Do companies discuss their repertoire beforehand?

[lyn]

Hi!

 

Just had a really random question pop into my head.. does anyone know if companies discuss their repertoires with each other beforehand? I ask because you don't often see a conflict of say, one giselle from both ENB and RB in one season. Or do they not conflict because they have different licenses to the material? Does the central Ashton foundation for example, decide who gets to produce what/when? What about works that don't have gatekeepers like that?

 

Curious to know how it all works!

Thanks!

[alison]

Well, there was a time a few years back when the ballet audience had Cinderellas coming out of its metaphorical ears, so I suspect that there probably isn't that much discussion going on.  OTOH, am I right in thinking that both the RB and BRB use Peregrine the Shetland pony for La Fille Mal Gardee?  In that case, there must be some dovetailing of performances because he can't be in both places at once.  (Does that also go for the pigeons in The Two Pigeons?  Not that that's been much of a problem in the past, of course).

[Jan McNulty]

That's a really interesting question Lyn and I, for one, would love an answer.

 

A few years ago IIRC we were deluged with productions of Romeo and Juliet.

 

 

[Two Pigeons]

I seem to remember a time when everyone was doing Giselle, including whatever visitors there were around.

Edited June 6, 2017 by Two Pigeons
Repetition

[Nicola H]

I suppose  some of it  will depend on  the licensing  stuff ,  in terms of MT  i know  the licencing people  keep a   good grip on it  ( and  in the past  where schools or  Ad Dram had booked  a piece  several years in advance and  then  a pro company  decides to  do it,  restrictions on advertising etc have been placed on the  school / am dram  groups  -  I think a few  places go caught out   before the mid 90s  revival of Grease i nthe west end ) 

[capybara]

I think that there is an 'awareness' of one another's rep. For example, ENB toured R & J in the autumn of 2015 but did not show it at the Coliseum after Nutcracker. This may have been because the RB had had a long run of the ballet in London 2/3 months prior.

 

Clearly, this year, there has been direct collaboration among a number of companies in relation to the MacMillan celebration. And, of course Kevin O'Hare is on the Board of Northern Ballet.

 

However, there are now three companies (RB, ENB and BRB) mounting Nutcracker in London concurrently. It will be interesting to see whether all play to full houses.

[Bruce]

There is a regular meeting/forum where most companies talk about what they plan. But I don't believe anybody is under an obligation to avoid a clash. It makes sense to, but sometimes institutions can be bloody minded etc. I seem to recall a few years ago that just before ENB were due to present Manon for the first time, RB reminded everybody how it should be done...

[alison]

I maintained at the time that it might actually have helped ENB to have reviews of the ballet appearing not that long before their tour, given that it's a ballet that I'd guess most of their usual audience might not be too familiar with.  Just to give a bit of a higher profile than it might otherwise have had.  I'd have thought the London audience would probably have been the only one adversely affected by the clash.

[mauriceC]

As ENB and BRB are both taking Romeo and Juliet to Bristol  next season,ok...different productions...,one would suspect the answer is no.Presumably the theatres must have some "say" in what they take though?Has been a problem for as long as I remember and happens all the time with Shakespeare...this year Twelfth Night is all over the place,last year it was Lear.