Review | Romeo and Juliet transposed to a 1960s Hong Kong that’s vividly evoked – new Hong Kong Ballet production looks to be a crowd pleaser
- The designs are spectacular and changing the characters – Tybalt to a triad boss and Friar Laurence to Romeo’s martial arts sifu – is ingenious
- However, crucial plot elements have got lost, there is an overemphasis on technique, and only on a second viewing with cast changes did it all come together
Hong Kong Ballet’s new Romeo and Juliet by artistic director Septime Webre looks set to be a crowd pleaser.
Transposing the action from medieval Italy to 1960s Hong Kong is an ingenious idea which serves the dual purpose of appealing to the local audience while offering a uniquely Hong Kong product for international tours. Visually the production is stunning and there is plenty of good dancing, although the choreography is more mixed in quality.
A huge amount of work has gone into recreating the Hong Kong of the 1960s. Spectacular designs by Mandy Tam (costumes) and Ricky Chan Chi-kuen (sets) vividly evoke the era, complete with neon signs and bamboo scaffolding.
The best new twist to the story is making Juliet’s mother a younger wife who is having an affair with Tai Po/Tybalt. The cross-currents of her relationships with lover and husband are imaginatively shown. Other innovations are less successful, notably the sifu character who occasionally appears, does a bit of frenzied dancing, then exits.
Changing Juliet’s amah (Nurse) from a character role to a dancing one does not enhance the plot either. More importantly, the feud between the Montagues and Capulets which precipitates the tragedy, has got lost.
