These Violent Delights (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

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These Violent Delights reimagines Romeo and Juliet through Scottish Ballet, following Juliet as fever, memory and hallucination converge. Directed by Oscar Sansom and Christopher Hampson, the 70-minute English-language drama centers on dance, queer belonging, defiance and self-discovery, with Kayla-Maree Tarantolo and Ishan Mahabir-Stokes in the lead roles.

These Violent Delights is a 2026 drama from Scottish Ballet that reinterprets Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet through ballet and film. Its story begins with Juliet awakening from a fever dream, creating an uncertain space where memory and hallucination overlap.

Directed by Oscar Sansom and Christopher Hampson, the film combines a dance performance with a kaleidoscopic account of queer belonging, defiance and self-discovery. Kayla-Maree Tarantolo plays Juliet, opposite Ishan Mahabir-Stokes as Romeo.

These Violent Delights movie details

Story without spoilers

Juliet wakes from a fever dream and is drawn into a fractured retelling of Romeo and Juliet. As the boundaries between what she remembers and what she imagines become less distinct, the story unfolds through the meeting of cinema and dance.

The film presents familiar Shakespearean figures—including Romeo, Lord and Lady Capulet, the Nurse, Mercutio and Benvolio—in a ballet-centered interpretation. Its supplied premise places Juliet’s experience at the heart of a story about queer belonging, resistance and discovering oneself.

What to expect

Viewers can expect a drama built around ballet performance, movement and a stylized reworking of Romeo and Juliet. The fever-dream setup suggests a narrative that moves between memory and hallucination rather than presenting the story in strictly straightforward terms.

The film’s identity is closely tied to Scottish Ballet, while its premise emphasizes the relationship between cinema and dance. It is also framed around queer belonging, defiance and self-discovery, giving this version of Shakespeare’s tragedy a contemporary interpretive focus.

Cast and creative team

Kayla-Maree Tarantolo stars as Juliet, with Ishan Mahabir-Stokes as Romeo. The cast also includes Christopher Akrill as Lord Capulet, Marge Hendrick as Lady Capulet, Grace Horler as the Nurse, Anna Williams as Petra, Bruno Micchiardi as Benvolio, Andrea Azzari as Mercutio, Rishan Benjamin as Sister Giovanna and Harvey Littlefield as Sister Laurence.

Oscar Sansom and Christopher Hampson direct. No writer is listed in the supplied credits.

• Kayla-Maree Tarantolo as Juliet
• Ishan Mahabir-Stokes as Romeo
• Christopher Akrill as Lord Capulet
• Marge Hendrick as Lady Capulet
• Grace Horler as Nurse
• Anna Williams as Petra
• Bruno Micchiardi as Benvolio
• Andrea Azzari as Mercutio
• Rishan Benjamin as Sister Giovanna
• Harvey Littlefield as Sister Laurence

Release and production context

These Violent Delights is listed as a 2026 release, with a release date of October 21, 2026. It has a runtime of 1 hour and 10 minutes and is classified as a drama. The spoken language is English.

The production companies are Forest of Black and Scottish Ballet. The supplied metadata does not identify a country of production. Its listed keywords are dance, ballet performance and Romeo & Juliet.

Production companies: Forest of Black, Scottish Ballet

These Violent Delights official trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube

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These Violent Delights offers a compact, dance-led reinterpretation of Romeo and Juliet, using Juliet’s fever dream as the entry point into a story shaped by memory, hallucination and identity. With Scottish Ballet at its center, the film is defined by its blend of filmed storytelling and performance rather than a conventional dramatic presentation.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb