Jan McNulty Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 The dates for BRB's Spring Tour have appeared on the website: https://www.brb.org.uk/shows/the-sleeping-beauty I think Southampton and Birmingham had already been announced. Mayflower Theatre, Southampton - 08-10 February 2024 Hippodrome, Birmingham - 21 February - 02 March 2024 The Lowry, Salford - 06-09 March 2024 Empire, Sunderland - 14-16 March 2024 Theatre Royal, Plymouth - 20-23 March 2024 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Still doing a very limited number of performances in Southampton, I see. It seems to be a post-pandemic thing, because I've noticed shows at my local theatre only being Thursday-Saturday whereas before they'd have been Tues-Sat. A financial necessity, I suppose, but it's frustrating if you find out that they're sold out as I did with Swan Lake earlier this month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 "The Sleeping Beauty returns to Theatre Royal Plymouth next year (20-23 March 2024). Our early booking offer saves you 10% on standard prices - buy now for the best prices and the best choice of seats. If you book for both The Sleeping Beauty and Black Sabbath – The Ballet there's an even better 25% saving. And if you're bringing an Under-16 to the show everyone in your group pays just £25*. Please note, all offers are subject to availability and can be withdrawn at any time; only one offer can be applied per ticket)" That's an interesting way round of doing it: normally you'd dangle the carrot of "buy the big 3-acter and get a discount on the unknown one", but obviously not in this case 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 8 minutes ago, Emeralds said: Am also very pleased that they will be able to bring their production of Peter Wright's Sleeping Beauty to Sadler's Wells in April. Ooh, are they? I'm very pleased to hear it. It doesn't seem to be on Sadler's Wells website yet. Any indication of dates? Looking at BRB's website it could be either before or after Bristol. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 (edited) They had printed leaflets out in the theatre, @Dawnstar ! 😀 Actual printed leaflets on paper, and confirmed (just in case anyone was worried it was a prank?) in the souvenir programme in an ad for Sleeping Beauty stating they will be in Southampton, Birmingham, Salford, Sunderland, Plymouth, Bristol, London. Five performances. The dates are Wed 24 April to Saturday 27 April, all evening performances at 7.30pm and a Saturday matinee on 27 April at 2pm. I must admit that I too did a double take when I saw the leaflets as I hadn't seen anything about them visiting London on the SWT or BRB websites. Booking is due to open on 3 November. Edited October 22, 2023 by Emeralds 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 3 minutes ago, Emeralds said: They had printed leaflets out in the theatre, @Dawnstar! Actual printed leaflets on paper, and confirmed (just in case anyone was worried it was a prank?) in the souvenir programme as visiting London. Five performances. The dates are Wed 24 April to Saturday 27 April, all evening performances at 7.30pm and a Saturday matinee on 27 April at 2pm. I must admit that I too did a double take when I saw the leaflets as I hadn't seen anything about them visiting London on the SWT or BRB websites. Booking is due to open on 3 November. BRB often don't put details on their website until the tickets are on sale! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 6 minutes ago, Emeralds said: The dates are Wed 24 April to Saturday 27 April, all evening performances at 7.30pm and a Saturday matinee on 27 April at 2pm. I must admit that I too did a double take when I saw the leaflets as I hadn't seen anything about them visiting London on the SWT or BRB websites. Booking is due to open on 3 November. Thanks. I won't be able to afford to book when booking opens, and I don't want to until casting is announced anyway, but I'll add those dates to my "Dates To Reserve" list. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 2 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said: BRB often don't put details on their website until the tickets are on sale! Haha....that explains it! It's still ample time to plan anyway, and good news is always more welcome than a cancellation! I have already sneaked a peek at my schedule and I see it is really close to a project deadline (literally same week), but aha!....I can do Friday night, Saturday matinee or Saturday night but can't do all three (although I bet I'll be really tempted to when casting comes out). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 5 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: Thanks. I won't be able to afford to book when booking opens, and I don't want to until casting is announced anyway, but I'll add those dates to my "Dates To Reserve" list. With the exception of Black Sabbath the Ballet where tickets went faster than Glastonbury or the Taylor Swift world tour, with BRB at Sadler's Wells there's often plenty of time to wait to book, so no need to rush on 3 November. I'd say once casting has come out or 6 weeks before the performances (whichever is later) that is probably about the right time to book if you want to have a good selection of seats to choose from. