Romeo and Juliet
Rudolf Nureyev (chor). Music by Prokofiev
English National Ballet
Palace Theatre, Manchester
October 21-25, 2026; 2hrs 55 mins (two intervals)
It’s difficult to say much that is new about this well-loved piece, created by Rudolf Nureyev for the London Festival Ballet to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, mainly for himself to star in.
Verona as a medieval place of violence and sex? Check. Muscular dancing with men displaying all their credentials? Check. All the ballet moves included from pas de deux to chasse-pas de bourree-glissade-assemble. Check. Prokofiev's fabulous score? Check and check again.
But the magic remainsi. From the opening music, by the (live) musicians under the energetic baton of Ben Pope, we are all in a savage city, feeling the violence and tension between the opposing factions. In Manchester it would be red and blue. Here it is the slightly more artistic red and green.
With costumes to die for - as some do - artistic director Aaron Watkins has gone to town in ensuring that all the passion, sexual chemistry and pure movement are on show.
In this he has the central performances of the star-crossed lovers, to ensure the original vision is intact. Aitor Arrieta as Romeo and Emma Hawes as Juliet are substantial figures, with heft and power in their dancing - not Sylvan figures like some of the corps. They are real people who bleed, love and die with passion.
Gustav Carvalho as Mercutio is a character we all recognise; on the terraces, reducing tension with a few well-crafted insults that have both sides laughing; coarse but fun. A great companion and dancer, as are all the cast. There is even a small nod to local culture with an apparent clog dance.
The dancers, costumes, story and medieval references attract the eye, but what always gives this production a special resonance is the music. Prokofiev may have had a strange grasp on the original - with his wish to give the story a happy ending - but we can attribute this to the strange, Stalinist times in which he lived. ENB's orchestra produces an all-encompassing musical world, perfectly suited to the passionate city in which the ballet is set. The players provide ballast for the corps' set pieces; soaring melody for the love duets, melancholy for the various deaths, and highlight the tragic, comic death of Mecutio.
If you see only one classical ballet, this is probably it...
More info and tickets here
