Movies
The magic of The Royal Ballet comes to the Big Screen with Cinema Nouveau
CLASSICAL BALLET PRODUCTION OF ROMEO AND JULIET TELLS THE TRAGIC TALE OF SHAKESPEARE’S STAR-CROSSED LOVERS
Kenneth MacMillan’s ground-breaking ballet is a 20th-century classic.
A season of five famous ballets from the Royal Ballet is being screened at Cinema Nouveau theatres over the next few months. The season launched with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in March, and then Swan Lake in May. The third production to be shown on the big screen is the ballet adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragic tale of the star-crossed lovers.Romeo and Juliet, set to Sergey Prokofiev’s beautiful music and choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan, releases exclusively at Cinema Nouveau theatres on Saturday, 06 June, for limited screenings.
Given its premiere by The Royal Ballet in 1965 with Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn dancing the title roles, Kenneth MacMillan’s first full-evening ballet has become a signature work for the Company, enjoying great popularity around the world. The story is set against a wonderful evocation of 16th-century Verona, and includes a bustling marketplace that erupts into a violent sword fight, and a lavish ball held in an elegant mansion.
From the outset, the production teems with life and colour as the townspeople, market traders and servants of the rival Montagues and Capulets go about their daily business in vibrant crowd scenes. But it is Romeo (danced by Federico Bonelli) and Lauren Cuthbertson’s Juliet who take centre stage for the ballet’s great pas de deux.
Although The Royal Ballet has performed Romeo and Juliet over 400 times, each performance and pairing is subtly different, and Lauren Cuthbertson and Federico Bonelli are utterly captivating in the title roles. This performance was captured on camera, live from Covent Garden, to broadcast on the big screen in cinemas worldwide.
Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan’s poignant setting of Sergey Prokofiev’s classic score draws out the emotional and psychological intensity of the tale. Romeo and Juliet contains three passionate pas de deux: the lovers’ first meeting, the famous balcony scene and the devastating final tragedy, in which Romeo dances desperately with the lifeless Juliet.
MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet first arrived at Covent Garden in 1965. Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn took the title roles on the opening night – MacMillan had originally created the work on Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable. Nevertheless, Fonteyn and Nureyev’s performance had a rapturous reception, with 43 curtain calls and almost forty minutes of applause. The ballet has been at the heart of the Company’s repertory ever since, amassing more than four hundred performances. This classic production has been toured around the world and in 2011 was adapted for arena-scale performances at the O2 Arena.
The story, the cast and crew:
Romeo and Juliet fall passionately in love, but their families are sworn enemies. The lovers marry in secret before Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin Tybalt in a fight and is banished from the city. Juliet’s family arrange for her to marry Paris. To escape, Juliet takes a potion that makes her appear lifeless. Romeo does not receive the message explaining her plan; thinking her dead, he goes to her tomb and kills himself. She wakes, sees Romeo’s corpse and stabs herself.
Romeo: Federico Bonelli
Juliet: Lauren Cuthbertson
Mercutio: Alexander Campbell
Tybalt: Bennet Gartside
Benvolio: Dawid Trzensimiech
Paris: Vale Rihristov
Lord Capulet: Christopher Saunders
Lady Capulet: Christina Arestis
Escalus Prince of Verona: Gary Avis
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, conducted by Barry Wordsworth
Choreography: Kenneth MacMillan
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: Ross McGibbon, a former member of The Royal Ballet, directs the live cinema production, which also includes exclusive backstage footage and interviews with the cast and crew.
View some video clips of The Royal Ballet’s performance of Romeo and Juliet here:
Romeo and Juliet releases on South African screens on Saturday, 06 June for four screenings only – on 06, 10 and 11 June at 19:30 and on 07 June at 14:30 – only at Cinema Nouveau theatres in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town. Bookings are now open. The running time of this ballet production is 2hrs and 33mins, with one 20-minute interval after Act I.
