By Margaretta
wa Gacheru (posted 18 february 2020)
As
choreographed by Cooper Rust, artistic director for Dance Centre Kenya (DCK),
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was much more than a tragic love story. Staged
last weekend at Kenya National Theatre, it was an enchanting performance
including electrifying moments when literally life and death weighed in the
balance.
The most
beautiful scenes in the ballet, set to music by the Russian composer Sergei
Prokofiev, were, of course, when the evolving relationship between the two
young lovers was danced exquisitely by Joel Kioko and Annabel Shaw.
But as much
tenderness was conveyed between these two ill-fated sweethearts, there was just
as much tension surrounding their affair. For theirs was a forbidden love, the
kind that was never meant to be, leave alone evolve so rapidly and passionately
as theirs did.
That was due
to the intense tribal rivalry between their families, the Capulets and Montagues.
Despite their living in the same town, Verona, they shared a mutual aversion to
one another, especially when it came to their youth meeting. And wedlock was
utterly unthinkable, according to the elders.
But as is
often the case among the young, their attitudes are more flexible than their
parents. Nonetheless, there were plenty of young people in Verona who followed
age-old traditions, which is why they fight in the ballet.
Dressed in
elegant costumes and staged with beautiful backdrops, Romeo and Juliet was one
of DCK’s most dramatic productions since it opened in 2015. Cooper deserves
praise for also directing her cast, especially as she had just a week to
rehearse her leads. Her Romeo, Joel Kioko was only able to leave his training
at the English National Theatre School the Saturday before the premiere this past
Saturday night.
Why she and
her whole cast deserve extra credit for this marvelous performance is because
they effectively communicated Shakespeare’s story while relying solely on the
language of dance to ensure they conveyed all the Bard’s inspired ideas and heartfelt
emotions.
Cooper had
one big advantage, which was having her leads, Joel and Annabel, being her
former star students who subsequently gained admission to top ballet programs
in UK where they’ve excelled. And as one would expect, they performed like true
professionals, debunking any stereotypic hint that just because the majority in
the cast (including those two) are still teenagers (or younger), the ballet might
be ‘amateurish’. That certainly was not the case.
But for all
the beauty, sweetness and delicate sensuality that one saw as they performed, the
scenes that were most electrifying were those when the most intense rivalry exploded
in dramatic dance. It happened when the fencing duels got most ferocious, as when
Romeo avenged the death of his dear friend Mercutio (Yigit Erhan) by stabbing
his killer Tybalt (Baris Erhan) to death.
Initially,
Romeo refused to be drawn into the fight, but once his friend was killed in a duel
by the rival Capulet, Romeo could hardly restrain himself. Unfortunately, the
dead Capulet was Juliet’s cousin which only made their love look even more like
an impossibility.
Juliet’s
parents (played by Cooper Rust and Gerald Osmond) were devastated, especially
Lady Capulet, who was beside herself with the agonizing grief that only a
mother can feel.
But what
made matters worse for Juliet was that her parents were even more adamant that
she married Paris (Francis Waweru), who’s a relative of Prince Escalus (Jazz
Moll), the most powerful man in Verona. This compelled her to do something
drastic as we all know. She consulted the Friar Laurence (Mishael Okumu) who
gave her a vial containing potion that made her body simulate death for several
hours, after which she would recover.
Most of us
know what happened next: Romeo arrived at her open grave when she was still
under the potion’s influence. Believing her dead, he swallowed a real poison
and died. When shortly thereafter, she woke and found both Paris and Romeo
dead, in her anguish she grabbed the blade that Romeo used to kill his enemy
and stabbed herself.
Their deaths
have gone down in literary and cultural history; their story has been used to
illustrate many truths. One is the risk of autocratic parenting (as illustrated
by Lord Capulet and Juliet) which can easily elicit a radical reaction from
youth who are inclined to rebel.
Another is
the risk of passionate (‘puppy’) love triggering emotional responses that
negate rational thought. And in the extreme, can even lead to suicide as we see
in Romeo and Juliet.
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