BRB, 07/10/2021
Prokofiev : Romeo and Juliet
Artists of the Birmingham Royal Ballet
Royal Ballet Sinfonia
Martin Georgiev
After the Cinderella of this summer, there's no question that it's good to see the Birmingham Royal Ballet back on the substantially larger stage of the Birmingham Hippodrome. There had been a somewhat cramped feel about the Rep, which could not be helped, and it was very good of the Rep to house the company while the Hippodrome was out of commission, but dancers need space, especially when the production has been conceived for larger spaces. That said, I realised that this is the first time I've seen this show in the Hippodrome, its original home. Although it is the same choreography as the Royal Ballet's famous version, the decors and costumes are different, a little lighter, more practical for touring, obviously, amongst other things.
This Romeo and Juliet not only marked a return to the Hippodrome, it also meant performances with the orchestra in the pit, where previously, at best, the orchestra had been playing in a near-by rehearsal space and the sound was piped into the auditorium. It is unquestionably a huge advantage to have the orchestra present, live, the emotional impact is infinitely stronger. On the other hand, while the strings were playing well, the brass in particular needs some sharpening up, I heard some very odd noises coming from them at times. The conductor was a new name to me, Martin Georgiev, and I certainly enjoyed his view of the score overall, with good choices of tempi throughout. It's just a pity one should get thrown out of the magic by some squally horn playing.
On-stage, there were some occasional surprises too, most notably the Masks trio, in which Romeo (Brandon Lawrence), Mercutio (Max Maslen) and Benvolio (Alexander Yap) were not very synchronous in their pirouettes. Luckily in a later number where they're required to dance very closely together, they were much more precise and neater. Similarly, in the sword play, it's very obvious that blades are meant to clash in time with the music. It's okay if you miss the odd one, but letting it fall late is definitely awkward. Haoliang Feng, as the lead on the Mandolin Dance, actually slipped quite badly at one point. That could have been a problem on stage, something spilled at a bad place, but elsewhere in his solo, pirouettes ended messily and unevenly, a pity in an otherwise striking solo.
Other secondary roles depended more on the acting, and if I still had any doubts that Lady Capulet and Tybalt had a 'thing' going, they have definitely been put to bed by Yvonne Knight's histrionics over Tybalt's death. No sane woman behaves like that over the death of a cousin by marriage, even if he has more or less been adopted as the son of the family. Speaking of Tybalt, I suppose Rory Mackay could take the vigorous booing he received at curtain call as a mark of his successful characterisation, but really, this is not a pantomime, and Tybalt is not a moustache-twirling villain! Maslen and Yap were good foils for Romeo, lively and playful.
I've seen Brandon Lawrence a few times, and always liked him as a dancer and, indeed, there was nothing wrong with his dancing, on the whole, tonight. The problem was that he seemed a bit too mature for Romeo, lacking in the impetuousness of this teenager. Later on, after the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt, this maturity suited the role better, Romeo does have to grow up very fast, after all, but he was a little too measured at the beginning, and I did not believe in his love at first sight moment.
Celine Gittens, on the other hand, was the picture of fresh and innocent youthfulness, surprised by events, but eager to grasp them with both hands, and wholeheartedly throwing herself into them with a sense of wonder, at least until things start to go horribly wrong for her. That was the only point where I would have liked more from her. It's a notoriously difficult point; after Juliet has been presented with the ultimatum to marry Paris, she does not at first know what to do. For the magnificent, sweeping music of the scene change between her room to Friar Lawrence's chapel, MacMillan has her simply sitting at the end of her bed, completely motionless, staring out into the auditorium. The thing is, she may appear frozen on the surface, but underneath, you have to be able to sense that she is wildly processing, trying to assess every possible option, desperate to find away out of her dilemma. It's a very hard thing to project over the footlights into a large, dark auditorium, I've only really seen it successfully done maybe twice, and Gittens hasn't quite cracked it. Otherwise, though, she was a fine Juliet, sweet and touching.
[Next : 21st October]