| Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake | 24 – 29 October 2005 Mon – Sat eves: 7.30pm Wed & Sat mats: 2.30pm Internationally celebrated since its Sadler's Wells premiere in 1995, Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake has become an outstanding success. It became the longest-running ballet in London's West End and then on Broadway before touring worldwide. Swan Lake has received over 30 international theatre awards and has been acclaimed as a landmark achievement on the international stage. |
To be absolutely honest, I think that Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake is a work of brilliance and ten years after it first took the dance world by storm, it still has the power to captivate. In short – I loved it!
 | | Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake |
But before somebody has a go at me about it all being some kind of elitist art, the whole point of this production is that it's completely accessible. You know exactly what's going on without having to read a synopsis in the programme and this is a tribute to Bourne's imagination and choreographical skills and the abilities of the dancers he employs to express emotions and convey situations. It's very funny, incredibly moving and wildly sexy at times. It looks fabulously stylish and you can't fail to be impressed by the elegance and strength of the dancers as they give this classic ballet a really modern twist with a relevance that certainly won't pass you by - especially if you are a Royal watcher! Bourne's handsome Prince danced by Simon Wakefield needs a wife but hooks up with an entirely unsuitable Z-list celebrity type, played in a wonderfully ditsy, and yet very sweet, fashion by Leigh Daniels. His frustration at not being allowed to pick the girl he wants leads him to be desperately unhappy, until he happens across a troupe of swans in a local park and falls in love with what they symbolise - the free spirit he isn't allowed to be.
 | | Swan Lake (Pic: Brian Cooper) |
Simon Wakefield's range of emotions from deep frustration to pure joy and back to pain that bordered on madness was palpable and while I have often been moved by dance, I don't think I've ever had tears running down my cheeks by the end before! Much has been made of the male swans over the years and rightly so - but if you haven't heard about it, Bourne has replaced the traditional female corps de ballet with a menacing male chorus of birds. | "There is certainly something very special about this show and I found that the joy of it did not lessen for it being ten years old." | | Katy lewis |
Anyone who has ever walked around Verulamium Lake in St Albans will know how intimidating swans can be! How strong they are but at the same time incredibly graceful as they glide serenely across the water. And watching Bourne's troupe of menacing, powerful and yet elegant male representations of these birds made me wonder how it was ever appropriate to use dainty women in tutus in these roles. I don't mean to suggest for one second that female dancers aren't strong or graceful - it's just a fact that men's bodies are different from women's and the sheer physicality of these men symbolically made all the difference. The "Chief Swan" was danced by Alan Vincent. All at once strong, sexy and yet tender, he commanded his stage not just as a bird but also as the leather-trousered Stranger at the Royal Ball where his seduction of the Queen, the impossibly elegant Saranne Curtin, drove the Prince into a jealous frenzy after recognising the incarnation of his swan. Well – if the object of your desire was flirting outrageously with your mother you’d be pretty mad too!
 | | Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake |
But there’s loads of fun too. There are some fabulous scenes where the Prince attempts to introduce The Girlfriend to The Queen, whose disdain is marvellous. The first is a hilarious trip to the theatre where The Girlfriend eats chocolates noisily and answers her mobile phone as they watch a fantastic parody of a classical ballet -stilted and over the top - it was simply everything that Bourne is not! The Prince then follows the girl to the seedy Swank night club where the low lifes twist the night away in a colourful smoke-filled room and the paparazzi hang around outside. There is certainly something very special about this show and I found that the joy of it did not lessen for it being ten years old. From Lez Brotherstone’s superb designs to the beauty, wit and imagination of the choreography, it is hugely satisfying.
 | | Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake |
And for anyone worried about someone "messing around" with a classic then I have to say that the essence is still there. It's still an incredibly moving portrayal of a yearning for an ideal that is ultimately unattainable and it’s still all set to Tchaikovsky’s fabulous score. If you love dance you will be fascinated, enthralled and genuinely moved - and if you "don't do dance", this production is capable of appealing to all and I would urge you to give it a try because if this doesn't get you, nothing will! And it will definitely change any perceived opinion of men in tights – because as far as the blokes are concerned – there’s not a nylon in sight! | 
