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Friday, June 3


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Reviews of the Royal Ballet in "Like Water for Chocolate."

The Guardian

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Not all choreographers are good directors, but Christopher Wheeldon is. Even when dealing with a tricky text such as Laura Esquivel’s magical realist novel Like Water for Chocolate, his is a steady hand. His choreography seems in a telepathic relationship with the melody and mystery of Joby Talbot’s score, while Bob Crowley’s designs, inspired by Mexican architect Luis Barragán, give a sense of heat and isolation, and some visually arresting coups de theatre.

The New York Times

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The ballet, a coproduction with American Ballet Theater, nods to the Royal Ballet’s narrative traditions, and, judging by the response on Thursday, is likely to find an enthusiastic audience. Choreographically though, it is only intermittently interesting; often it feels trapped in Story Ballet Land, a world in which activities are demonstratively telegraphed in the service of exposition.

Slipped Disc

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It’s also evident that Wheeldon is limited rather than released by three-act narrative. In several one-act pure-dance works, he’s shown brilliant accomplishment, exceptional in his control of stage geometries and sophisticated metres. Still, beneath their compositional gloss, none of his plotless works have much by way of poetic expression. His story ballets indulge a depressing fondness for expressionistic melodrama.....

The Jewish Chronicle

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The cast is outstanding, with Laura Morera as the cold and controlling Mama Elena (and we find out why she is like that in a powerfully moving scene), and Anna Rose O’Sullivan as Tita’s sister, overcome with lust thanks to Tita’s food. Stripping down to a sparkly leotard which leaves little to the imagination, she lights up the stage with erotic moves – a far cry from her Odette danced earlier this season.

 

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The Independent

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The storytelling has impressive clarity, but these events need more room to breathe. One of Tita’s recipes is an overwhelming aphrodisiac, conjuring revolutionary soldiers from under the table to run away with her sister Gertrudis. It’s a glittery, extravagant number, but it isn’t quite a showstopper. Like Gertrudis, splendidly danced by Anna Rose O’Sullivan, the ballet wants more heat and abandon.

The Telegraph

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The result of his efforts is three hours of luxurious, rip-roaring entertainment, its faults both few and obvious. At 55 minutes, Act I is too long yet also rushes by in a blur, not providing enough opportunity to grow close to the characters. There’s also too much choreography for the other sister, Gertrudis, at the expense of steps for the lovelorn Tita. As for the foodie side of Esquivel’s novel, it’s there, but could have been further exploited....

The Times

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But you have to do your homework. If you haven’t read the book you need to wade through more than a thousand words of detailed synopsis. If you don’t, you may be puzzled by some of the copious action (and the occasional vision scenes) on stage. Wheeldon’s mistake, I think, is trying to be too faithful to Esquivel’s sprawling family saga.

 

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