If you have a thing for modern musical theatre and have never been to a ballet, this might just be your gateway drug.
There can no better spirit guide for the coming nights of myth and magic, than Northern Ballet’s revival of Merlin at the Nottingham Theatre Royal. Delightfully choreographed by Drew McOnie, this is a ballet for all the ages, telling the tale of a youthful Merlin, the wizard at the centre of Arthurian legend. Through a lit magic circle, we are shown an origin story of many a superhero, as Merlin is abandoned and left in a basket to be found by his adoptive mother, a blacksmith, performed by Heather Lehan.
Starting in the difficult teenage years, with an engagingly stroppy Merlin performed by Harris Beatie, we see him trying to reconcile his emerging magical powers with the challenges of growing up. Realities that include his attraction for Morgan, a senior general played brilliantly by Sarah Chun, the bullying of passing soldiers and the rumblings of war. All normal teenage stuff, underscored by the protectiveness of his adoptive mother and a growing longing to know his birth parents.
The tale is a complex one, beautifully held in Grant Olding’s music, known for his work in musical theatre. In the swirl of the soldier’s skirts, the battle scenes are carried in a repeating yet changing melody, that fills the stage. The solos offer quiet yet resonant intimacies where the dancers become larger than themselves.
The recurring colours of set and costumes, designed by Colin Richmond take us seamlessly through scenes and a futuristic use of lights offers up the details of the tale. There is puppetry in the form of snapping dogs and a deliciously cute dragon. A tree comes down from the sky to fill the stage with intended enchantment, offering a worthy resting place for the Melin’s sword, Excalibur.
Following on from its world premiere in Nottingham in 2021, the joy of this production lies not only in the professionalism of the artistry but in the relatability of a story that is rooted in magic. At its heart this is a coming-of-age story, and whilst it disavows predictability, it references its roots, in Camelot and the round table. There is both forbidden and unrequited love, but its resolution or lack of it, is not the point. Neither the dancers nor the story are constrained by gender narratives. There are many beautiful, stand out scenes, and what is shown, both in the dancing and the story it tells, is how our acceptance of who we are and where we come from, is itself a superpower.
Northern Ballet’s Merlin is an enchanted beauty of a show, worthy of any comparison with more famous west end tales of witches and wizardry. If you have a thing for modern musical theatre and have never been to a ballet, this might just be your gateway drug.
Northern Ballet's Merlin is at Nottingham's Theatre Royal until Saturday 18 October 2025.
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