Romeo and Juliet

On Friday I attended the National Ballet's production of Romeo and Juliet... in the standing section! What an experience!  

But I promised to talk about theatre/literature and the ballet. This season the National Ballet has two Shakespeare plays and a Chekov play. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and the Seagull are all being adapted into ballets. This is an interesting thing for a dance company to do, especially since these three plays are considered classics in the theatre world and are often taught in high school english classes. The great part about seeing these stories in this format is that the story is distilled to it's basic plot and emotional content. No "to be or not to be" to contend with here! Language in classics like these can often be a big hurdle, especially if the story is a new one, which is why seeing the ballets can really help understanding. By getting simply the plot and an exagerated emotional portrayal the plays quickly open up to new readers and difficult language becomes a lesser issue.