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Brumhour saw Sir Peter Wright Centenary at the invite of Birmingham Royal Ballet.
By Dave Massey
Birmingham Royal Ballet: Sir Peter Wright Centenary/20th-Century Masterpieces at Birmingham Hippodrome: Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐A stunning array of short productions
Featuring sections from The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Giselle and Swan Lake, the opening main section of Sir Peter Wright Centenary highlighted works that have been on Birmingham Royal Ballet’s broad range of ballet productions.
This range of classical works skillfully demonstrates the wealth of productions offered by Birmingham Royal Ballet, my personal favourite being the forthcoming Swan Lake and a real treat to see Céline Gittens as Odile. Miki Mizutani and Max Maslen were delightful in the short moments of Giselle. Seeing moments from each of these productions drops you front and centre into the stories, some of which are very easy to follow and others need more of a moment to pick up the narration.
The speed of the scene changes and the shifts in tone are swift and deliberate, and the audience’s hands probably are still sore from all the well-deserved applause last night. This first night also contained an opening short performance from students at Elmhurst Ballet School, who could not be more excited to be on the stage.
After the interval, we returned to see The Green Table: A Dance of Death in Eight Scenes, a haunting forty-minute production exploring war and the lasting impact of conflict. Carlos Acosta himself took on the role of Death and seemed to relish being back on the stage with the company. The story itself is a little surreal when it comes to unboxing, and there are several moments of gunfire just to make everyone jump.
A stunning array of short productions, 20th-Century Masterpieces featuring The Green Table, is at Birmingham Hippodrome until 20th June. Discover more and book tickets here: brb.org.uk.
