REVIEW: Romeo and Juliet at MK Theatre

English National Ballet's Star-Crossed Lovers

Review of Romeo and Juliet at MK Theatre

Romeo and Juliet at MK Theatre

Once again, the English National Ballet have achieved great things with their performance of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a classic tragedy by William Shakespeare, but when told through ballet, it becomes even more of a dramatic, passionate piece.

From the world famous balcony scene with two star-crossed lovers, to their tragic final moments, this energetic performance literally had it all. Sergei Prokofiev’s live score, performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic, was absolutely breath-taking; it accompanied the ballet with such cleverness and panache.

Romeo and Juliet themselves - played by Isaac Hernandez and Erina Takahashi - were cast fantastically well; they were believable and their dancing told such a powerful story.  Having said this, the one dancer who really stood out was in fact Mercutio, played by 19-year-old Cesar Corrales. His comical dancing solos and immature nature worked in brilliant timing with the orchestra’s score – the humour entwined throughout his dancing isn’t something I’ve seen before in ballet. 

The most significant scene by far was the final Act, as Romeo lay dead and Juliet awoke to find him. However another immensely powerful Act was that led by Tybalt and Mercutio: the fight scene. Even though the set design was very simple, it was particularly effective in this scene; the clashing of swords really had the audience in utter silence, completely in awe of the actors’ skills teamed with Rudolf Nureyev’s powerful choreography.

The show’s last night at Milton Keynes is on 24^th October – visit atgtickets.com to book.