Birmingham Royal Ballet celebrates Sir Peter Wright's Centenary with Gala Performance

Sir Peter Wright Centenary on 18 June will feature highlights from some of the director and choreographer’s most beloved works including Giselle, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and Coppélia.

For one night only, Carlos Acosta dances the role of Death in one of Sir Peter’s favourite works, The Green Table, last performed by BRB in the early 1990s.

The Gala performance is followed by 20th-Century Masterpieces on 19 & 20 June featuring Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations and The Green Table.
 
This June, Birmingham Royal Ballet will mark 100 years of Founding Director Laureate and one of ballet’s most influential directors and choreographers, Sir Peter Wright, with a special gala performance at their home, Birmingham Hippodrome, on Thursday 18 June 2026.
 
The internationally renowned touring ballet company was first established in Birmingham by Sir Peter Wright in 1990, transferring the Company to the city after formerly being known as Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet. Firmly establishing BRB’s global reputation, Sir Peter is responsible for some of the most beloved productions in the Company’s repertoire including The Nutcracker, Giselle, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and Coppélia.
 
The special gala performance on 18 June will begin with a défilé by members of Elmhurst Ballet School. The Birmingham Royal Ballet Company will then present highlights from some of Sir Peter’s most cherished productions including excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty including the Act III Polonaise and Grand Pas de Deux, Coppélia’s Pas de Deux and Franz solo from Act III, Giselle’s Act II Pas de Deux and grand highlights from Swan Lake including the Black Swan Pas de Deux.
 
At Sir Peter’s special request, the evening will conclude with one of his favourite pieces, Kurt Jooss’s 1932 ballet, The Green Table. Last staged for Birmingham Royal Ballet by Sir Peter in the early 1990s, the themes of the futility of war and the failure of political diplomacy continue their pertinence in the current political climate. Sir Peter credits Jooss with shaping his understanding of choreography, “learning that movement for its own sake has no importance, that one must have something to communicate when performing for an audience, and that choreography is as much about ideas as it is about steps”. For the gala performance only, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Director, Carlos Acosta will dance the role of Death in The Green Table for the very first time in his career.
 
Carlos Acosta said: “There are no words to explain the scale of Sir Peter’s contribution to the heritage, history and legacy of not only Birmingham Royal Ballet, but the art form as a whole. We couldn’t let his 100th year pass us by without celebration, and this very special evening will feature a sample of some of his most cherished productions that have been enjoyed by audiences across the globe since BRB’s beginnings back in 1990.
 
“At Sir Peter’s request, we will also be staging one of his favourite works - The Green Table - to mark the occasion. For the first time in nearly 35 years, it is an honour for BRB to be staging this extraordinarily relevant work. For one night only at the gala performance, I look forward to dancing the role of Death in this brave work.”
 
On Friday 19 & Saturday 20 June, Birmingham Royal Ballet will present 20th-Century Masterpieces - a triple-bill of some of ballet’s most important works of the last century. BRB’s founder choreographer, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering was made for the then Sadler’s Wells Ballet to celebrate their 25th anniversary in 1956. George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations was created in 1947 and is a gilded celebration of ballet and dance featuring the beautiful music of Tchaikovsky. The triple-bill is completed with further performances of The Green Table.
 
For more information and to book tickets visit brb.org.uk.
 
20th-Century Masterpieces is supported by donors to the Caroline Miller Fund. The Green Table is supported by Stuart Sweeney and Fern & Clive Potter. Birthday Offering is supported by The Frederick Ashton Foundation and The Rick Mather David Scrase Foundation.