REVIEW: BODY AND SOUL @ THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH

🎭 Body and Soul

📍  The Lyric, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Royal Parade, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 2TR

🗓 Thursday 30th April 2026

⭐️ 5 Stars

SHEER MESMERIC BRILLIANCE

The English National Ballet are back with a high-energy, powerful double bill and I couldn’t be happier. Their celebrated return to Plymouth after 36 years means more extraordinary dance for keen audiences and they absolutely did not disappoint. 

Body and Soul (part one):

Choreographed by the inimitable Crystal Pite, this brought me on the edge of my seat with its sheer intensity. Figures in black and white ebb and flow across the space seemingly responding to the narrator’s commands, all in French. Duos to ensemble then back, repeating movements. Staccato at first then softening into mesmerising synchronicity, finishing with a little shock, a pause. With narrator, Marina Hands' hypnotic voice sequencing on repeat, the duos become less androgynous, friends, colleagues, lovers, enemies emerge from the darkness into the harsh light. Each performance has its own surprising narrative. Now the voice becomes a thread in a soundscape, no longer everything, sometimes blurred but holding a shape within other sounds and music. The dancers swarm through movements, enhanced by Nancy Bryant’s monochrome costumes, to become waves or maybe breaths, not sure it matters. They hunch as if protecting each other only to morph into a conflict. Even in discordant mood their perfect unison is incredible and joyous to behold, at one point there are an astonishing 36 dancers onstage. This work is a profoundly beautiful exploration of the human need to belong while holding their own space. I hope, very soon, to see it again alongside Parts two and three!

Proper Conduct:

Phew, warm lighting, pretty dresses, colourful shirts, happy people skipping to music in sharp contrast to the previous work. The audience relaxes a little. After an amusing introduction from an odd, robotic clownlike figure in white spangled costume who declares his name is… “Not important!” and we enjoy the delightful scene. 

Not for long, however, as the robot returns, not so amusing now, to inform us society is rotting beneath the surface but “they” will keep us safe. There follows a disturbing passage demonstrating the “rot” followed by the return of the now positively sinister “Not Important” and his bot minions to clean up on our behalf. 

The brilliant use of lighting, costume and music in this work add so much to the whole. It was quite uncomfortable being blasted by relentless white lights on occasions adding a squirm factor to watching

In a world where everyone seems to have an opinion on how we should live our lives and many in power are determined to impose their ideology on us all, I found choreographer, Kameron N Saunders’ narrative scarily pertinent. The switch from warm, youthful bucolic loveliness to chilling monochromatic bots was deeply unpleasant to watch, a tribute to the magnificent ENB dancers. It is certainly a work to ponder on the way home. 

This is a breathtaking double bill by a world class company of dancers and creatives. I am thrilled at the return of the ENB to Theatre Royal Plymouth’s stage and hope it will be the first of many visits. The theatre has an enviable reputation for bringing excellence to the South West, these performances can only enhance that.

Performances continue at TRP until Saturday 2nd May. CLICK HERE to check availability and to book tickets.

Rosie Sharman-Ward

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one person.

My ticket for this performance of Body and Soul was gifted by Theatre Royal Plymouth who invited me to watch the show on behalf of Pink Prince Theatre in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.

COMPANY:

Dancers: Aitor Arrieta, Claire Barrett, Alice Bellini, Georgia Bould, Ivana Bueno, Zai Calliste, Thalina Chapin, Jung ah Choi, Anna Ciriano, Julia Conway, Ashley Coupal, Noam Durand, Hatice Çağla Ertürk, Eireen Evrard, Shunhei Fuchiyama, Gareth Haw, Minju Kang, Chloe Keneally, Katja Khaniukova, Sangeun Lee, Adriana Lizardi, Swanice Luong, Jose María Lorca Menchón, Skyler Martin, Anna Nevzorova, Haruhi Otani, Rodrigo Pinto, Fabian Reimair, Paulo Rodrigues, Ken Saruhashi, Thiago Silva, Junor Souza, Lucinda Strachan, Lorenzo Trossello, Sacha Venkatasawmy, Rhys Antoni Yeomans.

Creatives Body and Soul (part1): Choreography, text - Crystal Pite, Music - Owen Belton Additional Music - Frederic Chopin, Voice - Marina Hands, Costume Design - Nancy Bryant, Lighting Design - Tom Visser

Creatives Proper Conduct: Choreography - Kameron N. Saunders, Music- Brandon Finklea, Harold Walker III, Design- Kimie Nakano, Lighting Design- Joshie Harriette, Music performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic

RUNNING TIME (approx):

1 hour 30 minutes, including interval

CONTENT WARNINGS:

Strobes; Flashing lights; Haze; Adult themes that may be upsetting

AGE GUIDELINE:

12+

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