For booking information on the Royal Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet, visit www.cinemanouveau.co.za or sterkinekor.mobi. Folllow us on Twitter @nouveaubuzz or on Facebook at Cinema Nouveau. Download the Ster-Kinekor App on any Nokia, Samsung Android, iPhone and Blackberry smart phones for updates, news and to book from your mobile. For queries, call TicketLine on 0861 Movies (668 437).
The other two ballets of the Royal Ballet season to be screened at Cinema Nouveau are: La Fille mal Gardée (27 June) and The Winter’s Tale (08 August).
Author: Durbanite
If you are a lover of Durban and you hear of the word ‘Suncoast’, you would automatically be thinking: Casino and Entertainment World – well, if it was only ‘Casino’… then good job!
BUT it’s not all about the casino or the restaurants… it’s also about the movies, which brings us to the point of this post where we review Deadpool 2 at Suncoast’s Cinecentre.
FUN FACT: Cinecentre is part of the Avalon Group which is South Africa’s largest and oldest independent Cinema Exhibition and Entertainment Company – they have been a pioneer of importing Bollywood movies to South Africa for over 70 years.
DEADPOOL 2: REVIEW
DP 2’s elaborate anti-marketing campaign has been simply brilliant by bashing popular pop-culture while also making fun of itself. Ryan Reynolds, who plays both DP and Juggernaut, has once again pulled out all the stops to
deliver an entertaining and hysterically funny anti-hero flick that will appeal to all DP 1 fans.
Storyline: This blockbuster brings together X-Force, Bill Skarsgard, Terry Crews and Brad Pitt (who’s out of sight), a team of misfit hero’s on a mission to save a troubled mutant boy (Russell “Rusty” Collins) from a time traveling cyborg (Cable), played by Josh Brolin, who lugs around a beast of a gun and other advanced weaponry. But it doesn’t end as you may think.
The movies ability to break down the fourth wall without skipping a beat is what makes this film special. This brilliant idea that DP knows he is a fictional character living in a comic book universe could even be expanded upon in future installments, and hopefully it will be. All DP’s literal back breaking and head splitting weirdness mixed with a kind of super consciousness of his own reality should keep all die hard comic book movie fans coming back time and again.
Expect some rib-tickling one-liners, plenty of trash talking and loads of action. DP 2 scores and solid 8 out of 10, so book your tickets now at CINECENTRE!
Suncost Casino and Entertainment World
Centrally located at the northern end of Durban‘s Golden Mile, Suncoast is always a hub of activity. Not only a great spot to visit if you are a local but for tourists to our beautiful city as well. Currently under construction, we found that parking was a mission and running across the lot in the rain not very pleasant, but this is our only negative about our Suncoast experience. On a good note, a little birdie says that part of the new building will be undercover parking – which we think is fantastic!
Author: Durbanite
Author: Shelley
There’s just something so electric about going to the movies at Suncoast Casino. With all the lights and vibrant shops & restaurants, you’re immediately transported to a magical place that can only be felt in reality!
We were recently invited to experience the new Tomb Raider movie at Suncoast Casino, and boy were we in for a treat!
Arriving at Suncoast, we made our way to the food court to grab a bite before the movie. Even though there were renovations taking place, it didn’t dampen the atmosphere as Suncoast was still jam-packed full of families and couples alike.
After our quick dinner for two, we headed towards the CincCentre to finally watch the movie I had been dying to watch, Tomb Raider! As a little girl, I grew up playing the Tomb Raider games, and of course, was beyond excited to watch the all new take on the movie franchise.
We queued for our popcorn & drinks which was a breeze.
I loved how Suncoast’s CineCentre give you extra packets of popcorn spice in case you needed it later on in the movie!
After making our way to our seats, we were ready and excited for the movie to begin. Our movie was in 3D and we came prepared, with pre-purchased 3D glasses from a previous movie. So if you’re buying a pair, be sure to keep it somewhere safe for the next time!
My take on the Tomb Raider movie?
I thought it was an incredible, fresh new take on the franchise and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Check out the trailer:
Book your next Suncoast movie here
Author: Durbanite
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