Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers and their bitterly, antagonistic families, have arrived in Northern Ballet’s superb revival of their 1991 production, conceived and directed by the great, late Christopher Cable with choreography by Masimo Moricone.
Most of us know the basic story: two young people from different, equally powerful and feuding families, the Montagues and Capulets, meet at the Capulet’s masked ball. Romeo has gatecrashed with his friends Benvolio and light-toed teaser and mischief-maker Mercutio. However, if you think you know the ballet or the play, go and see this production; it has a freshness, vitality and contemporary energy. If you don’t know the ballet, go see it—it’s emotional, accessible and superbly danced—Northern Ballet is looking tremendous.
Romeo and Juliet’s meeting sets in motion events, filled with love, rage, revenge, domestic and street violence, subterfuge and, ultimately, tragedy and death.
Christopher Cable, who passed away 26 years ago, created a version to Sergei Prokofiev’s groundbreaking 1935 music that draws out the range and importance of not just the main characters and the many emotions, including humour.
The pacing and structure are excellent throughout. We see warmth tip into violence, from both men and women, already in the opening scene, as the gangs (of young men) clash in the town square, leaving wounded and a poignant image of a dead child caught up in it all—all too reminiscent of today’s conflicts.
But to the young lovers. Juliet, danced by Sarah Chun, has a fantastic emotional range, which she combines beautifully with a fluid, powerful dance technique. Her Romeo is played by Kevin Poeung, whose role feels less nuanced, but together this is a wonderful couple showing a great connection.
Masimo Moricone’s choreography demands a fine-tuned ballet technique, but is also full of contemporary, quirky and fluid body movements. There are syncopated foot moves, generous arm phrases and use of the floor, all marked by musicality, including exuberant canons. The strength and power of the women gives a fantastic edge and equality to the dancers, and the company rises to the choreographic demands. Noteworthy is Aerys Merrill, who dances several roles, including an enticing Rosalind, the young woman that Romeo has his eye on before meeting Juliet.
The "Dance of the Knights" is quite astonishing, the women negotiating large and gorgeous costumes by Lez Brotherson whilst dancing with aggressively impressive men. Other highpoints are Mercutio, performed by Filippo Di Vilio, volatile, quixotic and doomed. Juliet’s nurse, Helen Bogatch, combined wit, earthiness, common sense and deep love for Juliet; her final moments with Juliet before her burial are heartbreaking.
This is a lovingly and impeccably restaged, danced and produced Romeo and Juliet brought to life by a fantastic creative team—see it while you can.