State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne
September 18, 2018

The Australian Ballet’s new version of Spartacus is the company’s season centrepiece. The ballet is as big and as bold as they come. It’s visceral and political; allegorical and contemporary. And despite its story being thousands of years old, the ballet insists on its relevance – offering an incisive comment on the politics of power and the choices we make between complicity and resistance.

Kevin Jackson and artists of The Australian Ballet. Photograph © Jeff Busby

Spartacus tells the story of its eponymous hero who, after being captured as a prisoner of war by consul Crassus, is trained to become a gladiator in Ancient Rome. Horrified by the violence he is forced to endure, Spartacus is spurred to rebellion and incites his fellow captives to rise up. The rebels storm Crassus’ villa where Spartacus’ wife, Flavia, is enslaved. In a moment of mercy, Spartacus spares Crassus’ life, but this only triggers an epic battle between the Roman army and the rebel forces.

Choreographer Lucas Jervies has thought carefully about how to tell the ancient gladiator’s story in 2018. Rather than exclusively focusing on themes of passion, honour...