Friday, 8th March 2024 at Leeds Grand Theatre.
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Of all of Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo and Juliet is one of the most popular choices for adaptations across art forms. The tale of “star-crossed lovers” captures imaginations in ways that few other stories have – and Sergei Prokofiev’s music is a glowing example. Shakespeare’s central threads of romance, comedy, drama and tragedy translate well into all kinds of expressive arts and in Northern Ballet’s revival, directed and devised by Christopher Gable and choreographed by Massimo Moricone, those component parts come together beautifully through dance.
Imagining the richness of Shakespeare’s text supplanted by music and movement is nigh on impossible, but Gable and Moricone’s production (which first premiered at this very theatre in 1992) allows us to experience the story in a new language and to see familiar scenes in new light – at times bringing the emotion far more readily to the surface than the story in play form does.
Sergei Prokofiev’s music provides the beating heart of the piece, running through Shakespeare’s plot with marvellous accuracy to the emotional ebbs and flows. To hear it played live by an orchestra (with orchestration from John Longstaff) filling the auditorium is sheer magic; the liveness of the music genuinely makes the performance more responsive, dynamic and immersive. Massimo Moricone’s choreography embraces the same sense of impressive accuracy, capturing all the characteristic traits of both story and characters and often bringing lines from the play to mind, inspired by the clarity of the narrative told through movement.
Dominique Larose’s Juliet barely leaves the stage and she captures the youth and turmoil of Juliet with wonderful expressiveness. Her fun with her loving nurse, her infatuation with Romeo and her heartbreaking stand-off with her parents are all given emotive power, and by the time we see her perform such desperate acts, she well and truly has our hearts.
Joseph Taylor’s Romeo is perfectly endearing and emotional too, balancing the light-hearted boyishness of the character with a more romantic, emotional nature very nicely. Together, Larose and Taylor are brilliant, performing romantic, pining sequences which are given an almost spiritual air by the flutes, piccolos and violins underscoring their flirtations. The pair certainly impress as much with their delicacy as their physical strength and technique.
But it’s not all romance and longing of course. Tybalt is given fantastic intensity by Harry Skoupas, whose every movement is forceful and full of threat. Lord and Lady Capulet are given an air of stately importance and imperiousness by Jonathan Hanks and Abigail Prudames – the former being all rage and intimidation, the latter being brilliantly regal and aloof.
The Nurse is a great comic figure but Heather Lehan does well to let us see the deep affection for Juliet amidst playful physicality. It’s down to Aaron Kok’s Mercutio to bring us the greatest joy though, and his striped-leg costuming marks him out swiftly as jester and scamp. Part mischievous sprite, part wind-up merchant, his shimmying and strutting serves to make him a throughly entertaining Tybalt-antagonist and comic in a performance full of flair and flamboyance.
Lez Brotherston’s set design once again delivers grand, towering spaces and in this instance, gives an almost constant sense of the chapel and crypt looming at a near distance, almost acting as our hovering prologue. Alastair West’s lighting (after Paul Pyant’s original designs) warms the space and follows the emotional cues of the tale, but Brotherston’s stonework designs remain ever in view.
And costume designs are stunning. Romeo and Juliet are given classic purity in all white, but the striking colours of the Capulets draw all attention – shimmering black with notes of red and gold declare their power before a step is taken. The addition of solid black masks and tall batons during the famous “Dance of the Knights” sequence give a military edge, casting the Capulets as Verona’s untouchable elite rather than having any nearby family claiming to be “alike in dignity”…
Admittedly, I am far more familiar with Shakespeare than ballet, but I have to say that this production offers a captivating rendition of the story of Romeo and Juliet. The performances are incredibly impressive, the choreography striking and beautiful; stage designs are atmospheric and bold, and the music is thoroughly enveloping and transporting – whether ballet is new to you or familiar, this is a production well worth seeing.
Romeo and Juliet is at Leeds Grand Theatre until March 16th 2024 – more information and tickets can be found here. The production then tours until October 2024.
Images: Emily Nuttall
Always Time For Theatre 
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