(Leagan Peffer & Devon Marshbank as Juliet & Romeo)
Beatles meet Shakespeare in Sean Bovim's Romeo's Kiss. (Review by Maria Schuld)
For only a short season, acclaimed choreographer Sean Bovim
brings his Romeo's Kiss onto the
Playhouse Drama stage in Durban as a co-operation between dancers from Bovim
Ballet and the Playhouse Dance Residency.
As part of Bovim's visionary mission to unite classical
ballet with pop culture in order to make it easier to digest for the masses, Romeo's Kiss takes on the famous tragic
story of two lovers from opposite social backgrounds. This time, songs from The
Beatles set the musical theme, after putting a focus on Elvis Presley and Queen
in previous hit productions.
Bovim's formula is simple: Take around 30 beautifully
remixed versions of famous pop songs and evolve the story through dances
accompanying these three-minute pieces. Whether this works or not is entirely
up to the viewer's perspective. While spectators expecting intricate classical
step sequences, a novel modern transformation of ballet or the depth of
Shakespeare's drama might be disappointed, those wanting to sing along their favourite
songs accompanied by entertaining choreographies will certainly enjoy
themselves throughout the show.
Besides Romeo and Juliet, interpreted by Devon Marshbank and
Leagan Peffer as two innocent, almost 'cute' young professionals, the couple's
respective best friends Mercutio and Nicki (danced by Jarryd Watson and Julia
Hosmer) made a charismatic appearance. An audience's favourite were Rachel
Abrahams' and Casey Swales' sexy intermezzos as Lady C and Tybalt.
The evening ended with standing ovations for the artists
while clapping to the tunes of All You
Need Is Love, and somehow the nagging feeling that the question whether
Shakespeare and the Beatles really go together has not been sufficiently
answered yet.
Romeo's Kiss runs
at the Playhouse from May 12 to 16 with performances at 19h30 on Thursday and
Saturday, and at 14h30 on Sunday. Tickets R120 booked through Computicket. - Maria
Schuld
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