Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake: The Next Generation ★★★★★ Sadler's Wells Theatre | Dec 3, 2024 - Jan 26, 2025


Thirty years have gone by since Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake premiered, but it remains as fresh and entrancing as ever. It is a work that can be read on many levels, but the power of Bourne's reimagining of the classic ends up touching audiences quite viscerally. The clash between the cold, staid court in which the Prince is raised and the power of the Swan not only reflects the political reality of the time, it also has elements of a gay coming-out story while simultaneously invoking Freud's battle between the ID and the super ego and Nietzsche's dichotomy of uncontrolled Dionysian passion threatening a comfortable Apollonian order. For us, there is, perhaps, too much exposition and mime in the first part, although this might be ascribed to an intentional sharing of the ennui and flatness of the Prince's life. However, the production absolutely soars with the appearance of the Swan. Harrison Dowzell's dancing is simply extraordinary, and his performance has an athleticism and anarchic erotic power which is thoroughly riveting. He has the audience in his thrall as deeply as he does James Lovell's Prince. The latter does a beautiful job of conveying the vulnerability of the repressed and unloved young heir who discovers, and is ultimately overwhelmed, by the power of passion. Indeed, the pair's pas de deux in Act II is totally mesmerising. Nicole Kabera also dances sublimely as the unaffectionate, withdrawn Queen who ironically cannot entirely resist the power of the Swan. Indeed, the entire company put in simply first-rate performances, with the corps de ballet work being exquisitely executed. Time has certainly passed since Matthew Bourne's reinterpretation of Tchaikovsky's classic first appeared on stage, but this is a production that is as provocative, compelling and timeless as it was in 1995.

Rated: ★★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Johan Persson

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