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Last night at LOWRY, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Black Sabbath – The Ballet roared onto the stage, marrying dizzying classical dance with the raw grit of Brummie heavy metal.
After its acclaimed world premiere in 2023, the production has returned in 2025 with renewed energy. The LOWRY audience was dotted with Sabbath T-shirts, and I even spied a few Aston Villa shirts, Ozzy’s beloved team – so they were performing for a partisan crowd.
For a show born out of Birmingham’s cultural heartbeat, the home city of both the band and the ballet company, it feels fitting that it should now be touring the country, after the passing of the band’s iconic frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, spreading its electrifying mix of art forms to new audiences.
Act One – War Pigs
The first act opened with Ozzy Osbourne’s unmistakable voice filling the theatre, singing the early Sabbath classic War Pigs. It was a moving choice, particularly as Carlos Acosta, the company’s artistic director, had prefaced the evening with a heartfelt dedication to Osbourne, who passed away in July. This gesture ensured that the performance carried a strong tribute.
Choreographed by Raúl Reinoso, the act featured 17 dancers clad in black, moving through shadowy, almost funereal formations. Yaoqian Shang and Javier Rojas danced as a lovestruck couple, often joined at the lips in prolonged embraces that seemed either defiant or suffocating, depending on the interpretation. There were sparks of flair, particularly when the full company swelled into rapid, swirling sequences, but much of the choreography struggled to match the muscularity of the music. For a ballet born of heavy metal, the opening act felt surprisingly restrained.
Act Two – The story of Black Sabbath
The mood shifted in the second act, choreographed by Cassi Abranches. Here, the dancers donned 1970s-inspired costumes, with flared trousers and retro swagger that immediately lifted the tone. The act was interspersed with autobiographical voice-overs from band members and Sharon Osbourne, reminding the audience that behind the legend of Black Sabbath lies a story of four working-class young men from Birmingham who changed music forever.
Abranches’s choreography played more freely with rhythm and syncopation, capturing the restless pulse of Sabbath’s music. The act felt more cohesive and emotionally resonant than the first, offering a glimpse of what the ballet could achieve at its best.
Act Three – a raucous finale
If the first act was too subdued and the second better balanced, the final act was where the production truly found its footing. Under the guidance of lead choreographer Pontus Lidberg, the curtain rose on a vibrant scene that combined balletic athleticism with unabashed theatricality. Riku Ito’s buoyant performance, in playful interaction with guitarist Marc Hayward, embodied the joyous collision of rock and classical traditions. This was the closest the ballet came to capturing the energy of a live Sabbath performance.
The music soared here too. Christopher Austin, serving as lead composer, music supervisor, and conductor, drew thrilling sounds from the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. The orchestra tackled both Sabbath classics, Paranoid, Iron Man, and more, and newly commissioned works inspired by the band’s sonic legacy.
Austin’s orchestrations revealed unexpected textures in the familiar riffs, while composers Marko Nyberg and Sun Keting added new voices to the mix. At times, the music overwhelmed the dance, but in this act especially, the balance was far stronger.
The production values throughout were high, if not always imaginative. K.J.’s lighting design gave the stage a dramatic sheen, casting stark shadows and sudden flashes of colour that nodded to rock concert aesthetics. Joshua Blair’s sound design ensured the orchestral arrangements packed a visceral punch. If the costumes, designed by Alexandre Arrechea sometimes felt flat compared to the boldness of the music, the overall visual atmosphere still carried impact.
A clash of worlds
What makes Black Sabbath – The Ballet such an intriguing project is the sheer unlikeliness of its premise. Heavy metal, with its raw distortion and rebellious ethos, is not an obvious bedfellow for ballet, with its traditions of refinement and discipline. Yet under Carlos Acosta’s visionary leadership, Birmingham Royal Ballet has leaned into this contrast, and in doing so has sparked a conversation about what ballet can be in the 21st century.
That said, the production is not without flaws. At times, it leans too heavily on the weight of Sabbath’s music, expecting the mere presence of classics like War Pigs or Paranoid to carry scenes.
At others, it risks feeling like a high-end tribute concert rather than a fully integrated ballet. The absence of the anarchic, almost dangerous energy that defined Black Sabbath’s live performances is noticeable; this is, after all, a carefully curated ballet, not a sweaty gig in a Birmingham club.
Still, there are moments of genuine alchemy, when the orchestra surges, the dancers explode across the stage, and the audience feels the electricity of two seemingly incompatible worlds colliding. Those moments, though fleeting, are thrilling.
The Verdict
By the end of the evening, The Lowry’s audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation. Whether all were swept away by the artistry or by the sheer audacity of the concept, is hard to say. But one thing is certain: Black Sabbath – The Ballet is a bold experiment that refuses to be ignored. It feels like a huge, fun hit and the crowd were lapping it up.
It may not fully capture the raucous chaos of heavy metal, but it does succeed in reframing it through the lens of ballet, opening doors to new audiences and redefining what both art forms can encompass.
The show asks big questions about tradition, innovation, and cultural crossover. And, just as Black Sabbath once redefined the sound of rock, Birmingham Royal Ballet here nudges ballet towards new horizons. If you come expecting a rock concert, you may leave underwhelmed. But if you come willing to witness a fearless artistic experiment, you will not be disappointed.
Black Sabbath The Ballet at LOWRY
Black Sabbath The Ballet is on at LOWRY until Saturday 11th of Oct 2025. You can get tickets by clicking here
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