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 3 minutes ago, Emeralds said: With the exception of Black Sabbath the Ballet where tickets went faster than Glastonbury or the Taylor Swift world tour, with BRB at Sadler's Wells there's often plenty of time to wait to book, so no need to rush on 3 November. I'd say once casting has come out or 6 weeks before the performances (whichever is later) that is probably about the right time to book if you want to have a good selection of seats to choose from. Fortunately I had no interest in seeing Black Sabbeth. I'm hoping casting will be announced with a reasonable amount of notice. As the Saturday date clashes with a double ROH Swan Lake I'd also want to find out the casting for that (which I imagine will be announced before BRB's) before making a decision. Doing a double of SB & SL in the same day could be interesting! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: Fortunately I had no interest in seeing Black Sabbeth. I'm hoping casting will be announced with a reasonable amount of notice. As the Saturday date clashes with a double ROH Swan Lake I'd also want to find out the casting for that (which I imagine will be announced before BRB's) before making a decision. Doing a double of SB & SL in the same day could be interesting! Dawnstar, I thought the exact same thing as you about Black Sabbath the Ballet....then found myself clicking repeatedly on the Sadler's Wells website last month to look for returns when the reviews and casting came out! (I won't be buying Black Sabbath albums after watching that- sorry Tony Iommi- but I definitely would watch BSTB again if they revived it at SWT.) But I think I do appreciate their music more after seeing the ballet and might click on a few official YouTube recordings of their songs from time to time. Swan Lake is a long run so I expect the RB cast you want might be doing at least one or possibly two other dates even if there's a clash with BRB - though of course those dates might well clash with something else! This looks like the mega tour of Don Quixote (ah bliss) in 2021-22 and Swan Lake (ah bliss) in 2022-23 where the casts were announced quite far in advance so hopefully the same practice will be adopted for SB. Haha- a "Tchaikovsky classics double" on the same day will be quite luxurious in a wild sort of way! Actually, I might end up doing the same. The first thought that occurred to me was that if I skipped one SL I could probably use the funds to see three Sleeping Beauties (even though I'm not supposed to)! Edited October 22, 2023 by Emeralds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 4 minutes ago, Emeralds said: Dawnstar, I thought the exact same thing as you about Black Sabbath the Ballet....then found myself clicking repeatedly on the Sadler's Wells website last month to look for returns when the reviews and casting came out! (I won't be buying Black Sabbath albums after watching that- sorry Tony Iommi- but I definitely would watch BSTB again if they revived it at SWT.) But I think I do appreciate their music more after seeing the ballet and might click on a few official YouTube recordings of their songs from time to time. Swan Lake is a long run so I expect the RB cast you want might be doing at least one or possibly two other dates even if there's a clash with BRB - though of course those dates might well clash with something else! This looks like the mega tour of Don Quixote (ah bliss) in 2021-22 and Swan Lake (ah bliss) in 2022-23 where the casts were announced quite far in advance so hopefully the same practice will be adopted for SB. Haha- a "Tchaikovsky classics double" on the same day will be quite luxurious in a wild sort of way! Actually, I might end up doing the same. The first thought that occurred to me was that if I skipped one SL I could probably use the funds to see three Sleeping Beauties (even though I'm not supposed to)! I read all the reviews, and am still reading all the comments hence seeing your post on this thread, but none of them have made me want to see it. Hopefully each SL cast will have at least 2 dates but in the last run Calvert & Edmonds only had the 1 performance so you never know. Though there were so many debuts last time that I hope there won't be many this time because my finances won't stand it given how eye-watering the prices are. I actually waited until the last minute to book for Don Q at Sadler's Wells because I wanted to see a particular Don & Sancho Panza and it was only the 2 leads who were announced well in advance. I didn't see BRB's SL because it didn't come to London & I didn't feel