Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Director and Choreographer: Matthew Bourne
Elegance and grace, a timeless classic is gifted the opportunity to stretch its wings once again. A story of love, 
betrayal and the battle of good vs evil, Matthew Bourne seems to have succeeded again in combining beauty and brutality, cementing himself further as a leading name in the world of ballet and theatre. He expertly mixes the classic with the primal, adding a new level of masculine depth to the performance.
His Swan Lake is focused around an emotionally inept relationship between a prince (Stephen Murray) struggling with the weight of his responsibilities and his mother (Ashley Shaw) who bestows her complete attention on the soldiers surrounding her and only seeks to acknowledge her son when civic duty demands it. There’s a distance between these characters that neither can seem to bridge despite a deep longing on both parts to do so.
The heavy melancholic atmosphere is supplemented by the comedic relief of the girlfriend (Katrina Lyndon) who uses her beauty to capture the prince’s attention yet fails to keep it once proving to be an unsuitable partner and failing to fit into the rigid royal world of expectation and etiquette. Initially appearing to be just another vapid fame-hungry woman, she proves faithful, daring, loyal, captivating and winning the audience’s love and ultimately breaking their hearts.
Echoing the classic 19th-century ballet, at his lowest moment when all seems lost the prince is met with a double figure (Harrison Dowzell). Initially temperamental, the white swan proves aloof choosing when to accept the prince’s affection and when to strike. Each movement flows into the next appearing effortless, forging a harmony between the two characters. In contrast, the black swan commands the room, demanding the attention of all to sate his carnal desires. His movements are sharp and precise cutting through the stage with his wild and intoxicating aura.
Bourne taps into the depths of the human psyche crafting an emotional story of longing, depression, and enlightenment. The bold decision to cast the swans as male adds an additional level of ferocity to the bevy, who collectively viscously attack and dismember the lead swan as retribution for his betrayal of the herd. The ensemble moves almost as one, perfectly synchronised in both their movements and expressions to create an image which is both strikingly beautiful and dangerously intimidating.
Runs until 15 February 2025 and on tour
The Reviews Hub Score
Strikingly Beautiful
