Being a massive fan of Tchaikovsky’s iconic ballet Swan Lake
and the legend himself, Matthew Bourne I had a feeling I was going to enjoy
this show but what I was unaware of was the extent to which I would be moved
and changed forever by this performance.
Although the idea of a full cast of male swans sounds ground
breaking and very 2018, this piece was in fact first performed over 20 years
ago back in 1995 at Sadler’s Wells.
Like Matthew Bourne’s other ballets, this is a very stylised
modern take on Swan Lake and is partnered up with Lez Brotherson’s stunning and
innovative designs. The prince played beautifully by Dominic North is reimagined
as a rather delicate and fragile character who yearns desperately for his icy mother’s
affection and approval (Nicole Kabera). The swans once played by pristine slender
girls in tutus are now fierce and muscular men clad in white britches and serve
as a reminder that although swans are graceful creatures they have the capacity
to peck a man to death.
In Act One we are given the full Royal Family treatment,
with the traditional court scenes mirroring an audience with the Windsors, with
the royal wave and all the trimmings. There are many humorous moments throughout
this act including the various social ‘blunders’ made by The Girlfriend
(Katrina Lyndon).
The mood changes when the swans appear in the iconic
Entrance of the Swans scene. Bourne has reinvented the choreography to suit the
male dancers and the swans hiss and stamp their feet. We are treated to an
incredibly romantic and tender pas de deux between The Prince and The Swan (Will
Bozier). The audience witness a sexual awakening in The Prince and it is so
satisfying to see him finally gain the affection and understanding he has craved for so long.
In Act Two Will Bozier reappears again as The Stranger
(Black Swan) at a Palace party sporting leather trousers and a sexy swagger.
The feminist in me hates how charmed I am by his bad boy magnetism as usually
it is much easier to dislike the standard female Black Swan.
In true Bourne style we somehow end up in an asylum (?! ) with
eerie identical drag nurses that somehow remind me of Heath Ledger’s Joker in
The Dark Knight when he disguises himself in the nurse costume.
The swans raise their cruel heads and The Prince and The
Swan meet their fate in a tragic love conquers all finale.
This is a tender, emotional and powerful piece that
challenges our views on masculinity and the beauty of the dancing paired with
Tchaikovsky’s score is enough to draw a tear from the driest of eyes.
