Northern Ballet, Beauty and the Beast, Nottingham Theatre Royal Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Helen Whetton
I was really looking forward to watching this performance, I love Nottingham theatre Royal, The Northern Ballet and of course the story of Beauty and the Beast. However, I have mixed feelings about the performance I saw last night. So, I will start with what I liked, the costume designs were lovely they flowed, lovely bright colours on the female dancers, I loved the gentlemen suits, we really like La F`ee Magnifique’s costume (the evil fairy) played by Sarah Chan the black and green looked fantastic.
I really enjoyed the portal of the prince’s man servant, Alfred played by Filippo Di Villo, he not only kept the prince in check but also the beast. His dancing and even his walking on stage was beautiful, and he look perfect.
My favourite scene is when Beauty played by Dominique Larose is given a dream by the good fairy La Fe`e Luminaire and she is dancing with Prince Orian played by Jonathan Hanks. The dancing was exquisite, it was beautiful as they glided across the stage, very emotional. I also enjoyed the way the prince turned into the beast; it had been extremely well thought out. Kevin Poeung played the Beast, I loved his portrayal, he showed great emotion and dexterity, climbing walls and jumping on tables. I loved the scenery and the light effects; I especially liked the roses coming out of the walls to represent the garden. Having a live Orchestra is fantastic when you are watching the Ballet, and last night’s Orchestra did not disappoint. The musical score kept the whole Ballet together. Due to their musicality and the fact Northern Ballet Company may have to lose some of its live music in their productions, the Orchestra received the biggest applause and standing ovation off the night.
Now onto what I did not really enjoy about the performance, personally and this is my opinion I did not see the point of Beauty’s two sisters or the comedically of the bailiff’s or indeed the sprites. The sisters and the bailiffs took time out of the performance that I think could have been used elsewhere such as the Beast and Beauty falling in love as I thought these scenes were rushed compared with the rest of the Ballet. The reason I was not keen on the sprites is because just as the ballet was getting intense, beautiful dancing between Beauty and Prince Orian the Sprites come on and make everyone laugh, to us it spoilt the moment. Even if they did play the comedic part very well. I felt that the courtship between the Beast and Beauty could have been longer it felt rushed for such an important part of the story. I also felt that the changing for beast back into a prince could have been made more of, maybe by using the lights a little more. I was not expecting a Disney ballet with dancing teapots and singing wardrobes; however, I did feel that the story could have been portrayed a little better. As much as I love the Northern Ballet company, unfortunately, it is not a production I will be rushing to watch again.
Rating: I would personally give it a rating of 3/5
Nottingham Theatre Royal, Theatre square, Nottingham, NG15ND. Telephone 0115 9895555
https://trch.co.uk
Prices range from £15.00 – 52.00 running time of approx 2hrs 5mins.
https://northernballet.com/beauty-and-the-beast
Rating: 3/5