'Romeo and Juliet' at The Royal Ballet

When you are fortunate enough to see the same ballet more than once, and with multiple casts, you are given not only the gift of seeing different interpretations but also the time to spend looking at the wider corps de ballet. Pulling a pair of industrial style binoculars out of your bag might not be the most glamorous accessory when at the ballet, but hell, it makes such a difference when you want to see close ups of the drama. During this latest run of Romeo and Juliet at The Royal Ballet, focusing on some of the supporting characters has been such a joy. I want to give a huge mention to Harris Bell, an Artist in the company, who has been such a captivating Capulet henchman throughout every show. He has often been cast as Tybalt’s right-hand man and I suggest everyone direct their binoculars onto him. He has commanding stage presence and is clearly a wonderful actor. He smoulders through, toying with the townspeople, supporting Tybalt, having a whale of a time, until Mercutio is killed, and then it all becomes too real. The joke has gone too far, and he looks horrified at what has just unfolded. Bell is confident on stage and takes the story into his own hands – a huge skill for such a young dancer. There’s a bright future ahead for this one. The corps are giving me everything this season, as fellow Artist Stanislaw Wegrzyn also made a perfect member of Team Capulet. Sometimes pushing and shoving, other times subtly kicking the foot of the dead peasant behind him. All small details, but with huge repercussions, as they tell the audience the kind of family that the Capulets are, and why Juliet is such an anomaly within it. Stanislaw Wegrzyn – remember the name. And dare I mention another Artist, Nadia Mullova-Barley, sometimes cast as the lead harlot, and demonstrating such strong acting chops and confidence that it’s a shock she’s never had a leading role or this kind of exposure before. She was naughty, flirtatious, caring and cheeky. Another one to watch.

The Royal Ballet in 'Romeo and Juliet', photo copyright Bill Cooper

Another benefit of seeing multiple casts is experiencing the same ballet in a new way. Every time feels like the first, which is why ballet to me is the gift that keeps on giving. We saw dancers tell the story of Romeo and Juliet in such different ways, all in keeping with the original choreography, but with the freedom to make their own marks on it. Natalia Osipova, for example, is the only Juliet I have seen to really tell the story from the eyes of a pubescent teenager. For her, this was a story about sex and lust, more so than love, and about first times, teenage angst, and that bewildering first feeling of attraction that you can only really experience when you’re young, before the world has taken its cynical and realistic grasp on you. Sure we would all feel the same way if Reece Clarke was our Romeo, but I loved how she did something new that I hadn’t seen before. She’s Osipova, so of course when she can be extra she will; it doesn’t always work for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed her depiction of the role. Clarke’s debut, that we finally saw after years of delays, was beautiful to watch. His technique was strong, his partnering secure, and his characterisation spot on. He looked to me like he had been dancing the role for years. He works so well with those around him, so his scenes in the market were wonderful because he interacts with the corps and supporting characters in such a confident way. His Romeo is passionate and loving but also strong willed. He looked so distraught to find his ‘dead’ Juliet and his final act of taking the poison was done with so much emotion.

Ryoichi Hirano as 'Tybalt', photo copyright Bill Cooper

Back to Osipova – something else I admire about her is that her energy is infectious. She gives it everything and this in turn makes all the dancers around her give everything too. The energy on that stage was so high and impactful that I was glued to my seat the whole way through. She encourages everyone else to do better and to match her. In Act 3, she was so passionate and powerful that it made Gary Avis bring out one of the most terrifyingly abusive Lord Capulets that I have seen him do. Even when she wasn’t on stage, the rest of the cast were giving the most powerful of performances. Act Two was one of the best versions of this act that I have seen for a long time. It helped that the rapport between Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio was so strong (danced by Clarke, Luca Acri and Teo Dubreuil respectively) and that we were really rooting for Romeo to avenge Mercutio’s death. I find that if Tybalt isn’t giving me strong vibes and if the bromance between the three friends isn’t working, then this entire act falls flat and ultimately the final act becomes less powerful. However if, like in this case, it’s working well, then the tragedy is being set the moment Tybalt puts his sword into Mercutio’s back. The fight scene between Clarke and Ryo Hirano’s Tybalt was so fierce and thrilling that audible gasps and shocks were heard from multiple people in the audience around me. I too was on the edge of my seat, following the two of them with such dedicated gaze, the suspense taking over my entire body. By the end of it, I felt like I needed to either down a bottle of wine or smoke a pack of cigarettes just to calm me down. I did neither, and instead steeled myself for Act Three.

The corps de ballet in 'Romeo and Juliet', photo copyright Bill Cooper

Why Juliet doesn’t just run off with Romeo in the morning, I will never know. But, hey, even a genius like Shakespeare gets it wrong sometimes. I guess one could argue that at fourteen years old making a well thought out plan isn’t a developed skill yet. One of the big demands of the dancers is to make this story as realistic and believable as possible, particularly in the final act, where Juliet must seem so frightened that the last possible option is to take the poison. It’s her last resort, and the beautiful moment where she sits on the bed to brainstorm her next steps demonstrates where this decision will ultimately lead to her death. The music tells you everything; as the orchestra swirls and builds, it’s mimicking the life-changing decisions that are being made in Juliet’s head and her final epiphany to visit the Friar for help. When Juliet returns with the potion, again the music tells us so much. It’s creepy, eerie, and the whole scene should make us want to scream and tell Juliet not to do it.

Some Juliets that I have seen during this run have been frightened, but for me, she needs to seem small in a vast and empty world. Although she has quickly matured, it must feel like she has nowhere to go, no-one left to confide in, a child trying to make the most adult of decisions. Ironically, one of the best to do this was Marianela Nunez, one of the more mature dancers currently dancing the role. Although feisty and headstrong with her parents and Paris, Nunez clearly demonstrated the worry and despair she was feeling during those alone moments in the bedroom. Her whole take on the role has been a revelation and you can tell that being coached by Alessandra Ferri has been a complete game changer. She was also the only dancer to really show how close Romeo and Juliet came to a happy ending. In the final moments when she realises Romeo is dead, she smacks both fists down into her lap and then again onto the floor, as if to say ‘we almost did it, just a couple more seconds and we would have been together.’ It all felt so close, so believable and yet all so wasted. This is exactly how I want to feel at the end. Because, as I’ve said, this is a ridiculous story. When Romeo dies and Juliet quickly awakens, it can sort of border on comical if not done well. But with Nunez, and Federico Bonelli, dancing the role of Romeo, it really felt possible. There were other small details from other Juliets in this final scene that are worth mentioning too. Anna Rose O’Sullivan telling her dead Romeo that she’s coming to join him soon, through a simple hand gesture, then violently stabbing herself, made for a tragic ending. Osipova not even debating stabbing herself and using every fibre in her body to pick up the knife and go for it, was also incredibly emotive. Mayara Magri gave one of the loudest silent screams going and Yasmine Naghdi gave us some of the most heart wrenching final moments as she pulled herself across the tomb slab.

There is such a huge responsibility on the dancers to convincingly tell this story. We can sort of forgive Shakespeare for the holes in it when we hear his beautiful poetry, but without words, it’s a tougher challenge. I have been so impressed with the current run of R&J at The Royal Ballet. Every dancer continues to keep the story alive and to make it fresh and believable. It remains one of my favourite ballets and a lot is thanks to the music and choreography, but above all, it’s thanks to the dancers who are able to bring something new to it every time it’s performed.