Scottish Ballet and Forest of Black have announced a partnership with Tull Stories to bring their new dance feature film These Violent Delights to cinemas across the UK and Ireland from 21 October 2026.
The visually ambitious production offers a contemporary, wordless reinterpretation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, exploring themes of identity, love, memory and transformation through dance. The film is directed by BAFTA and multi award-winning filmmaker Oscar Sansom, known for projects including Biffy Clyro: A Celebration of Endings, and features choreography and creative direction from Christopher Hampson CBE, CEO and Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet, whose career includes work with English National Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet and Atlanta Ballet.
These Violent Delights will receive its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in August 2026 before its nationwide theatrical release in October. Shot across locations in Scotland, the film marks Scottish Ballet’s first major feature-length dance film following years of acclaimed work in dance cinema and digital innovation.
The film reimagines the final moments of Romeo and Juliet through Juliet’s perspective, entering a dreamlike world where memories, emotions and reality merge. As Juliet awakens from a fever dream, the story unfolds through movement rather than dialogue, creating a cinematic exploration of belonging, defiance and self-discovery.
Christopher Hampson CBE, Director and CEO/Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet, said:
“The idea came about from thinking about a version I’d done of Romeo & Juliet as a ballet where I was always struck by the third act that it’s basically Juliet’s story. The film is a Romeo and Juliet story told very much from the viewpoint of Juliet and their reminiscences, their remembering and misremembering in real time. It’s probably only two or three minutes of Juliet’s awakeness, but the film delves much deeper into their unconsciousness. Scottish Ballet has made a name for itself in dance film over the last ten years, winning awards for short films and digital innovation, but this is on a whole other level, and I’m thrilled we’ll be in cinemas across the UK, reaching new and established audiences.”
Director Oscar Sansom explained that revisiting such a well-known story allowed the creative team to explore new perspectives and take artistic risks.
“There’s something interesting about working with a classic tale that is so ingrained within people, which almost gives you liberty to be a bit more creative and take a few more risks in how you retell it. We spoke about what elements of the story we don’t get to see and arrived at the idea of Juliet’s fever dream when they’re asleep at the end of the story. Compared to dialogue, physical movement can have a more direct connection to emotion. I feel like dreams are the same thing – they don’t often make narrative sense, but they make emotional sense. And I think that really works for how we use choreography in the film.”
Kayla-Maree Tarantolo, who portrays Juliet and is a soloist with Scottish Ballet, described the process of creating a more personal interpretation of the iconic character.
“I put my everything into this role. Julia Cheng’s process was different to the rest I’ve had in my career, mainly because we went off emotion first. We picked three emotions and created the steps from that which really helped to make it my own. There are so many Juliets and it’s been done so many times, so this made it really authentic and mine and that’s where the magic happens because if you’ve got the emotion first, the steps can just come after. We wanted to make our version of Juliet strong and confident but also super vulnerable.”
She added that one key sequence reflects the film’s portrayal of Juliet’s identity and confidence:
“One specific scene which I think really shows off our Juliet is when they’re in their bedroom and basically just dancing for themselves in the mirror just showing that they do have confidence and they know who they are – that really just embodies our Juliet.”
Jonny Tull, Founder of Tull Stories, said:
“These Violent Delights is a feast for the senses. This electric retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story will delight fans of cinema and the arts, kindle passions and truly inspire audiences. Tull Stories is overjoyed to partner with Scottish Ballet to bring this remarkable work to screens all over the UK and Ireland.”
With its fusion of ballet, cinema and contemporary storytelling, These Violent Delights represents a new chapter in Scottish Ballet’s ongoing exploration of dance on screen, bringing the company’s acclaimed visual style to a feature-length theatrical experience.