English National Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet Comes to Liverpool Empire This October

Nearly 50 years on, Nureyev’s Romeo & Juliet still knows exactly where it hurts.

Some stories survive because they are good. Others survive because they refuse to stop hurting. Nearly 50 years after Rudolf Nureyev created his Romeo & Juliet, English National Ballet brings the production to Liverpool Empire for three days this October, opening a national tour that will ultimately culminate at the London Coliseum, where it premiered in 1977.

Shakespeare’s tale of forbidden love needs little introduction. In Renaissance Verona, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fall desperately in love while their families remain locked in a bitter feud. Violence escalates, choices narrow and the story moves inexorably towards one of the most devastating endings in theatre.

Nureyev’s interpretation takes that familiar tragedy and gives it a physical intensity that only ballet can provide. His choreography places the dancers’ bodies at the centre of the drama, making desire, conflict, fear and grief visible without the need for words. The result is a Romeo & Juliet that is as much about human behaviour as it is about romantic idealism.

It is also a production with considerable history. Created specifically for what was then London Festival Ballet as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee celebrations, Nureyev’s Romeo & Juliet premiered at the London Coliseum on 2 June 1977 and won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Ballet that year. Nearly five decades later, it remains one of English National Ballet’s signature works.

The scale of the production is impressive. Ezio Frigerio’s sets and the costumes designed by Frigerio with Franca Squarciapino transport the action to Renaissance Italy, with 111 costumes appearing on stage at every performance. Beneath it all is Sergei Prokofiev’s extraordinary score, performed live by English National Ballet Philharmonic and including the unmistakable Dance of the Knights.

Liverpool audiences will also see a number of principal-role debuts. Aitor Arrieta and Emma Hawes appear as Romeo and Juliet on the opening night, Gareth Haw and Minju Kang take the roles on 16 October and the evening of 17 October, while Rentaro Nakaaki and Julia Conway perform on 16 October.

With five performances across 15–17 October, English National Ballet’s arrival at the Empire offers Liverpool the chance to experience one of the company’s most treasured productions at a significant moment in its history. Nureyev’s Romeo & Juliet may be approaching its 50th anniversary, but the story it tells remains painfully, passionately alive.

English National Ballet – Romeo & Juliet
15 – 17 October
Liverpool Empire Theatre
Tickets