Don Quixote, Birmingham Royal Ballet Review 3*
Don Quixote rides to the rescue of the thwarted lovers in Carlos Acosta’s production of the original romcom
This article was first published on London Unattached
A riot of colour and incessant dancing, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Don Quixote has reached Sadler’s Wells at the end of a long, busy UK tour and, almost inevitably, it looks a little tired.
Produced by BRB Artistic Director Carlos Acosta, originally for The Royal Ballet, and subsequently streamlined to make it fit for touring, this version of the 19th century classic Don Quixote is big, brash and noisy and seeks to capture something of the sunny, vibrant spirit of southern Spain (as imagined by non-Spaniards), with new sets and costumes by Tim Hatley creating the required atmosphere, the whole lit by Peter Mumford.
The titular Don in his deluded search for monsters to slay, while pining for his ideal woman, Dulcinea, is almost incidental to the central tale of the tribulations of the lovers Kitri, a feisty, resourceful young woman, and the irrepressible penniless barber Basilio; but he plays a deciding role in persuading Kitri’s father, the money-minded innkeeper Lorenzo, to change his vehement opposition to the love match.
To this flimsy, though heart-warming, tale add quantities of boisterous townspeople, uninhibited dancing gypsies, Dryads – the ethereal damsels of Don Quixote’s concussed dream – a cohort of butch matadors in full traje de luces, the comedy figures of Sancho Panza, Don Quixote’s perpetually hungry retainer, and Gamache, the town’s moneybags fop, who fancies Kitri, all of this culminating in a happy wedding, and you have a recipe for unalloyed entertainment, all perfectly oiled by Ludwig Minkus’s colourful musical score.
Acosta kept much of choreography devised by Marius Petipa for the Bolshoi, but added some of his own, particularly for the Act II scene in the gypsy camp, where the fleeing lovers find refuge, which contains added music by Hans Vercauteren, who also arranged Minkus’s score, as well as two on-stage guitarists.
And he made his ensemble very vocal, requiring them to shout and yelp with “heys” and “oles” at particularly rousing stages of the action. Truth to tell, I could do without all the vocalisations, though the requirement for plentiful rhythmic clapping blends in well with the general mood.
There was, however, an almost jaded feel to the opening crowd scenes, with none of the intended vibrancy crossing the fourth wall. Kitri’s arrival, bounding onto the stage in split jeté, had a somewhat galvanising effect on the townspeople.
On press night Kitri was danced by company stalwart Momoko Hirata. Petite and very pretty, with a strong technique – controlled hops on pointe, a powerful jump, impeccable balances – Hirata is a lovely dancer, always a pleasure to watch, but sassy, sexy Kitri is not really her role.
Her Basilio was Mathias Dingman, whose performance as the playful lover was perfectly adequate – he is a steady partner and a good dance actor, and he delivered himself of some of the most demanding sections of the choreography, including the show off one-arm lifts, with competence; but, of course, my mind kept going back to Acosta’s own thrilling, irresistible Basilio… it’s not easy to compete with the template set by your own boss…
Among other soloist roles, Max Maslen’s gave us a fierce chief matador, Espada, while Yaoqian Shang was a lively Mercedes, his street dancer sweetheart; and Tzu-Chao Chou gave his all as an impish Amour, lifting a Dryads scene which could do with some improvement.
The difficult acting role of Sancho Panza, a comical, yet endearing figure was performed by company apprentice Alfie-Lee Hall – on this immensely accomplished showing I would say this young man has a bright future. Rory Mackay’s Don Quixote was dignified throughout, though, I felt, a little understated. By contrast Rafael Bejerano Vidal went, perhaps, a little over the top with his ridiculous Gamache.
Live music was provided by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia under Paul Murphy’s baton, and a sombre Carlos Acosta took to the stage to announce this entire run of performances was dedicated to the memory of British dancer and subsequently inspirational company director Ben Stevenson, who died last month aged 89.
© Teresa Guerreiro
(Banner image: Artists of Birmingham Royal Ballet in Don Quixote. Photo: Tristram Kenton)
Birmingham Royal Ballet, Don Quixote is at Sadler’s Wells 23 -25 April 2026