Scottish Ballet, Romeo and Juliet @ EFT, 13 May

With flexed feet and fiery energy Krzysztof Pastor's new version of Romeo and Juliet is very much a contemporary take on the old classic, with love scenes more passionate and the fight scenes edgier than your typical ballet. Moreover, Pastor has accentuated the social context that the love story sits within to create a theatrical, entertaining production.

 

In this Romeo and Juliet, the power of society is heightened and individualism is quashed. Pastor's choreography highlights the simmering tension between the Capulets and Montagues with a spitting, flicking energy that evolves into martial arts moves. The production really comes alive in the more dramatic movements of Prokofiev's awesome score, and while it doesn't quite soar as much in the gentler interludes there are some delightful moments. The sensuality of first love is palpable as Romeo and Juliet explore beautiful connections in their pas de deux.

 

Sophie Martin's Juliet is a standout. Mercurial and temperamental, she grows from coquettish schoolgirl to devoted lover, while maintaining a strong sense of self. Paul Liburd almost steals the show as Mercutio with a fine display of athleticism and humour. Romeo is danced with a quiet grace and strength by Erik Cavallari that finds full expression in expansive open dancing after the balcony scene. Limor Ziv's powerless wife comes alive in a strong outburst of mourning, matching the intensity of her overbearing husband (Jarkko Lehmus).

 

Emphasising the dominance of society over the individual, Pastor utilises the Scottish Ballet company in group scenes to great effect and it's these scenes, when combined with Prokofiev's haunting music (beautifully played by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra), which really give this Romeo and Juliet its weight and substance. Friar Laurence's premonition of death is eerily stunning, as is the Capulet household seeming to float in from the wings to witness Juliet's limp body. These images linger in the mind and serve to underline the social mores that Romeo and Juliet fought against and lost in this timeless, yet still relevant, love story. [Susannah Radford]