Royal Ballet and Opera: Manon

The Royal Ballet's Manon comes to the Taliesin Arts Centre on Tuesday 27 October, showing in the Event Cinema. It's a film of Kenneth MacMillan's 1974 production, which he adapted from Abbé Prévost's novel, and it's one of the company's signature works.

The story is set in the seedy underbelly of 18th-century Paris and follows Manon, who finds herself torn between two very different lives. She falls in love with the student Des Grieux, whose steady devotion offers her an honourable future, but she's also drawn to the riches promised by Parisian society. It's that tug-of-war between love and luxury that drives the whole thing, and the way MacMillan handles it is what the production is known for. He brings a nuanced understanding of human psychology to the role, and you can see that playing out as Manon's world slowly unravels around her.

On the technical side, the ballet is set to Jules Massenet's score, with designs by Nicholas Georgiadis. It's a long one, so if you're planning your evening, keep in mind it runs for 190 minutes. The film is rated BBFC 15, which is worth noting if you're bringing anyone younger along.

It starts at 7:15pm at the Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea, and tickets are £15.50 full price, with under-26s and students getting in for £5.00.