Emeralds Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 (edited) Northern Ballet’s first touring ballet of the season, Beauty and the Beast, opens tonight at Theatre Royal, Nottingham, from 4-7 October amid the twin challenges of an ASLEF rail strike today affecting many rail services, and the recent announcement of the company’s financial difficulties. David Nixon’s Beauty and the Beast, choreographed to a variety of classical music excerpts by Bizet, Debussy, Saint-Saens, et al, and arranged by John Longstaff, is performed by Northern Ballet Sinfonia, with Dominique Larose as Beauty and Kevin Poeung as the Beast and Jonathan Hanks as Prince Orian In tonight’s cast. The rest of the cast, and the rest of the week's casts are here: https://northernballet.com/beauty-and-the-beast/casts Would be great to read the thoughts, feedback and reviews from members who are able to attend this week, or at Newcastle, Norwich and/or Leeds. Edited October 4, 2023 by Emeralds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Dancer Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 Interested to see what people think. I am considering going to Leeds next year but want to hear the reviews before booking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted October 4, 2023 Author Share Posted October 4, 2023 Completely trivial observation about the tour: Nottingham, Newcastle and Norwich all begin with N and the theatres are all Theatre Royal theatres. It’s like a matching, alliterative set. 😄 Toi toi toi to the company! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 4 hours ago, Emeralds said: Nottingham, Newcastle and Norwich all begin with N and the theatres are all Theatre Royal theatres. All also M. Matcham. All three with interiors remodelled by Matcham. (In the case of Newcastle there was a disastrous fire during a performance of Scottish Play...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 Really? I'm considering a trip up to Norwich, but since I haven't been in the theatre since the 80s I guess such things have passed me by. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 15 hours ago, Ondine said: All also M. Matcham. All three with interiors remodelled by Matcham. (In the case of Newcastle there was a disastrous fire during a performance of Scottish Play...) I believe Newcastle is a Matcham original as is Buxton Opera House, Blackpool Grand, The Coliseum etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said: Newcastle is a Matcham original No the Newcastle Theatre Royal (current building 1837, Grade I listed, John & Benjamin Green, not many theatres are Grade I) has a later Matcham auditorium, 1901 (restored 2011) It features what is generally regarded as the finest Theatre façade in the UK, later combined with a fine 1901 auditorium by the great Theatre architect, Frank Matcham, after the original interior had been destroyed by fire during a performance of Macbeth in 1899. https://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/about-us/our-story/#restoration Here's a pic of the ladies wth the dusty bosoms. https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1241256 Edited October 5, 2023 by Ondine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 7 hours ago, alison said: Really? I'm considering a trip up to Norwich, but since I haven't been in the theatre since the 80s I guess such things have passed me by. Lots of good seats in all price ranges currently still available in Norwich. Alison, if you wish to go (tickets range from £29.50 to £49.50 -not including booking fees) on all dates, although Newcastle actually has the lowest starting price (£20 before booking fees) of the 3 venues. However, Newcastle's cheapest seats (in the Gallery-Amphi tier) are selling fast (on several dates that tier is sold out)....and the return train fare to Newcastle for anyone travelling from the south could wipe out any cost saving from the theatre ticket! The ballet looks quite family friendly if anyone wants to take kids, in laws, grandparents, etc. The casts for this week are brilliant but unfortunately I can't travel this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Emeralds said: Gallery-Amphi tier) Only became the 'gallery' after yet another refurb (1970s I think) when seats were added, prior to that proper 'gods' with wooden steps / seats (ouch) and a set of miserable concrete back stairs, totally unlike the 'grand' staircase to the circle. Further history here. https://www.skyscrapercity.com/threads/newcastle-theatre-royal-restoration-completed.1438396/ Edited October 5, 2023 by Ondine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 4 hours ago, Emeralds said: Lots of good seats in all price ranges currently still available in Norwich. Alison, if you wish to go (tickets range from £29.50 to £49.50 -not including booking fees) on all dates, Ooh, train currently a tenner each way. Not bad. Fingers crossed that it'll still be that way in mid-November. