Romeo & Juliet, Churchill Theatre Bromley

I went to see the Moscow City Ballet perform Romeo & Juliet at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley on Wednesday night and it was absolutely fantastic!

The performance was split into three Acts, the first was setting the scene and was a little slow in parts, having said that any guys out there would still really enjoy the dances wear Juliet gets changed on stage in a very revealing skin coloured bodysuit.   The performance really started to grip me towards the end of the first Act when a brilliant dancer brought it to life to the sound of the music everyone knows from the BBCs ‘Apprentice’ being played dramatically by a superb orchestra.   At the first interval (and my first glass of red) I was wishing I had bought a programme to fully understand the ins and outs of the story – before it started I didn’t think I needed to buy one because we all know the story of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ don’t we?  Well I learnt that although yes I do know the main parts that I was a little lacking in the detail. 

From the beginning of the second Act I forgot all about wanting a programme – I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, the story was clear to see from the dance, the fight scenes were brilliantly choreographed and the death scene of one of Romeo’s friends, or it could have been a relative – you can’t really work that out from the dancing, was spellbinding.  From then on I was hooked. 

The romance between Romeo and Juliet was far more than some wishy washy girl/boy love story – these two couldn’t keep their hands off each other.  Their passionate dancing was mixed with loads of kissing and fondling – something I’ve never seen at the ballet before and it really made the story come alive.  When Romeo thinks that Juliet is dead he dances around with her like she is a rag doll – I have no idea how she made herself so floppy – particularly when he kept dropping her on the floor in his grief – I don’t know how she isn’t covered in bruises!

The final scenes were as sad as you would expect and when the curtain come down you could hear the audience had loved it and when the dancers came out to take their bows you could see they had really enjoyed it too – they were laughing and joking about with each other which was a great way to end a wonderful nights entertainment.