At the start of February, it was announced that Black Sabbath, who formed in 1968, would return for one final gig. The heavy metal event, which also featured rock titans such as Guns N’ Roses and Metallica, was a huge success. Played in the band’s hometown of Birmingham at Villa Park, £140 million was raised for charity. The news of Ozzy’s death, just over two weeks later, came as a shock, with fans lining the streets to pay their respects. The Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Black Sabbath-The Ballet tour has been one way for fans to mark the passing of Ozzy’s death while celebrating the unique legacy of the band.
Director Carlos Acosta was in Edinburgh for the opening night. He had the foresight to realise the initial project, finding a connection between his own working-class background and that of Black Sabbath. The BRB has achieved something great in bringing those out who would not normally visit a theatre to watch ballet. Long-haired Sabbath fans sat beside elderly balletomanes, both enjoying the evening in equal measure. The audience spanned a variety of generations in a packed-out theatre that was buzzing with atmosphere long before the curtain lifted. Much like the post-war gloom of industrial Birmingham that forged Sabbath, the dancers emerge from a supernatural and gothic black to the soundtrack of the band’s second and third albums, Paranoid and Master of Reality. Gradually, sixteen light boxes appear from the sky, each representing the creative alchemy and story of the band. Guitarist Marc Hayward riffs through the likes of Iron Man and Paranoid. It’s an arresting moment when, while still playing, he is held overhead by an army of dancers.
What works particularly well in Act II is allowing the band, along with Ozzy’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, to tell the Black Sabbath story, which is both compelling and humorous. Twelve dancers, grouped in fours, represent youth and the fledgling band as they were in the late 1960s. The dancers move and pirouette to the more melodic side of Sabbath, such as the Spanish guitar-flavoured Orchid and Planet Caravan. What could be more terrifying than the haunting sound of the band’s track Black Sabbath as Halloween approaches? The orchestra has fun with big, heavy riff numbers, such as this and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. The enthusiasm of Lead Composer, Project Music Supervisor, and Conductor Christopher Austin, who has joined forces with Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi on the arrangements, shines through at various points. Austin’s flute arrangement in the final act summons the emotional relationship between fans and the band; it sounds even more poignant in light of recent events. The fallen angel Sabbath logo, known as Henry, stands aloft on top of an upturned and wrecked 1970s car, perhaps representing the demon of Sabbath’s anti-vietnam anthem War Pigs that “spreads his wings”. The melding of heavy metal and ballet is one that works surprisingly well!
Five Stars
Reviewed by Richard Purden.
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