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A masterful re-telling of an ageless tale of teenage discovery and the madness of first love, “Romeo and Juliet” garnered universal critical acclaim when it premiered in 2019, and now returns to the New Adventures repertoire alongside Bourne’s world-renowned dance theatre productions.
Bourne’s new version gives Shakespeare’s timeless story of forbidden love a scintillating injection of raw passion and youthful vitality. Confined against their will by a society that seeks to divide them, our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together.
Bourne said, “I had resisted creating a new production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ for many years
wondering if there was anything new to say in a much-performed work. In 2019, I found that inspiration in a countrywide young talent development project that surrounded the original production. Working alongside my usual creative team, but with a team of young artistic associates and a young cast of super talented emerging dance artists, we created something relevant, questioning and deeply moving … but also, an unexpected hit show.”
CTG Producing Director Douglas C. Baker said, “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Matthew Bourne, who has been sharing his memorable dance theatre productions — such as ‘Swan Lake,’ ‘Cinderella,’ and ‘The Car Man’ — with our audiences for over 25 years. He returns now with the North American premiere of his electrifying take on ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ This is the first new New Adventures production we are hosting since ‘The Red Shoes’ in 2017.”
Matthew Bourne is renowned for shattering stereotypes, and exploring and pushing boundaries in dance. Key to his creative approach is the creation of work from familiar titles that are accessible to audiences unfamiliar with dance. However, Bourne’s aim is not to simply re-tell a well-known story, but instead put his own spin on the narrative that provokes the audience to think, feel, and consider the story in a new light.
New Adventures’ adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” is no exception, bursting with youth, vitality and Bourne’s trademark storytelling. Perhaps the best-known love story in English literary tradition, and one of Shakespeare’s most enduring pieces of writing, “Romeo and Juliet” tells the tragic tale of two lovers who must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together.
“Romeo and Juliet” is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, collaborating with the New Adventures Artistic team: Etta Murfitt (Associate Artistic Director), Lez Brotherston (Set and Costume Design), Paule Constable (Lighting Design), Paul Groothuis (Sound Design) and Arielle Smith (Associate Choreographer) with Terry Davies’ thrillingly fresh orchestrations of Prokofiev’s dynamic score.
New Adventures is an iconic and ground-breaking British dance theatre company, famous for telling stories with a unique theatrical twist. Matthew Bourne — who is the only British director to have won the Tony Award for both Best Choreographer and Best Director of a Musical for his work on “Swan Lake”— and New Adventures has delighted, inspired, and nurtured people of all ages and backgrounds: audiences, artists, and the next generation of dancers, reaching thousands worldwide every year. New Adventures has received numerous international awards and 12 Olivier Award nominations, including 6 wins. Since 1986, Bourne has created 13 full-length productions and a triple bill of short works. This award-winning repertoire has inspired and thrilled millions worldwide.
Perhaps best-known for its now legendary “Swan Lake” with its corps de ballet of menacing male swans, New Adventures’ intriguing twists on the ballet classics also include “Nutcracker!,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” “The Car Man,” based on the opera “Carmen,” and “Highland Fling,” based on “La Sylphide” set in contemporary Glasgow.
Bourne has also been inspired by film and literature in his innovative productions of “Edward Scissorhands,” “Dorian Gray,” “Play Without Words,” “Lord of the Flies,” “Early Adventures,” and “The Red Shoes,” which won two Olivier Awards. New Adventures tours to more U.K. and international venues and gives more performances each year than any other U.K. dance company, including performing seasons at the world’s most iconic venues such as Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, New York City Center, The Kennedy Center, Center Theatre Group, and the most prestigious Festivals, such as Edinburgh, Ravenna,
and Chekhov International Festivals.
Two years after its London premiere, Center Theatre Group made international cultural history by hosting the American premiere of Matthew Bourne’s “Swan Lake” at the Ahmanson Theatre. Center Theatre Group also presented Bourne’s “Cinderella,” “The Car Man,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “The Red Shoes,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Play Without Words,” “Nutcracker!,” and additional return engagements of “Swan Lake.”
Tickets for Matthew Bourne’s “Romeo and Juliet” are available through CenterTheatreGroup.org, Audience Services at (213) 972-4400 or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Offices (at the Ahmanson Theatre) at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012.
Performances run Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Age guidance: 14+ The production contains loud sound effects including a gun shot and has flashing lights in sections (not strobe). The production contains scenes of a disturbing and a sexual nature, including stabbing and strangulation. More details can be provided if required.
