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Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words

The story everyone knows, in a language everyone understands, shown in a way never seen before by the award-winning Michael Nunn and William Trevitt.

As members of the feuding Capulet and Montague families, Romeo and Juliet should be sworn enemies, but they fall deeply in love and marry in secret. That very day, disastrous circumstances lead Romeo to fight and kill Juliet's cousin Tybalt, setting off a chain of events that culminate in tragedy. Juliet takes a potion to avoid the love match her parents have set up for her, and Romeo, believing she is dead, poisons himself. When she wakes from her deep sleep, Juliet finds the body of her love and is so distraught that she stabs herself, joining him in death.

Romeo and Juliet is a drama feature film shot on location in Hungary, starring the dancers of the Royal Ballet in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s classic ballet. The film is set to Sergei Prokofiev’s original score for Romeo and Juliet, and is unique in telling this classic story through dance. The score was adapted especially for the film. It was recorded at AIR Studios in Hampstead, London, with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, in early 2019. The 85 players were conducted by the renowned Royal Opera House music director Koen Kessels, and the leader was Vasko Vassilev.

Highlighting the essence of MacMillan’s original choreography, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt’s Romeo and Juliet takes viewers into the action with a striking intimacy. Through detailed portrayals by the Royal Ballet dancers, the film is a gripping story about real characters through an audacious experience that is by turn epic and intimate. With the story presented in a groundbreaking new light, the film captures the extraordinary performances that have earned the Royal Ballet the reputation of producing the greatest actor-dancers in the world. Seizing the opportunity to perform scenes with unparalleled subtlety, the dancers’ artistry pays tribute to what is internationally recognised as the zenith of the dance storytelling. Reimagined for the camera by the International Emmy Award winners Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, the film delivers a new realism and reaches a global audience of theatre, dance and film fans alike.

1 hour, 29 minutes

Last on

Sun 22 Jan 2023 19:45
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Four

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:14

    Claus Peter Flor, The Philharmonia Orchestra

    Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64: Montagues and Capulets

  • 00:17

    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, James Morgan

    Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 / Act 1 - 13. Dance of The Knights

  • 00:18

    Sergey Prokofiev

    Romeo and Juliet, Op.64 (Act 1 Sc 2) Dance of The Knights

  • 00:19

    New York Philharmonic, Dimitri Mitropoulos

    Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2, Op. 64Ter: I. The Montagues and Capulets

  • 00:30

    Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony

    Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 (Excerpts): No. 18, Gavotte

  • 00:35

    The Orchestra of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mark Ermler

    Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64: No. 21 Love Dance

  • 00:36

    Andrew Mogrelia, Ladislav Slova and Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra

    Prokofiev: Balcony Scene From Romeo and Juliet

  • 00:52

    Dimitri Mitropoulos, New York Philharmonic, Thomas Schippers, Dimitri Mitropoulos

    Romeo and Juliet Ballet, Op. 64 (Excerpts): Death of Tybalt (No. 7 From Suite No. 1, Op. 64Bis)

  • 01:00

    Vince Staples

    Big Time

  • 01:03

    New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos

    Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 (Excerpts): Romeo At Juliet's Before Parting (No. 5 From Suite No. 2, Op. 64Ter)

  • 01:13

    San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas

    Romeo and Juliet, "Dance of The Knights"

  • 01:22

    New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos

    Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 (Excerpts): Romeo At The Grave of Juliet (No. 7 From Suite No. 2, Op. 64Ter)

  • 01:26

    Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf

    Romeo and Juliet - Excerpts: Act III - Juliet's Funeral

Credits

Juliet Francesca Hayward
Tybalt Matthew Ball
Mercutio Marcelino Sambe
Benvolio James Hay
Lord Capulet Christopher Saunders
Lady Capulet Kristen McNally
Paris Tomas Mock
The Nurse Romany Pajdak
Friar Laurence Bennet Gartside
Harlot 1 Laura Morera
Harlot 2 Beatriz Stix-Brunell
Harlot 3 Tierney Heap
Romeo William Bracewell
Composer Sergey Prokofiev
Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan
Costume designer Nicholas Georgiadis
Director Michael Nunn
Director William Trevitt
Producer Michael Nunn
Producer William Trevitt
Producer Kwesi Dickson
Executive Producer Kevin O'Hare
Executive Producer Judit Sos
Production Company Footwork Films Limited

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