a story through dance, the dramatic interpretation and representation of depth of feeling resonate through choreography and performances. Together with the vivid costuming from a clearly exceptional wardrobe department, and the evocative music to which the dances are set, the production is a non-stop amazing adventure in colour, sound, motion and, in particular, emotion. Definitely worth the watch - you may laugh, you may cry, and you may even fall in love.

Romeo and Juliet is at Nottingham Theatre Royal until 4 May and then continues on tour until October 2024.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

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