Birmingham Royal Ballet's Black Sabbath - The Ballet to Tour the UK in Autumn 2025

After wowing audiences and critics alike with a sold-out premiere in 2023, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s hit production of Black Sabbath - The Ballet will commence a UK tour in autumn 2025.

Hot on the heels of Black Sabbath’s farewell gig at Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham this summer, Black Sabbath - The Ballet will return with a homecoming at Birmingham Hippodrome from 18 to 27 September following dates in Europe and the USA.

The production will then visit Manchester’s The Lowry, Salford for the first time (8 – 11 Oct) before returning to Theatre Royal Plymouth (16 – 18 Oct) and Sadler’s Wells, London (22 – 25 Oct) before finishing with a Scottish premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre (30 Oct – 1 Nov). 

Following a complete sell-out premiere season in Autumn 2023, bringing heavy metal fans to ballet for the first time, the 2025 tour will incorporate brand-new audio interviews with Black Sabbath band members, voices such as Sharon Osborne and fans from across the globe. The sound design has also been revised, sharpened and turned up to full volume for this electric night of dance and rock that audiences have never experienced before.

Birmingham Royal Ballet Director, Carlos Acosta said: “Back in 2023 we were blown away by the awesome success of Black Sabbath - The Ballet, selling out at every performance with standing ovations and bringing audiences that had never experienced live dance before to the theatre. Now, in 2025, we are cranking the volume up to 11 with a big, bold UK tour that is sure to knock everyone’s socks off!”

Black Sabbath co-founder, lead guitarist and co-songwriter Tony Iommi said “Black Sabbath have always been innovators and never been predictable, and it doesn’t come any more unpredictable than this! It was incredible to see what Carlos and the team at Birmingham Royal Ballet did back in 2023 - bringing our music to life in a way I never thought possible! It’s fantastic that more fans across the country get to see this extraordinary production this autumn on a UK tour.”

Composer Christopher Austin is the mastermind behind the classical reimagining of some of Black Sabbath’s most iconic songs, played live at every performance by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Tony Award-winning Christopher worked closely with Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi on the score, creating full orchestrations of legendary Black Sabbath tracks alongside new orchestral works inspired by their music. The orchestra is joined by guitarist Marc Hayward who plays live on stage alongside the dancers at every show.

Christopher Austin said: “For the music team, creating the score for this extraordinary ballet has been an exhilarating journey, and it all began with the most amazing gift from Tony: his trust in us to honour the band’s music and his encouragement to follow our own new paths with those iconic songs.

“The passion and commitment of the whole creative team at BRB and the overwhelming response from audiences has made Black Sabbath – The Ballet the experience of a lifetime and I can’t wait to be back in the theatre conducting this magical show.”

The eight Black Sabbath tracks featured are: Paranoid (Paranoid, 1970);  Ironman (Paranoid, 1970); War Pigs (Paranoid, 1970); Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath, 1970); Solitude (Master of Reality, 1971);  Orchid (Master of Reality, 1971); Laguna Sunrise (Vol 4, 1972) and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, 1973). 

A full-length, three-act, Ballet Now commission, Black Sabbath - The Ballet  was created by a host of international talent including lead Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidburg and Cuban designer Alexandre Arrechea with additional choreographers Raúl Reinoso and Cassi Abranches and composers Marko Nyberg and Sun Keting. Dramaturgy is by Richard Thomas and lighting design is by KJ. Metal Curator is Lisa Meyer.