Nothing in this new show, Black Sabbath, matches the sheer audacity of the initial concept – but perhaps nothing could. One cultural pillar of Britain’s second city – Carlos Acosta’s Birmingham Royal Ballet – meets another, Ozzy Osbourne’s heavy metal icons. High jumps and head banging? It shouldn’t remotely work, but it delivers a generous-spirited crowdpleaser which hits Sadler’s Wells from 18 October.
Acosta makes it his mission to reflect Brum’s distinctive multicultural meld, but also welcomes far-flung talents. This show gathers three choreographers and three composers from six different countries. It could have been a right old mess, but the various voices are harmonised by composer Christopher Austin, whose orchestrations have the whomping urgency of a movie score – some could be classic James Bond.