I could justify trekking up to Birmingham given the uncertainty with train strikes & that I'd seen ENB's production twice only weeks earlier. I'll probably only see SB once, given it's at SW for such a short time. My Prince casting preference is either Dingman & Monaghan so it'll depend on who they get paired with. Does anyone know if Samara Downs is back dancing yet? I remember hearing she was on maternity leave a while back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 Just now, Dawnstar said: Though there were so many debuts last time that I hope there won't be many this time because my finances won't stand it given how eye-watering the prices are. I hope so - my only definite to book would be Akane Takada as she didn't get to perform Odette/Odile last time. And if Melissa Hamilton gets a chance - let's hope - I would certainly book for her, but that's about it depending on who might debut from the first soloists. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 5 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: I hope so - my only definite to book would be Akane Takada as she didn't get to perform Odette/Odile last time. And if Melissa Hamilton gets a chance - let's hope - I would certainly book for her, but that's about it depending on who might debut from the first soloists. Lamb is my top priority as I only saw her do half of Act II last time & it might well be her last go at the role. I'm not sure I can necessarily see any of the First Soloists getting a go, unless Calvert is back from maternity leave but that doesn't seem that likely. Since Hamilton doesn't seem to have been cast in any role in Don Q I'm not even bothering to hope she might get to do Odette/Odile. Given BRB has 6 male Principals I wonder which one won't get to do a London SB performance? I can imagine that being a slightly awkward choice for the ballet staff! At least the 5 female Principals will fit nicely with the 5 London performances, or a First Soloist get a go if Downs hasn't returned or if anyone is injured. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: I read all the reviews, and am still reading all the comments hence seeing your post on this thread, but none of them have made me want to see it. Hopefully each SL cast will have at least 2 dates but in the last run Calvert & Edmonds only had the 1 performance so you never know. Though there were so many debuts last time that I hope there won't be many this time because my finances won't stand it given how eye-watering the prices are. I actually waited until the last minute to book for Don Q at Sadler's Wells because I wanted to see a particular Don & Sancho Panza and it was only the 2 leads who were announced well in advance. I didn't see BRB's SL because it didn't come to London & I didn't feel I could justify trekking up to Birmingham given the uncertainty with train strikes & that I'd seen ENB's production twice only weeks earlier. I'll probably only see SB once, given it's at SW for such a short time. My Prince casting preference is either Dingman & Monaghan so it'll depend on who they get paired with. Does anyone know if Samara Downs is back dancing yet? I remember hearing she was on maternity leave a while back. I did exactly the same for Don Q - I wanted to see Laura Day as Sancho Panza and was very pleased that she was in the same cast as a few of the others I wanted to catch. I still didn't manage to see all the Kitris and Basilios I wanted, but am so pleased that I saw Yijing Zhang, Brandon Lawrence and Alexander Yap in featured roles in DQ before they went abroad (that also applies to to Laura Day of course). Of the principals Samara Downs wasn't in Black Sabbath (nor Cesar Morales or Max Maslen) so I hope she (and Morales and Maslen) will be in Sleeping Beauty [on the Friday and Saturday!]. She was one of the best Myrthas ever when they brought Giselle to Sadler's Wells in 2019 and that was the last time I saw her dance. Cesar Morales was an outstanding Albrecht at that same performance- also the last time I saw him dance. Fingers crossed for all three of them that they'll be dancing in London in April. Edited October 22, 2023 by Emeralds 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 5 minutes ago, Emeralds said: I did exactly the same for Don Q - I wanted to see Laura Day as Sancho Panza and was very pleased that she was in the same cast as a few of the others I wanted to catch. I still didn't manage to see all the Kitris and Basilios I wanted, but am so pleased that I saw Yijing Zhang, Brandon Lawrence and Alexander Yap in featured roles in DQ before they went abroad (that also applies to to Laura Day of course). Of the principals Samara Downs wasn't in Black Sabbath (nor Cesar Morales or Max Maslen) so I hope she (and Morales and Maslen) will be in Sleeping Beauty [on the Friday and Saturday!]