★★★★☆
There are no original Black Sabbath tracks blasting out of the speakers at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Neither is anyone on stage pretending to be Ozzy Osbourne or Tony Iommi. And yet the spirit of the heavy metal band looms large in Black Sabbath — The Ballet, a triumphant world premiere that celebrates Birmingham’s local heroes. When Iommi, the band’s co-founder and lead guitarist, unexpectedly came on stage at the end to play Paranoid, the audience went wild. A gig at the ballet — who knew?
But of course it’s not. Commissioned for Birmingham Royal Ballet by its director, Carlos Acosta, the three-act production is first and foremost a work of dance. It’s inspired by the band but the classic songs have been orchestrated — beautifully — and there’s no attempt to tell anyone’s life story. The team behind this show, three choreographers and three composers, have taken Black Sabbath as their theme and run with it. The dancers, for their part, are on fire throughout.
The thrilling first act, Heavy Metal Ballet, with music by Christopher Austin and Marko Nyberg and choreography by Raúl Reinoso, references the birth of the band when the teenage Iommi worked in a sheet metal factory in the 1960s. The act has a dark and dangerous vibe. The music’s hard-rock anger and nervy tension is paired with choreography that posits the dancers as sexy machine parts. Reinoso’s visceral movement also evokes youthful rebellion and the passion of first love, and has what must be the longest kiss in dance.
The wandering second act, The Band (choreography Cassi Abranches, music Sun Keting), is more reflective and less successful, despite the aerobic workout (the only act not on pointe) that Abranches gives the dancers. Metal fans, though, will appreciate memories shared in the recorded voiceovers from Iommi and Sharon Osbourne.
The final act, Everybody Is a Fan, pays tribute to Sabbath’s followers. Pontus Lidberg’s joyful classical choreography, which climaxes in the ballet version of a headbanging rave, shares the stage with the designer Alexandre Arrechea’s giant sculpted version of the band’s iconic demon. Austin’s colourful wall of sound here takes the show’s music to new heights. He also conducts the Royal Ballet Sinfonia throughout, while a chipper solo guitarist, Marc Hayward, is incorporated into the action on stage.
To September 30, then touring, brb.org.uk
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