The National Ballet of Japan Artistic Director, and former Royal Ballet principal, Yoshida Miyako presents the 2022-23 season with the world premiere of Macbeth by Will Tuckett and company premiere of The Dream by Frederick Ashton.
Macbeth by Will Tuckett
The National Ballet of Japan will perform the original ballet created by Will Tuckett, an Olivier award-winning choreographer with a remarkable international career. Of all of Shakespeare’s plays, Tuckett brings us Macbeth, a profound portrayal of prophecy, ambition, suspicion, intrigue, delirium and the psychology of a character driven to extremes. Inspired by the work of the same name by Scottish composer Geraldine Mucha, Tuckett will give a new lease of life to this story that has been told and retold in opera and film.
Will Tuckett said:
“I feel so lucky and honoured to be working with the National Ballet of Japan on this new ballet adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic play The Tragedy of Macbeth. Not only is it wonderful to be creating something new in the studio with these beautiful dancers, but also to be bringing such powerful characters and themes to the Tokyo ballet audience.
Alongside Martin Yates, I have had the opportunity to reconstruct and adapt the amazing score by Scottish composer Geraldine Mucha, and we are very excited to be able to give this powerful music a new audience through this ballet. The brilliant technical departments at the New National Theatre are working hard alongside my designer Colin Richmond and lighting designer Kei Sato to make this an unforgettable, exciting and gripping piece of dance theatre.
The Tragedy of Macbeth remains one of the most potent theatrical stories we have of terrible deeds, magical premonitions, passionate love and murder most foul. Crossing cultural boundaries and historical time frames, this salutary lesson in the dangers of vaulting ambition provides a cautionary tale as relevant today as ever.
I hope the Tokyo audiences enjoy my new creation in this bill, alongside one of the finest ballet adaptations of Shakespeare – Ashton’s The Dream as I am confident this promises be a rich and hugely rewarding evening of classic storytelling through dance.”
The Dream by Sir Frederick Ashton
This ballet was choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton based on a play by Shakespeare. The meticulous footwork and truly English mime bring a world of forests and fairies to life, as though it had leapt straight from the pages of a picture book. Highlights include the comical scene of Puck the fairy stirring up human-like turmoil among the fairies and the amazing pas de deux performed by the fairy king and queen, Titania and Oberon.
Performances run from 29 April to 6 May 2023. For tickets visit: National Ballet of Japan