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted October 6, 2023 Author Share Posted October 6, 2023 14 hours ago, alison said: Ooh, train currently a tenner each way. Not bad. Fingers crossed that it'll still be that way in mid-November. Fingers crossed that there won't be any announcements of dreaded rail strike or overtime bans for that week a fortnight beforehand. Amber Lewis, Harris Beattie and Jackson Dwyer dance the roles of Beauty, Beast and Prince Orian respectively tonight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 I've got to admit that when Beauty and the Beast was announced for the Autumn tour I wasn't overly excited as since it's premiere I have found it to be pleasant and family friendly but that was about it. Well I'm not sure what has happened but when I saw 3 performances in Nottingham on Thursday and Friday I was bowled over! David Nixon had concentrated on playing Beauty's family for laughs (and there are plenty of those) but now the pathos and emotion of Beast has also come to the fore. It's the usual story - arrogant and nasty young Prince is turned into a beast by a fairy (disguised as an old lady) whom he refuses to help. The good fairy tells him that if he finds someone to love him he will be restored to human form. Meanwhile Beauty's sisters are running through their Dad's money like it's going out of fashion and the bailiffs appear and take everything from them. They are reduced to penury and are living in a shack in the forest when Dad goes off to find food and encounters the beast. The beast says he will let Dad go if he gives him one of his daughters. Dad goes home and when the family is asleep Beauty decides to sacrifice herself and goes to the Beast's home. After a while she begins to like Beast (who has come to love her) but then learns that her Dad isn't very well so she goes home. She realises she loves Beast and goes back to the Beast to tell him. He becomes the Prince again and there is a big celebration. There are some very beautiful moments within the ballet. There is the most beautiful duet for Beauty and the Prince when she falls asleep and dreams about him. There is a heart-rending scene where Beast remembers what a horrible, arrogant human he had been and he regrets how he was. It starts off as a duet for Beast and his human self and becomes a trio when Betty wakes and joins in. Beast has a butler, Alfred, who has been with him since he was in his human state and who cares for and looks after Beast. His movements are very stylised and a delight to watch. The goblin servants are hilarious. Over the 3 performances I saw 2 casts. I finally realised that on Thursday evening I had seen the debut of all 4 leading roles with Harris Beattie as Beast, Amber Lewis as Beauty, Jackson Dwyer as The Prince and Archie Sherman as Alfred. It really was a very good debut. I saw this cast again on the Friday evening and already they had grown more into the roles. Friday afternoon's performance was a Rolls Royce of a cast and it was one of those performances that was really special. The role of the Beast fits the always wonderful Kevin Poeung like a glove. At times, when he was angst ridden and regretting his past I found I was having a bad attack of hay fever. Dominique Larose was just sublime as Beauty. Her interactions with Beast at times sent shivers down my spine. Jonny Hanks was the most elegant of Princes and was really nasty and arrogant at the start. Filippo di Villo was excellent as Alfred. The fairies were danced by Alessandra Bramante (bad fairy) and the divine Rachael Gillespie (good fairy). The orchestra was magnificent throughout and got the most enormous of cheers at every performance. The score is a varied selection of classical items and my favourite piece was Debussy's Clare de Lune exquisitely played on the harp. So this Beauty and the Beast really is a ballet for all the family with plenty for everyone from 8 to 80 to enjoy. I can't wait to see it again! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted October 9, 2023 Author Share Posted October 9, 2023 (edited) Fabulous report and thank you for the informative synopsis, @Jan McNulty! Funnily enough, I had the same thoughts as you did about whether this production was more of a pleasant entertainment for families who want a familiar story rather than ballet aficionados but very thrilled to hear that for this run, the dancers have presented sublime performances and heartrending interpretations to make this a very moving ballet. I also enjoyed reading about the music. Really keen to see the company in this production now but wondering about the feasibility of an 8-9 hour round trip in one day in late autumn (Newcastle and Norwich are both 4 to 4 and a half hours from me- and that’s only if there are no delays or cancellations on the day, which we know in these current times is unlikely!). Or an overnight stay? The rail website has also warned me that there could be engineering works for those two routes although they don’t know when. The train fare to Norwich and back is £64 in total, and £133 for Newcastle (which includes the railcard off peak discount for both fares). That’s before factoring in any rail strikes! Tempting to wish they could cut short the relatively long Norwich run and do a few performances in Sadler’s Wells or Woking, where they’ve danced before..... 😄. Will be mulling over this when I attend their triple bill at ROH next week. 🎹💃 Edited October 9, 2023 by Emeralds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted November 5, 2023 Author Share Posted November 5, 2023 (edited) Northern Ballet start their Newcastle tour of Beauty and the Beast this coming Tuesday (7 Nov). There are still seats available at every performance in several price pointe (although the Saturday matinee is selling fast) at the Theatre Royal. So refreshing to see a sentence I haven't seen for a long time in some theatres: "Up to 2 children can go at half price with each adult paying full price"! (I should add Sadler's Wells still offers it for matinées and ENB at the Coliseum still offer this for Nutcracker and Giselle). Look forward to reading any opinions and reviews from fellow members. Edited November 5, 2023 by Emeralds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 A friend and I were in