Northern Ballet dance Maillot's Romeo and Juliet: Bachtrack Magazine

Watching Northern Ballet dance Jean-Christophe Maillot's Romeo and Juliet is like setting fresh eyes on an old case. Bare designs and slick white screens set the stage for a clean, crisp and modern retelling of the Shakespeare-Prokofiev masterpiece, and the production is a reinvigorating take on the tragic love story. Juliet, played by Abigail Prudames, is fiery and Romeo, interpreted by Sean Bates, is charming. The two are young and do an excellent job, refreshingly childlike in their portryal of the lovers. Their love for one another comes through in the sensual duets they share throughout the performance. The nurse, danced by Victoria Sibson, was an audience favourite. From the moment she takes the stage, her dynamite dancing and her facial expressions offer the audience comical relief. Her character is witty, Maillot’s choreography amusing and her interpretation of the role superb. Maillot’s tongue and cheek choreography leaves little to the imagination at times, as he interjects breast grabbing, hip thrusting, and body groping into the dance.