English National Ballet first performed Rudolf Nureyev’s version of Romeo and Juliet 40 years ago, when the company was known as the London Festival Ballet. The production is back to mark ENB’s President and former Artistic Director Dame Beryl Grey’s 90th birthday.
Most ballet fans are more familiar with Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s masterpiece for the Royal Ballet, which is rarely out of that company’s repertoire for long. There are quite a few differences in the two productions, and if Nureyev’s choreography for the star-cross’d lovers never quite reaches the heavenly heights of MacMillan’s work, there is still much to admire in the ballet.
The crowd scenes, in particular, have a raw bawdiness and even if there is a little too much bottom-wriggling by Mercutio, it all adds to the fun. At the ball where Juliet first meets Romeo, the dancers perform the famous Dance of the Knights (which will be recognised by TV fans as the theme tune to The Apprentice) with vigour, clad in gorgeous deep reds and golds.
The stage at the Royal Festival Hall appears at times a little cramped for this large production – there are 60 performers in each show – and the lighting is on the gloomy side for some of the scenes.