. She was one of the best Myrthas ever when they brought Giselle to Sadler's Wells in 2019 and that was the last time I saw her dance. So did I. I was very pleased to get to see Day, Payne, Monaghan & Mizutani all in the same cast. I only saw it the once, as it was a short run & I already had a couple of other things booked the same week. I really liked Downs in Hobson's Choice in 2018 but since then all I've to seen her do was Clara's mother, which isn't exactly the biggest role! I didn't manage to see BRB's Giselle at all. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Perregrino Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 10 hours ago, Dawnstar said: Given BRB has 6 male Principals I wonder which one won't get to do a London SB performance? I can imagine that being a slightly awkward choice for the ballet staff! At least the 5 female Principals will fit nicely with the 5 London performances, or a First Soloist get a go if Downs hasn't returned or if anyone is injured. If past BRB tours are anything to go by, I’d be surprised if the Sadlers Wells performances were spread over all the available principals. More likely, 2 couples will get two shows and one couple will get a matinee. The other principals will dance in other cities. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheilaC Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 The BRB website doesn't seem to be updated. It still lists Samara Downs as a principal but I think she's stopped dancing, having moved into repetiteur work after completing a notation qualification (this isn't listed, either). One sure thing about the casting, it will feature starrier names than the tour they take to Sunderland! But it's a wonderful production, well worth seeing whoever dances. And of course there are lots of solo roles for dancers, both established and up and coming. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnePigeon Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 It’s good BRB are bringing Sleeping Beauty to London and I’m glad it’s the Peter Wright version, but I can’t help feeling frustrated that all the major companies seem to be dancing the same few ballets within a short period of time. We just had The RB’s Sleeping Beauty and ENB and RB keep clashing with their Cinderella/Nutcracker/Swan Lakes. I guess they’re all bringing out the old war horses to guarantee income, but there are so many other ballets I wish I could see instead...Fille anyone? 😏 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 1 hour ago, OnePigeon said: It’s good BRB are bringing Sleeping Beauty to London and I’m glad it’s the Peter Wright version, but I can’t help feeling frustrated that all the major companies seem to be dancing the same few ballets within a short period of time. We just had The RB’s Sleeping Beauty and ENB and RB keep clashing with their Cinderella/Nutcracker/Swan Lakes. I guess they’re all bringing out the old war horses to guarantee income, but there are so many other ballets I wish I could see instead...Fille anyone? 😏 Fille: yes, yes and thrice yes. Actually, a thousand times yes! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 I almost daren’t mention wanting Fille again on here!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 But I only just have ….on another thread 🙄 I think it’s become a trigger word!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 6 minutes ago, LinMM said: I almost daren’t mention wanting Fille again on here!!! Mention away, Lin. BRB also has Fille in its rep so perfectly ok to mention here. And I hope that the more we mention it, the more likely it will be for the penny to drop and for it to be performed somewhere or the other in the UK. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, OnePigeon said: It’s good BRB are bringing Sleeping Beauty to London and I’m glad it’s the Peter Wright version, but I can’t help feeling frustrated that all the major companies seem to be dancing the same few ballets within a short period of time. We just had The RB’s Sleeping Beauty and ENB and RB keep clashing with their Cinderella/Nutcracker/Swan Lakes. I guess they’re all bringing out the old war horses to guarantee income, but there are so many other ballets I wish I could see instead...Fille anyone? 😏 Love BRB in Fille, but would also love to see Peter Wright's magnificent and stunning production of Sleeping Beauty, which hasn't been in London for a decade (and will be 11 years when BRB come in April next year). The last time they came to London in 2013, the principals who danced Aurora and Florimund were the cohort who have now retired- Jenna Roberts, Elisha Willis, Nao Sakuma, Natasha Oughtred, Jamie Bond, Iain McKay, Chi Cao, etc (I can't remember if Cesar Morales was Florimund in London or one of the four Act 1 Princes or Bluebird etc, and likewise Momoko Hirata -?Aurora or Florine & Christening Fairies?) ...so it would be lovely to see this new generation of principals in this iconic production (it's also Dutch National Ballet's longstanding production). I'm always amazed that they manage to fit everything and everyone onto the stage and in the orchestra pit in Sadler's Wells, as it often used to be danced at the Royal Opera House by Marion Tait, Miyako Yoshida, Margaret Barbieri, Joseph Cipolla, Alain Dubreuil (father of Teo), etc etc and someone readers might know....Kevin O'Hare. 😀 Fille next season would be fun though! We miss Peregrine! (And various pony predecessors from before.) 😉 I think the last ever Lise and Colas I saw were Celine Gittens and Brandon Lawrence, because BRB performed a run of Fille at Sadler's Wells in 2018 after RB did their last Fille (for the moment) in 2016 at ROH. Edited October 23, 2023 by Emeralds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 8 hours ago, SheilaC said: The BRB website doesn't seem to be updated. It still lists Samara Downs as a principal but I think she's stopped dancing, having moved into repetiteur work after completing a notation qualification (this isn't listed, either). I'm sorry to hear that she's (probably) retired from dancing. Partly because I would have liked to see her again & partly because that means BRB now doesn't have any British female Principals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 22 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: I'm sorry to hear that she's (probably) retired from dancing. Partly because I would have liked to see her again & partly because that means BRB now doesn't have any British female Principals. Should that read British born Principals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 11 minutes ago, Tony Newcombe said: Should that read British born Principals I thought BRB currently has 2 male British Principals so my specifying female is deliberate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheilaC Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 50 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: I'm sorry to hear that she's (probably) retired from dancing. Partly because I would have liked to see her again & partly because that means BRB now doesn't have any British female Principals. I'm sure you mean you'd like to see her dance again, Dawnstar, but it's possible she may continue performing in character roles as teaching/rehearsing staff in BRB often do so. So she could appear as queens in the classics etc. I actually saw her as a student at Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, as they were then called, before she joined BRB and loved her arabesque. More recently, before Covid, I watched her teach at Yorkshire Summer School. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 (edited) 23 hours ago, SheilaC said: it will feature starrier names than the tour they take to Sunderland! Probably, though it is a delightful theatre which I'm pleased survived the Sunderland wrecking ball and in the past I have watched there some starry names dance to a not very large audience, sadly. It was a given you booked cheap seats upstairs and the theatre was so empty (especially matinees) that you were all moved together to the stalls for a great view. Haunted by the ghost of Sid James backstage apparently! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunderland_Empire_Theatre Edited October 24, 2023 by Ondine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Liu Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 This is on Sadlers Wells website now. https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/birmingham-royal-ballet-the-sleeping-beauty/ 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheilaC Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 Yes, Ondine, and when the Bolshoi came in 1956 it was the only theatre outside the South East where they performed. More recently I saw the Bolshoi there about 30 years ago. It is the biggest theatre in the NE, with a huge stalls. It was frequently full when BRB used to dance there more frequently. Nureyev danced there on his final tour; the press reported booing but the report was exaggerated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 This article says that Cojocaru will be guesting for the Thursday & Saturday evening performances at Sadler's Wells. I guess I'll have to re-think my intention of not booking until nearer the time as I would like to see her & her performances will probably sell quickly. https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Birmingham-Royal-Ballets-THE-SLEEPING-BEAUTY-Will-Tour-The-UK-In-Spring-2024-20231024 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 Now, that *is* a surprise. Mind you, I suppose BRB's Auroras will have had quite a tiring run by that stage. 1 hour ago, Amanda Liu said: This is on Sadlers Wells website now. https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/birmingham-royal-ballet-the-sleeping-beauty/ I see it's not on sale yet, but I'm surprised Friends etc. haven't already been notified. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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