Part of a mixed programme, Kenneth MacMillan’s ballet explores themes of repression and sensuality through groundbreaking choreography.

First performed in 1963, Las Hermanas was the first of six works that Kenneth MacMillan made for the Stuttgart Ballet. It is based on Federico García Lorca’s 1945 play La Casa De Bernarda Alba and set to Frank Martin’s Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra.

Las Hermanas tells the story of five unmarried sisters who live under the rule of their oppressive mother. When the younger sister seduces the eldest sister’s fiancé, there are devastating repercussions.

The sisters’ contrasting temperaments are communicated through their movements. While the eldest, introverted sister dances with clenched fists and her pas de deux with her fiancé is rigid and inhibited, the sensual younger sister dances with abandon.

MacMillan pushed classical choreography to new limits with Las Hermanas, not least in its shocking final scene. Nicholas Georgiadis’s stark, prison-like set and Frank Martin’s score combine to create an atmosphere of unsettling claustrophobia.

Concerto, Las Hermanas and Requiem are performed together.

Find out more about the rich variety of West End shows on offer in Theatreland.