ROMEO AND JULIET. Three-act ballet. Choreography Robin van Wyk. Music Sergei Prokofiev. Costumes/Set Wardrobe/Workshop. Presented by Cape Town City Ballet. At Maynardville Open-Air Theatre. Sunday’s only at 8.15pm until February 26. SHEILA CHISHOLM reviews.
Robin van Wyk, Cape Town City Ballet’s artistic director, took a giant step mounting his own choreography onto Sergei Prokofiev’s brilliant Romeo and Juliet ballet score – one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. True! Van Wyk’s children’s ballets are popular. As are some of his compositions for adults.
However, tackling a work of this magnitude, almost, proved beyond van Wyk’s choreographic powers. Why? Because the premier’s success lay more with Prokofiev’s well trimmed graphic score, and the main protagonists acting skills, than choreographic ingenuity.
Tricky lifts and presages
While van Wyk’s pas de deux introduced some tricky lifts and presages overall, in solos, pas de deux and corps de ballet scenes van Wyk kept too rigidly to classical ballet’s classroom enchainements. Patterns too, rarely stretched further than conventional configurations.
Although clashes between Lords Montague (Johnny Bovang) and Capulet (Mervyn Williams) added to explaining the animosity between ‘two houses at variance with each other’ their clumsy wielding of two handed swords and duelling between the kinsmen tended to be unexcitingly predictable. That said, van Wyk drew exceptionally fine interpretations from Conrad Nusser as the aggressive Tybalt, Martin Milner as mercurial Mercutio and Laura Bosenberg as 13 year-old Juliet. From his first appearance to his death, Nusser’s iniquitous presence dominated.
Always spoiling for a fight, he used his considerable technique to enhance his acting skills, thereby placing his portrait into the gallery of ‘most outstanding’ Tybalt’s seen on our stages.
Light, fleet footed, with excellent ballon (bounce), Milner’s teasing and sense of humour acted as the perfect foil to Nusser’s Tybalt. A humour maintained even when mortally wounded by Tybalt’s treachery.
Bosenberg is a remarkable dancer.
With equal accomplishment she portrays roles from romantic girl (Giselle) to seductress (Odile).
Supported by Thomas Thorne, her long standing partner, she can add to her success list her enchanting performance as doll playing child growing into passionate young woman willing to die for love.
Charles Petersen’s simple set co-ordination, Luke Ellenbogen’s lighting design and costumes which clearly defined whose who, added production detail.
What: Romeo and Juliet
When: Sunday’s only at 8.15pm until Feb 26
Where: Maynardville Open-Air Theatre, Cape Town
Book: Artscape Dial-a-Seat 021 421 7695, Computicket 0861 915 8000,
http://online.computicket.com/web/event/romeo_and_juliet/1074427694
WS
