Next month the Royal Shakespeare Company hosts Northern Ballet for the first time, with their electrifying re-imagining of William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. The production visits the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon as part of a new UK tour from Thursday 19 - Saturday 28 September.

Adapted by Christopher Gable CBE and Massimo Moricone, Romeo & Juliet is one of Northern Ballet’s most beloved and critically acclaimed productions. With glorious dancers, eye-catching sets and Prokofiev’s timeless music, this is ballet at its most dramatic, romantic and intense.

Joseph Taylor, Premier Dancer at Northern Ballet, who takes the role of Romeo, answers questions about the production.

What can audiences expect when they come and see Romeo & Juliet?

Audiences can expect to be taken on a rollercoaster of emotions. One of the most famous love stories of all time is in fact a tragedy and within a couple of hours Northern Ballet brings this turbulent story to life with passion, a sense of realism and beauty. 

How well do the dancers need to know or study the original Shakespeare script as well as learning the ballet?

We worked with Sir Gregory Doran, former Director of The Royal Shakespeare Company to study and learn more from Shakespeare’s text. It was great to delve deeper into an understanding of the story and the complexities of relations between key characters. 

Once we started to put scenes from the ballet together with choreography it was nice to see some of the pages of the play coming to life and also to notice where certain movements of steps were inspired from. 

What is your favourite dance from the show?

The ‘dance of the Knights’ has possibly the most iconic music of Prokofiev’s score, but I would have to say that the duet between Romeo and Juliet at her balcony is my favourite part to perform. It is also the emotional highlight before things begin to fall to pieces. 

You use real swords in the show - is that fun?  

I would say it’s fun now that we are rehearsed and have performed a few weeks of tour. However, during the early rehearsal period it was quite dangerous and scary. I dance both roles of Romeo and Tybalt so I have to be able to rehearse the entire lightning fast fight scenes in my head from show to show, and that requires a lot of concentration. 

What is your favourite love story?

The story of Cathy and Heathcliff in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Maybe I’m just obsessed with Northern Ballets excellent production of this story. 

How often do you have to rehearse?

We spent about eight weeks putting four casts of Romeo & Juliet together (we alternate casts each performance). Now we have to rehearse daily to maintain all of our quality and stamina on the production whilst at the same time, preparing for the many other ballets we will perform over the next seven months. 

How many ballet shoes do you go through?

I wear lace up leather boots for Romeo that take me at least 5 minutes to get on and they should last me the entire tour - but often need repairing. 

What is your pre-show ritual?

I have to refuel my body with a carb heavy meal at least 2.5 hours before the show, make sure I get some decent rest and then a shower to warm up my body again before I turn into Romeo with my costume and make up. 

Then I head to the stage 45 minutes before the show starts to stretch, get my body moving and ready for what it is about to go through emotionally and physically. 

If you could dance in any show, what would it be?

The answer to this question would require me to be able to sing, and unfortunately I do not have this talent, but I love the musical Miss Saigon. So maybe I’ll just have to stick to performing in the shower or being an audience member. 

What are the demands of being on tour?

Seven shows a week is not easy. I have been with Northern Ballet for almost 12 years and it doesn’t get any easier. It’s physically draining and each show I’m looking to go out there and perform my best, but it’s this challenge that keeps us coming back for more as artists. To take the audience on this ride with us and hear the reaction at the end makes it all worth it. 

How do you look after yourself performing multiple nights in a row?

Eat, sleep, dance, repeat. This is the formula. As long as I fuel my body with carbohydrates and refuel with proteins I know I have the energy for the shows. I stay hydrated always and stay strict with myself about getting at least eight hours of sleep. 

Read Joe’s full bio and find out more about his dancing career here