SWAN LAKE

SWAN LAKE

Matthew Bourne's Adventures in Motion Pictures at Sadler's Wells

25.01.14

Back home at the Wells before another UK tour, this stunningly original Swan Lake continues to attract balletomanes and balletophobes alike,

Using Tchaikowsky's familiar score [though not necessarily in the right order], it tells the story of a Prince escaping from his dull existence and from his overbearing Mother (Michela Meazza) into the caring embrace of the Swan [Chris Trenfield]. It begins and ends in his regal bed – dreams and nightmares never far away. The famous troupe of male swans swooping and perching on the bed one of the most indelible images of a piece strong on imagery.

There's plenty of fun, too: the old-fashioned ballet – precisely the ossified style that Bourne rejects – the nightclub, the preening teenage Cygnets, and the Prince's unsuitable girlfriend [Kerry Biggin].

In a delightful life-imitating-art felicity, the Prince is now played, with effortless charm, by Liam Mower, the original Billy Elliott in the stage show, already a Bourne regular and still only 21.

With stunning designs - Lez Brotherston – and a superb and versatile ensemble, this wild and witty piece looked very much at home at Sadler's Wells; already a classic of the contemporary dance repertoire.