Christopher Wheeldon and Joby Talbot reimagine Shakespeare’s romantic canon

Since Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet in 1965, no Shakespearean play has even been transcribed into ballet.  This is somewhat in conceivable: how can you translate the epitome of Shakespearean language into sole physicality while still retain the substantial qualities of his plays?  Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon took this challenge in 2014 together with composer Joby Talbot, successfully transforming The Winter’s Tale into another in-house Shakespearean repertoire of the Royal Ballet.  Now, a decade later, Wheeldon revisits this masterpiece with some upgraded technologies, but preserves the essence of this tragicomedy. 

Shakespeare’s later plays are desperately romantic, resonating profoundly with his contemporaries and those of the 18th century. Meanwhile, these plays can also be intricately psychological for moderns. This time, it is Natasha Katz’s lighting design that subtly indicates Leontes’s internal labyrinth.  In the palace of Sicily in ACT I, Leontes reunites with his childhood friend Polixenes. From a luminous and warmish colour gradually to a cold dim light, the seed of suspicion is sowed in the heart of Leontes.

César Corrales presents a masculine Leontes, but at the same time he is no lack of delicate vulnerability in later acts. Lauren Cuthbertson deftly blends Hermione’s innocence and sacred elegance. In ACT III, her forgiveness of Leontes more denotes a divine grace, more akin to that of a goddess forgiving a sinner, rather than mere a wife forgiving her husband. 

It’s always fun to see how the bear is represented in each performance of The Winter’s Tale. This time, with the collaborative efforts of Projection Designer Daniel Brodie and Silk Effects Designer Basil Twist, most transition scenes unfold seamlessly through a silky projection screen, imbued with a water-painting style that feels semi-realistic and semi-impressionistic. The use of projection not only enhances the smoothness of the storyline, but also leaves ample spaces to dance out the intricacies of characters as well as their profound emotions. 

ACT II sets in remote Bohemia 16th years later, featuring the love scene between Perdita (Francesca Hayward) and Florizel (Marcelino Sambé), the son of Polixenes (Calvin Richardson). Perdita, the daughter of Leontes and Hermione, is condemned to death by her father out of suspicion, but was saved by the witty and kind Paulina (Melissa Hamilton), who later puts her in a safe place to be found by a shepherd. At the heart of the stage in ACT II stands a giant tree, meticulously crafted by designer Bob Crowley. This reminds me of a similar presence in The Tempest during the London Olympic ceremony, both symbolising youth, vibrance and love.

Melissa Hamilton steals the show in ACT III. Back in Sicily, she leads the regretful and sorrowful Leontes to a series miracles and final reconciliation. Hamilton masters her skills and fuses them into her presence of Paulina, elegant, faithful with a subtle undercurrent of unwavering strength. ACT III denotes the “comedy” part of the play, tellingly reveals that comedy embraces more than laughter, errors and misunderstandings; it’s also a genre about romantic loves and the process of regaining loss. Wheeldon’s production of The Winter’s Tale adeptly captures these romantic elements in the bard’s later plays that are so much ahead of his own times.