Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake first burst to life on stage in 1995, altering the face of classical dance eternally. This trendy traditional has been breaking information within the thirty years since.
Retaining, however re-ordering Tchaikovsky’s authentic 1875/1876 rating, this revolutionary re-telling of the story hangs on it completely. The music is essentially lovely whichever order it’s performed and completely suits no matter period this ballet is ready in.
This imaginative take injects a vitality, freshness and relevance to the story alongside along with his trademark wit. In Bourne’s fingers this fantastical story takes on a way more ‘human’ kind. Instead of the Odette/Odile/Siegfried triangle it’s now the story of a melancholic, maternally rejected prince longing desperately for liberty and love. A prince whose emotional demise we observe via the course of this exquisitely conceived and delivered manufacturing. It is a darkish, and at instances sinister story of repression and sexual fantasy, punctuated all through with intelligent humour.
This Swan Lake can be, after all, that present with the gender swapped swans: as an alternative of the prettily prancing pens, it’s a herd of predatory and highly effective cobs scorching with electrical energy and no small dose of menace. In ridding the story of its anticipated gender roles it has rather more energy. The ambiance is tangible, you may really feel the anticipation develop as we edge nearer to the arrival of the swans. Explosive, exhilarating and electrifying, they don’t disappoint. At first shadowy fragments on the fringe of the Prince’s consciousness, they burst vigorous, centre stage to finish act one. Their actions hypnotic, virtually tribal.
That stated, the stage bristles with life from curtain up. The putting sequences of motion are finely detailed, mesmerising, dangerously sexual and totally spine-tingling all through. It is inconceivable to not be captivated. Leonardo McCorkindale’s Prince is fantastically danced and emotionally poignant and Jackson Fisch has a formidable presence: savage, swaggering and sexual, making certain and memorable efficiency because the Swan/Stranger. The precision and dedication of all the firm is totally on present. This is a really cohesive firm, every working collectively to ship perfection to its viewers.
Enhanced by the fiercely imaginative, monumental stage design by Lez Brotherston, the manufacturing stays fantastically atmospheric and brilliantly ingenious three many years on. The motion transferring swiftly from palace to opera home to sleazy bar to ballroom with ease. There are visible gags and creative treats all through.
Thirty years on, Swan Lake stays as totally good because it ever was, you can’t fail to understand the visible spectacle and the sheer originality of storytelling and staging. It is transferring and exhilarating in equal measure. A deal with for the soul. Unmissable.
Runs till 7 June 2025 | Image: Johan Persson
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