Newcastle for the weekend and saw 3 magnificent performances of Beauty and the Beast. Two of those performances were led by Kevin Poeung, Dominique Larose and Jonny Hanks. Kevin is absolutely outstanding and I feel privileged to be able to see many of his performances. Overall these performances were just as special as the one I saw in Nottingham. On Saturday afternoon we saw another cast led by Antoni Cañellas Artigues, Sarah Chun and Filippo Di Vilio - it was their second performance and it was a delight. Antoni was incredibly moving in Act 2 - especially in the trio at the start. Oh dear ... another bad attack of hay fever! Over the six performances I have now seen I have seen more and more in this production. Perhaps there is a nod to the brothel scene in Manon (obviously with a family show not in a sexual way) where Manon is moved aloft between her suitors. Beauty is held aloft and moved around by the 3 young men her sisters have brought home. I cannot believe that I have never before noticed in Act 2 that the mini-scenes where Beast and Beauty fall in love that they indicate the different seasons to show the passage of time. I have truly enjoyed all six performances and can't wait to see it again in Leeds next year! As in Nottingham orchestra members and dancers were demonstrating outside to let people know about the possible use of recorded music in the future. The audience cheered the orchestra loudly. IMG_0431.MOV 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 Good to see the TUC banner being given an outing. Newcastle TUC was formed in 1873. https://newcastle-tuc.org.uk/history 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted November 13, 2023 Author Share Posted November 13, 2023 Great reviews and photos (just downloading your attachment), thank you, @Jan McNulty- I feel as though you are at all the performances I would like to attend (I just need to be able to be able to teleport to Newcastle several times!). Lovely to see the unity and solidarity of the dancers (I'm recognising familiar faces from the triple bill!) with their musicians. Glad you are enjoying the performances of Beauty and the Beast so much, and discovering more and more great details in the production with each viewing. I wish the production were coming south to Sadler's Wells or Woking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted November 13, 2023 Author Share Posted November 13, 2023 Just saw the speech from your video- thanks @Jan McNulty and glad it’s being made from the front of the curtain. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 27 minutes ago, Emeralds said: Just saw the speech from your video Sadly it won't work for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted November 13, 2023 Author Share Posted November 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Ondine said: Sadly it won't work for me! Daniel de Andrade gave the speech (similar in content to the one Federico Bonelli made in front of the curtain at Nottingham). When I have a bit more time I'll try to transcribe it here from the video. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted November 25, 2023 Author Share Posted November 25, 2023 Anyone going to their final day of performances at Norwich today? Amber Lewis and rising superstar Harris Beattie dance Beauty and Beast at the matinee, while Sarah Chun and Antoni Cañellas Artigues are Beauty and Beast in the evening. I was exceptionally impressed by the company at the Linbury Theatre in their triple bill, and would have liked to see them in this ballet, but my train fares to Norwich would have been double the cost of the ballet ticket and the train fare to Newcastle triple....which doesn't seem right somehow (especially with random cancellations and strike action hanging over my head). I'd rather donate the £60 or £130 to Northern Ballet than to spend it on the privilege of shivering on cold platforms. Hopefully members living nearer Norwich might be able to get there with more ease (and less ££)- looks like a fabulous show. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Emeralds said: Anyone going to their final day of performances at Norwich today? Amber Lewis and rising superstar Harris Beattie dance Beauty and Beast at the matinee, while Sarah Chun and Antoni Cañellas Artigues are Beauty and Beast in the evening. I was exceptionally impressed by the company at the Linbury Theatre in their triple bill, and would have liked to see them in this ballet, but my train fares to Norwich would have been double the cost of the ballet ticket and the train fare to Newcastle triple....which doesn't seem right somehow (especially with random cancellations and strike action hanging over my head). I'd rather donate the £60 or £130 to Northern Ballet than to spend it on the privilege of shivering on cold platforms. Hopefully members living nearer Norwich might be able to get there with more ease (and less ££)- looks like a fabulous show. Whilst I didn't see them live at the Linbury (and am kicking myself about that), I did see them on World Ballet Day and will try and catch them when they are at Sadlers Wells next year. As you say, the journey to Norwich is unfortunately prohibitive otherwise I would have tried to see Beauty and the Beast. From what I have seen Harris Beattie is certainly one to watch. Edited November 25, 2023 by MJW 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 I got to Norwich and back for about a fiver each way earlier this year - shame that doesn't still seem to be the case. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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