Tchaikovsky : Swan Lake
New London Orchestra
David Lloyd-Jones
The proof of the pudding is in the eating; despite owning the DVD of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake pretty much since it came out, actually experiencing the show live in the theatre is a completely different kettle of fish. Or flight of swans, if you prefer. Bourne's innovative re-working of Swan Lake remains his most successful production, and whatever I may think of his work, I've never denied that he has a singularly happy knack for producing a first-class evening's entertainment, but the power and exhilaration of this show surpassed even my expectations of it.
In an interview reprinted in the tour programme, Bourne states that he has made alterations to the production since the DVD (with the original cast) came out. Most of them, I'm not an obsessive enough watcher to have picked up, but there was one major change that impacted on the whole evening, to a certain extent, and that's the disappearance of the child-Prince. In the original version, you see the Prince as a small boy, and he stays that way for a good five minutes, changing to the adult dancer half-way through the ship-launching public appearances sequence, and then returns at the very end. In the present touring version, we see only the adult Prince, and it does, to my mind, change things a little.
The Prince we see grow up comes across eventually as a man who has never, ever been comfortable in his own skin. He goes through the motions related to his position because he sees it as the only way to gain any shred of recognition or affection from his mother. The Prince we meet from the start as an adult comes across as more adolescent, a bit petulant at first, not trading off duty for affection, but attempting to demand it as his due, and not particularly accepting of his social role. He seems, at least at first, more naive than profoundly wounded, and his attempt at suicide in Act 2 looks more like a moment of teenage dramatics rather than a response to unbearable emotional pain. However, in compensation, his wonder at the swans has that 'first-love' conviction that nothing can ever match it, and makes his breakdown in the third and fourth acts more immediate, rather than, as in the older version, waiting for the outside to match the damaged inside, and the facade to crumble irrevocably.
What makes Bourne's male swans so interesting is the power and energy of their movement. Of all his productions, I think Swan Lake places the greatest demands, choreographically and physically, on his company. On other occasions, I've found New Adventures (or AMP, the original company) to display the defect common to many contemporary dance companies, that the dancers do not have the consistent discipline and strength of a company of classically trained ballet dancers, partly because it's not required of them, and partly because the members hail from diverse sources as dancers. It makes for an interesting variety, certainly, but almost always a lack of precision movement. That is absolutely not the case here, with a well-drilled and explosively energetic ensemble cast.
The re-choreographing of the ballet permitted the score to be recorded using tempi often substantially faster than anything a classical company could cope with, the Ivanov/Petipa steps simply not being manageable at some of the speeds Lloyd-Jones and the NLO delivered. (I'm assuming New Adventures is still using the same recording.) The net result is often intensely exciting, and the leaping choreography of the swans is no exception.
However, as usual with Bourne, the best of his work is in the "party dances" - most of Act 3, and a large part of Act 1, especially the night-club scene, even if he did borrow some of that from Bob Fosse. (Don't believe me? Take another look at the "Rich Man's Frug" from Sweet Charity.) He has a uniquely effective way of getting story points across in the context of controlled social interaction that's particularly striking in this production, and that offered some of the most rewarding sequences.
As this is a touring production, there was a touring programme - all the possible casts listed together. It would be nice if the theatre would just run off some cast sheets for the individual performances, but they don't. I've therefore had to resort to cast photographs to try to identify who I saw on stage tonight, and I'm not the world's greatest physiognomist, so if I get anyone wrong, I'll be happy to correct it if informed. Liam Mower was the Prince; as already mentioned, seemingly a bit spoilt at first but growing steadily as events progressed. He contrasted well with Chris Trenfield, nicely enigmatic as the Swan, strong to Mower's vulnerability. However, Trenfield's Swan was rather better than his Stranger, who although still just as technically proficient, didn't have quite the charisma for this character. Similarly, I would have liked to have seen a little more of the hidden side of Saranne Curtin's Queen - not quite enough backward glances, the frustrated gestures solely aimed at the Prince, rather than equally at herself, for her inability to communicate with her son. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy Carrie Johnson's Girlfriend. This part has altered a little from the original version to become more of a tart-with-a-heart type, behind her Essex-girl facade, and Johnson (who bears a rather startling resemblance to the young Felicity Kendal) delivered that quite effectively.
Les Brotherton's sober sets have stood the test of time well, as have most of the costumes, though the night-club scene looks more like a fancy-dress party than ever, and I had forgotten how magnificently hideous the costumes for the pastiche Romantic ballet in Act 1 were. This is a show that has already run and run, and given the standard of performance, I see no reason why it shouldn't continue to do so for a long time yet.
[Next : 23rd February]
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