The ballet company Les Ballets de Monte Carlo put on a beautiful production of “Romeo and Juliet” from April 15-17 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Jean-Christophe Maillot choreographed this iconic story as a ballet from the perspective of Friar Laurence, a very different approach that worked remarkably well.
This show resembles more of a memory, Friar Laurence’s memory specifically, of the tragedy of which he was regrettably a part. The strong emotions that can overtake any reminiscence are much more powerful through actions such as dancing than words, which is why this piece functions so naturally as a ballet. This show starts with Friar Laurence and two other figures who serve to represent his inner tumult and his choices of the light and the dark, good and evil. Together they form a triad, almost like the Holy Trinity with Friar Laurence in the center in a crucified position. He is in clear agony over the involvement he had in the affair the audience is about to witness.
Romeo and his friends, Mercutio and Benvolio, enter the stage as a clear trio of close friends. Romeo is instantly recognizable as the most devastated and dramatic of the three, with a silk scarf covering his face to hide his infinite misery over his painful love for Rosaline. Even without words, Romeo is clearly the sentimental one as his two friends dance and skip around him. At one point, Mercutio steals Romeo’s scarf away from him and he and Benvolio wordlessly tease Romeo by putting the scarf over their faces and pulling faces at him. They are clearly comfortable with one another, and it shows through these simple actions as well as the more intricate ballet steps they perform beautifully around the stage.
For the rest of the play, Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio all dance together arm-in-arm as the best of friends. When Tybalt comes for a fight, the ensuing altercation is more playful than violent, with Mercutio and Benvolio leaping and bounding light-heartedly around the fuming Capulet. Maillot highlighted the fact that these characters are truly young people, children really, not murderous veterans. This drives in the poignancy of how the story will eventually turn out.
The scene changes to Juliet’s bedroom, where the audience meets the classic heroine for the first time. Juliet is an inherently rebellious character, and this trait is translated gracefully into dance. Lady Capulet, for instance, does a simple yet elegant combination for Juliet to emulate, which Juliet does, but not without adding some more fun and intricate movements of her own.
When the story reaches the ball, it becomes evident that Shakespeare’s iconic wit is not lost in this wordless medium. There is innuendo and humor struck into the movements, yet the dancing is still gorgeous and polished. For example, the couples all dance at the ball with effortless pas de chevals and pas de bourrées, but then Mercutio comically cuts in and steals Tybalt’s partner away from him. Upon Tybalt’s attempt to reclaim his place, he and Mercutio realize they have accidentally started dancing together, causing disappointment on both ends. Then there is the bewitching meeting between Romeo and Juliet themselves. Maillot expertly took the line about touching hands from Shakespeare’s original work to create a lovely choreography using the dancers’ hands. Juliet reaches for Romeo and their hands touch, palms flat against one another as they seem to glide around each other in a wonderful expression of love.
For the classic balcony scene, the set lifts Juliet up in a sort of mock balcony, instantly recognizable. Romeo comes and dances for her, every step he takes etched with passion, and reaches for her just as she did to him at the ball. It is a very romantic scene, yet the timeless lovers are oblivious to the calamities yet to come.
The stage design was done by Ernest Pignon-Ernest, and the simplicity of it left room for the beauty of the dancers to be shown off. The plain color allowed the lighting, done by Dominique Drillot, to be displayed more dramatically. In regards to the dancers, Jérôme Kaplan’s costume design was amazingly light and airy, like something out of a dream sent by Queen Mab herself.
The second act starts with a show-within-a-show, something Shakespeare enjoyed doing, and this short episode showed a sped-up version of the events that had taken place so far: the ball, Romeo and Juliet’s meeting and Tybalt and his uncontrollable anger towards the Montagues. At the end, it is revealed that Friar Laurence and his two sides put on the show, almost trying to warn Romeo and Juliet of what will occur. When Juliet’s nurse comes in with a letter for Romeo, Mercutio starts his reading again, dancing suggestively with the nurse and pulling her on his lap. He is clearly a mischievous spirit who enjoys life and making others laugh. This makes the audience feel all the more hopeless when his fate comes for him.
When Romeo and Juliet are joined in matrimony, a ring hangs over the ceremony to symbolize their eternal love and how nothing on earth can part them. Friar Laurence is also seen trying to desperately stop the set around him from moving on to the next scene, as if wanting Romeo and Juliet’s story to end happily with their marriage.
Tybalt and Mercutio have their last stand, with the latter trying to alleviate the hostile situation to no avail. Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio try their best to calm Tybalt and skip away with their arms around each other, but Tybalt pulls them back and takes Mercutio’s life. Friar Laurence is seen at the back, his face turned to stone. Romeo gives a silent wail over Mercutio’s death, then kills Tybalt in revenge with quick movements. The lighting turns sickly green over these two lifeless figures, and Lady Capulet comes in. Her ensuing lament is the most dramatic dance seen yet without being over-the-top or distracting. Rather, it is a true representation of the feeling in that moment, and Lady Capulet’s passionate tossing of her head and body capture the audience in a way that is difficult to describe but all too easy to feel. There is an overwhelming sensation that it is all downhill from here.
The final act starts with Romeo and Juliet having to bid each other farewell. Juliet begs Romeo to stay with her, pulling him toward her relentlessly. At one point, the couple looks at the audience watching them and together, they pull the covers of the makeshift bed onstage over themselves in a comedic release of the tragic circumstances surrounding them.
Friar Laurence, in his earnest attempt to help, gives Juliet a potion to feign death so she will not have to wed Paris. As soon as she takes it, the lighting forms a cross over her still body in a surreal manner, especially striking since Juliet almost never stands still once throughout the whole show. It is no surprise that upon seeing her, Romeo takes dramatic action. He kisses his love one final time, and she almost seems to awaken when he does so, but by the time she is fully awake he is already dead. All Friar Laurence can do is watch helplessly as Juliet takes the same course of action for herself. Finding a long, red silk scarf on Romeo’s person, she wraps it around her neck, steadily pulls, and strangles herself. The lights fade to black and the audience rises in applause for Maillot’s beautiful rendition of the timeless play, still tragic after so many iterations.
Lucia Arreola is an Entertainment Editor. She can be reached at entertainment@newuniversity.org
