Romeo and Juliet was Kenneth MacMillan's
first full-evening ballet, and, from its premiere in 1965, has been
one of The Royal Ballet's signature works, popular all over the
world. At the beginning of the ballet MacMillan's crowd scenes teem
with life and colour. It's a pleasure to be able to follow the
characters created by members of the corps de ballet as they
portray the townspeople, market traders and servants of the rival
Montagues and Capulets. However, once Romeo and Juliet meet,
everything else on stage can only be scenery for their story. Three
great pas de deux: the meeting in the ballroom, the balcony scene
and the morning after the wedding, eloquently convey the narrative:
adolescent shyness and fascination; the headlong rush of love
declared, and the grief of parting. The final scene in the tomb, a
pas de deux with a lifeless partner, is devastating. The Royal
Ballet has performed Romeo and Juliet well over 400 times, yet each
performance is subtly different. Every pairing in the title roles
brings fresh nuances to the young lovers' characters, while the
wealth of supporting roles, from the exuberant trio of harlots in
the town square to the murderous rage of Tybalt, offers scope for
dancers throughout the Company. Nicholas Georgiadis's earthy
Renaissance designs, with some of the original details recently
restored, are the perfect backdrop.
22TH March at 19.15.
Ticket Prices: Adults: £10 Child, Senior, Teen and Student:
£7.50
She Stroops to Conquer:
National Theatre Live
Hardcastle, a man of
substance, looks forward to acquainting his daughter
with his old pal's son with a view to marriage. But thanks to
playboy Lumpkin, he's mistaken by his prospective son-in-law Marlow
for an innkeeper, his daughter for the local barmaid. The good news
is, while Marlow can barely speak to a woman of quality he's a
charmer with those of a different stamp. And so, as Hardcastle's
indignation intensifies, Miss Hardcastle's appreciation for her
misguided suitor soars. Misdemeanours multiply, love blossoms,
mayhem ensues.
29th March at
19.00. Ticket Prices: Adult £12.50 Child Senior, Teen and
students £10
The Comedy of Errors:
National Theatre Live
Two sets of twins separated at birth
collide in the same city without meeting for one crazy day, as
multiple mistaken identities lead to confusion on a grand
scale. And for no one more so than Antipholus of Syracuse and
his servant Dromio who, in search of their brothers, arrive in a
land entirely foreign to their distant home. A buzzing
metropolis, to the outsiders it appears a place of wonderment and
terror, where baffling gifts and unexplained hostilities
abound.
Consistently recognised by strangers, the visitors question their
very selves as the turmoil escalates. Meanwhile, Aegeon, father to
the Antipholus twins, has been captured searching for his sons and,
as an illegal immigrant, is sentenced to death at sunset.
Shakespeare's furiously paced comedy will be staged in a
contemporary world into which walk three prohibited foreigners who
see everything for the first time. Lenny Henry plays
Antipholus of Syracuse.
29th March at
19.00. Ticket Prices: Adult £12.50 Child Senior, Teen and
students £10
