The production will head to Sadler’s Wells later this year.
The Birmingham Royal Ballet have announced dates for performances at London’s Sadler’s Wells, following a run at the Birmingham Hippodrome from the 23rd to the 30th September 2023 at Theate Royal Plymouth 12th to the 14th October. It will run in London from the 18th to the 21st October 2023.
This new production is the second Birmingham-focussed commission from Carlos Acosta. The first, City of a Thousand Trades which looked at the city’s industrial heritage and multicultural communities, premiered in 2021. The idea of a Black Sabbath ballet has been on Carlos Acosta’s mind since he first arrived in Birmingham at the start of 2020, just before the pandemic hit. Black Sabbath played their first ever gig in The Crown pub just a stone’s throw from Birmingham Royal Ballet’s base on Thorp Street. The pub was recently saved from demolition and is deemed a heritage site by fans.
This full-evening ballet promises to be a unique undertaking with three composers and three choreographers, led by renowned Choreographer Pontus Lidberg (whose work has been performed by the Swedish Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet) and Composer Chris Austin (whose work includes orchestrating the White Stripes music for Wayne McGregor’s Chroma) working alongside award-winning writer Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer, The Opera) to create a metal symphony over three acts. Black Sabbath themselves have been closely involved in developing this unique collaboration.
The ballet is set to feature eight classic Black Saabath songs including: Paranoid (Paranoid, 1970); Ironman (Paranoid, 1970); War Pigs (Paranoid, 1970); Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath, 1970); Solitude (Master of Reality, 1971); Orchid (Master of Reality, 1971); Laguna Sunrise (Vol 4, 1972) and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, 1973).
Talking about the production, Carlos Acosta said: “‘It has been so great to finally have all of our creative team together after so much planning, and to get started on the actual creation process for this very ambitious show. There has been such an electric atmosphere in the rehearsal room, but also, this is just the beginning, there’s so much more to come!’
The full creative team is: Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidburg, Cuban designer Alexandre Arrechea, Tony Award winning composer Christopher Austin with additional choreographers Raúl Reinoso and Cassi Abranches and composers Marko Nyberg and Sun Keting. Richard Thomas is dramaturg for the project and lighting design is by Kieron Johnson. Capsule Director Lisa Meyer is Metal Curator.
To find out more about the ballet visit: https://www.brb.org.uk/shows/black-sabbath