Black Sabbath : The Ballet : Review

Black Sabbath : The Ballet : Review

Black Sabbath – The Ballet – Review

So often in life, what was rebellious one day becomes the establishment the next. Elvis, Johnny Rotten, the Rolling Stones were all banned in their day, and later on they became the establishment. Johnny Rotten was once an anarchist, 40 years later he is auditioning for Eurovision.

On that basis should a Black Sabbath ballet really surprise us? No, not really. After all, why can the ballet and metal art forms not exist together?

Black Sabbath the ballet took place at a home of ballet, which is Sadler Wells, though it was the Birmingham ballet company that put on the production. Living in London we are often visit Sadler Wells, but it’s usually for a Matthew Bourne ballet or the Spanish Flamenco festival. Not to see the band that, many say, invented heavy metal.

The ballet was sold out and I wasn’t sure if it would be a rock audience or a ballet audience, I think it was 50/50. Maybe, like me, I grew up on Black Sabbath but in later life went to ballet.

So, what does it sound like? The composer Christopher Austin keeps the original, War Pigs, Iron Man, Paranoid rifts, but has reinterpreted them into an orchestral arrangement. But don’t worry, they don’t lose any of the bite.

In fact, in many cases the music was gracefully amplified by the rock drum kit and 3 additional percussionists. If Black Sabbath had the time and inclination when they recorded their first album, I’m sure Bill Ward would have added timpani to round out the drum sound.

Carlos Acosta, the overall Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet wanted this ballet to be a showcase for established as well as emerging talent for the company.

The lead choreographer was, Pontus Lidberg who created dance both from a traditional ballet and a contemporary point of view. My partner pointed out in one piece that there was a male dancing with pointe shoes, which I understand isn’t very common.

The show was in three acts, the common thread of acts 1 and acts 3 is guitarist Marc Hayward who plays the rifts on his guitar live as well as being integral to the dance. At one point he is hoisted high above the heads of the ballet dancers, while playing “Iron Man”.

In act 2, the music and dance has interviews with the band layered across the top. Many of you will recognise the bands working-class Birmingham accents. Ozzy tells the story of the instance when he thought he was dying because of whatever he had taken and Sharon’s response was, “if you’re going to die, please do it quietly as I have to be up for a meeting at 09:00 am.”

The songs used during the performance are: –

Act 1:
War pigs
Iron man
Solitude
Paranoid

When the curtain went down on this act there was an audible “wow” from the audience. It also broke the ice, as soon as we finished applauding, we did want rock / metal fans always do, we started talking to each other and making friends. The people next to me had travelled 400 miles and were staying overnight in London, just to see the gig.

Act 2:
Black sabbath
Orchid
Planet Caravan
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Act3:
This brings together many of the songs from act 1 and act 2; Iron Man, Sabbath bloody sabbath, War pigs and we end on a repeat of Paranoid.

The only new song in act 3 not heard in acts 2 and 3 is Laguna sunrise. While this may sound repetition, in this act the music is about pulling the previous acts together for the grand finale.

It’s worth saying that the choreography is not created to tell a story ballet and is certainly not created to tell a story of the band. In act 1, the two dancers locked in the external kiss, to the music of “Solitude” is sublime.

My only gripe was that they could have used so many more great rifts, but I guess that could make the music more complex. Afterall the greatest creator of rifts, Mozart, was the master of KISS, keep it simple, stupid.

The programme, was a fantastic document with behind-the-scenes interviews and back up material to support the show and provide context. And for the super fan there are also QR codes that you can scan for more information.

Tim Hughes | Now Spinning Magazine

Black Sabbath : The Ballet :  Review live

Black Sabbath : The Ballet :  Review program

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