Swan Lake

Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Reviewed – 13th December 2018

★★★★★

“Wild and vicious, curious and testosterone fuelled, like creatures from an ancient myth made flesh”

 

This restaging of Matthew Bourne’s iconic Swan Lake is superb. It is wild, funny, vicious, lyrical and heartbreakingly beautiful. The first incarnation of the show was in 1995, and it caused quite a stir, replacing ballerinas in tutus and feathered headdresses with muscular male dancers, but it won the hearts of audiences straight away, encouraging more young men to become dancers, and building a new audience for ballet. The audience tonight was enthralled throughout, with that incredible stillness that only the very best in theatre and dance can create. And when the curtain came down the standing ovation was total, instant and long. We didn’t want to let the dancers go.

Dancing the Swan and the Stranger tonight was Will Bozier. He is powerful and irresistible as the sexy, leather trousered stranger at the Royal Ball, and compelling as the Swan, inhabiting the strange avian otherworldliness of the choreography with passion and strength. Dominic North’s Prince is a fish out of water at the court, a lost young man who we immediately feel for. His first sight of the Swan is electric, and his joy when they finally dance together is palpable and moving. His acting is extraordinarily good, and gives his character a reality that is rare in dance.

Carrie Willis, as the girlfriend is a treat. She is a TOWIE princess, at sea in the Royal world, annoying, sweet, hilarious and loveable. Even when dancing in the ball scene she kept her quirky character intact. Katrina Lyndon is fabulous as the queen, clearly enjoying male intention, particularly when the Stranger arrives, and incapable of understanding her son. The female ensemble are strong, and when the smouldering, sexy stranger arrived, they approached him, there were no shrinking violets here, they knew what, or rather who, they wanted. And they managed to dance it in heels.

The power of the ensemble of swans is extraordinary. The sound of bare feet on the stage, their audible breathing, the hissing…. Wild and vicious, curious and testosterone fuelled, like creatures from an ancient myth made flesh.

Lee Brotherson’s design creates the world of the court, the street and the seedy club with an atmospheric and vivid aesthetic, beautifully complemented by the drama of Paule Constable’s lighting design. Its always good to have a live orchestra, and Tchaikovsky’s music is still running through my mind as I write. Matthew Bourne and his team have created a masterpiece. I hope it will live on for many more years.

 

Reviewed by Katre

Photography by Johan Persson

 

Swan Lake

Sadler’s Wells Theatre until 27th January

then UK Tour continues

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Medusa | ★★★½ | October 2018

The Emperor and the Concubine | ★★★★ | October 2018

Dystopian Dream | ★★★★★ | November 2018

Layla and Majnun | ★★★½ | November 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com