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12 November 2024
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5*****
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Words fail me. In an attempt to review Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake again, it is difficult to know where to start. Celebrating 30 years since it turned tradition on its head, it remains impressive, imperious, important and impossible good. No, not good. This is a great piece of theatre, one of the greatest.
Powerful, hilarious, invigorating…..the list goes on, the audience sits, watches and admires; this is an all-enveloping experience like no other. Bourne has created a genre of dance which makes stories shine and performances sizzle; he has engaged the public in dance in the most inventive way and asked them to come along with him; they have responded in their droves.
The new production is subtitled ‘The Next Generation’; many of the performers have not worked on the show before; what a thrill it must be. There is, as ever, energy and skill in abundance. The choreography is hugely complex and alters between styles producing an absolute feast for the eyes. Lez Brotherston’s set designs remain astonishingly impressive and when they and the performers are lit by Paule Constable’s lighting it is magnificent; the use of footlights and the shadows they produce, create an atmosphere like no other. Brotherston is also responsible for the costumes which are joyful, opulent and apt.
Tchaikovsky’s music from the Swan Lake Orchestra dominates and explodes as never before – the composer could never have imagined how it would have been interpreted.
Bourne is cheeky, he is naughty, he has fun – he wants the audience to as well; the podium dancer at the Swank nightclub is a joy; note the threesome on the balcony at the Royal Ball; the bag lady; the automaton-like nurses ….. there is wit by the barrel load.
I have written before about Bourne’s skills at storytelling; it is exemplified here; like any good piece of theatre, a strong story is all and through a clear narrative the audience is presented with all they need. At the centre of the piece is a young prince rejected by his mother, lonely, frustrated and afraid; finding love in the form of a swan may seem far-fetched of course, but this is love nonetheless; a tender, warm love and the sanctuary the prince needs; the dance between the Prince and the Swan at the end of Act One is the perfect illustration of this. Accomplishing the telling of the tale needs every skill in the book from the talented cast, the dancing is perfection, but the need for these dancers to be fine actors is vital to the production. There is no problem here. Stephen Murray is utterly compelling as the Prince; his face is wonderfully expressive, telling the audience all they need to know – you will be pressed not to have tears in your eyes as he reaches a state of total despair. Jackson Fisch brings a sinewy strength to the Swan – he exudes a simmering sexuality and sense of danger to the Stranger and with Murray creates a duo utterly in sync with each other; they create a partnership steeped in emotion and beauty. Nicole Kabera is wonderfully statuesque as the cold-hearted Queen and Bryony Wood has an absolute ball as the Girlfriend, grabbing laughs at every turn. Overseeing all the shenanigans is the ever-impressive James Lovell (who also plays the Prince at some performances as the prim, no-nonsense Private Secretary; Lovell’s attention to detail is very noteworthy.
The whole cast work incredibly hard; in and out of costumes and roles and when the Swans appear, the audience is treated to a team dripping in talent. Precision is the name of the game with Swan Lake and this is what is delivered. The Swans are fun, quirky, threatening, terrifying and stunning.
Etta Murfitt, who has been by Bourne’s side for many years, has taken on the responsibility of re-staging the production and, as ever, her work is meticulous, vibrant and energetic. Her rehearsal updates on YouTube have been a joy to watch.
When standing ovations are dished out by audiences at every opportunity, they have become devalued, when they last as long as this one, they actually mean something. For those who have seen the production before, it is a repeated joy; for those who are seeing it for the first time, it is an incredible treat to experience and for those who have never seen it, you just must.
A production of theatrical greatness.
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Cast
The Swan/Stranger – Jackson Fisch
The Prince – Stephen Murray
The Queen – Nicole Kabera
The Girlfriend – Bryony Wood
The Private Secretary – James Lovell
The Swans – Matthew Amos, Alistair Beattie, Ben Brown, Jamie Duncan-Campbell, Perreira de Jesus Franque, Callum Mann, Leonardo McCorkindale, Jarrod McWilliams, Mukeni Nel, George-Murray Nightingale, Harry Ondrak-Whitem Nikolas Shikkis, Xavier Andriambolanoro Sotiya, Tom Barnes Standing
French Princess – Kurumi Kamayachi
Spanish Princess – Savannah Ffrench
Romanian Princess – Eve Ngbokota
Italian Princess – Anna-Maria de Freitas
Hungarian Princess – Molly Shaw-Downie
German Princess – Eleanor McGrath
Monaco Princess – Maisie Mwebe
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Creatives
Director & Choreographer – Matthew Bourne
Composer – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Set and Costume Design – Lez Brotherston
Lighting Design – Paule Constable
Sound Design – Ken Hampton
Video Projection Design – Duncan McLean
Associate Artistic Director – Etta Murfitt
