Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake in 3D

here's what I said about one of my favourite  works 

http://www.sydneyartsguide.com/View-Review.asp?ReviewID=1067

Mesmerizing theatrical magic, this is enthralling, gripping stuff. Filmed in 2011 at Sadlers Wells in London this is a new 3D version of the iconic  Matthew Bourne’s ground-breaking  SWAN LAKE. Bourne’s work was first performed in 1995 and has swiftly become regarded as a classic,winning bucket loads of awards including Oliviers.

I saw it live in London several years ago Other’s might be familiar with the original version that was filmed in 1996 with Royal Ballet superstar Adam Cooper in the role of the Swan/Stranger and Scott Ambler as the Prince, or may have seen it when it toured Australia in 2007.

Bourne's choreography is amazing, at times full of slow creamy movement, at other time, fast, witty and scintillating. What is interesting is that in this version, with the way that the film has been shot, we see some of the patterns of movement that are not usually observed, especially for the swans and, in some of the court, waltzes.

Being shot in 3D and with the use of close ups to emphasise emotion, this gives the feeling of being on stage as if one was a cast member.

The transition from stage to screen genuinely works. Lez Brotherston's set and costume designs are lovingly recreated and captured on screen, and the New London Orchestra under David Lloyd Jones, is splendid.

This version has been labeled the 'gay' or 'male'  SWAN LAKE with its extraordinary corps of dangerous, hissing , biting yet sculptural and beautiful male swans and the powerful dual role of the Swan/Stranger. But this is only part of it. It is a radical reworking of the traditional ballet and has some fabulous roles for the women (for example the Queen and the Girlfriend) and is full of smoldering sexuality, both gay and straight. The national dances in Act 3 are given a very modern, sophisticated slant.

The two main male roles are The Prince (Dominic North) and The Swan/Stranger (Richard Winsor). The lonely, yearning Prince is trapped in his golden cage of the royal world and trivial daily routine, dominated by his cold overbearing mother the Queen (Nina Goldman).

We see him as a very young boy at first, then grown up , disastrously meeting and falling for his girlfriend ((partly the Odile figure) - but his mother disapproves and the Private Secretary is manipulating the Girlfriend behind the scenes .  

Are the swans the Prince sees real or are they a figment of his imagination ?North as the Prince has an anguished, yearning solo at the end of Act 1 when he has been tossed out of the Swank Bar and realises he has been betrayed by his girlfriend. There is a powerful scene between the Prince and the Queen where the Prince begs for his mother's love, or indeed almost any reaction from her rather than simply her bland facade .She coldly refuses and reminds him that he is a man, a royal and must do his duty.

Richard Winsor as the Swan/Stranger is powerful, startling and compelling. As the Swan, especially at first, he is wild and feral, dangerous and could easily bite. He has marvelous huge soft jumps in Act 2. The pas-de-deux between him and the Prince is simultaneously tender and yet threatening.

As the Stranger, in tight black leather in Act 3, he oozes steamy sexiness and has all the women after him including the Queen. He is exuberantly, deliberately provocative and unleashes some explosive jumps.

Is he in cahoots with the Private Secretary? In Act 4 he is more the injured, doomed lover - his backwards entrance struggling upwards onto the bed is amazing and he has a dangerous suicidal leap at the end as he is pecked to death by the other members of his flock.

As the Queen, Nina Goldman is excellent, cold, brittle, and ruthlessly elegant with a boiling volcano of barely hidden repressed sexuality underneath. (Her flirting quintet in Act 1 with the young officers is actually quite toned down from what it could be, and look at how she is attracted to and flirts with the Stranger in Act 3). And I love that red dress she wears in Act 3!

The bratty, ditzy ,somewhat Duchess Sarah Ferguson like Girlfriend in the now famous 1980's style puffball pink dress is delightfully played by Madelaine Brennan. She does all the wrong gauche things, obviously has a whale of a time at the hilarious 'Moth' ballet and unwittingly contributes to the Prince's downfall .

In this version the evil von Rothbart figure is the manipulative Machiavelli like Private Secretary, here played by Steve Kirkham. He organises the scandals leading to the Prince's downfall and is also the terrifying doctor in Act 4. Here again we are left pondering, for the Prince, what is reality and what is only in his imagination?!

This is a magnificent film that gives audiences the chance to see a terrific cast in a splendid version. The film runs 2 hours without interval and is playing selected cinemas next weekend, Saturday May 4 and Sunday May 6, 2012.

© Lynne Lancaster

28th April, 2012

Tags: Sydney Movie Reviews- Matthew Bourne’s SWAN LAKE, Lez Brotherston, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, David Lloyd Jones and the New London Orchestra,Richard Winsor, ,Dominic North,,Nina Goldman, ,Madelaine Brennan,,Steve Kirkham, Joseph Vaughan