The Red Shoes - Review

Sadler’s Wells, London


*****


Based on the film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
and the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale
Music by Bernard Herrmann
Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne

Adam Cooper, Stephen Murray, Cordelia Braithwaite

Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes returns to Sadler’s Wells three years after it first premiered - and while the score and dance remain exquisite, there is a depth to this ballet that has only matured over time.

This time around, Bernard Herrmann’s score is played live with the ingenious transposition of work from his various movie compositions flowing so seamlessly around Bourne’s creation, that one senses the music could almost have been commissioned for this production.

The movement of course is exquisite in its story of a doomed love triangle that evolves within the Ballet Lermontov. A love blossoms between ballerina Victoria Page and Julian Craster a young composer at the ballet, while throughout Boris Lermontov, the company’s impresario harbours his own lustful desire for Page. Alongside this cocktail of human passion, there is within the tale, The Red Shoes Ballet itself, a Lermontov production that tells of the enchanted/cursed shoes, and the macabre power they can exert over their wearer.

On press night Ashley Shaw played Page, Dominic North, Craster and Adam Cooper, Lermontov with all three impeccable in their bringing to life the tragic romance. As the narrative shifts across Britain and France their dance, and of course the work of their fellow corps of dancers, allows this difficult and disturbing love story to unfold before us. In the 2019 iteration however, the psychology of the story’s underlying emotional complexities is even more vivid than three years ago. Unquestionably dark and yet stunningly portrayed, Bourne captures the gothic horror of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale and imbues it with a believable 20th-century relevance.

Lez Brotherston’s ingenious swivelling proscenium arch remains a masterclass in stage design, as Brett Morris conducts the New Adventures Orchestra with a heart-soaring fluidity. Playing into the new year, The Red Shoes continues to offer an evening of world class entertainment and dance.

Playing at Sadler’s Wells until 19th January 2020, then touring
Photo credit: Johan Persson

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake - Review

Sadler’s Wells, London


****

Directed by Matthew Bourne

Will Bozier and Ensemble

As one of dance’s most iconic productions, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake returns home to a rapturous reception. The story of The Prince, starved of love and chained by duty, who finally finds love and acceptance in an unlikely place, is a tragedy. Yet Bourne’s trademark injection of comedy is dialled up tenfold in this production, with laughs drawn from staging (a mechanical corgi), performances (notably The Girlfriend, played in this performance by Carrie Willis) and premise (notably the ballet performance watched by the royals, poking fun at traditional ballet stereotypes).

While the plot scurries along, the most striking elements remain those that feature The Swan and his herd. Such is the iconography of this character that when he finally makes an appearance in Act 2, perfectly paired with Tchaikovsky’s quintessential score, there is a frisson of excitement in the audience.

The swans are truly extraordinary. Their casting as male dancers, coupled with their costuming, enables Bourne to perfectly capture their grace, ferocity and strength. This also serves as an homage to the athleticism of a dancer, usually concealed or, at the very least, downplayed.

Yet there are times where it’s clear that a larger stage is required for the swan troupe, particularly in A City Park; it simply feels that it has outgrown its roots. That aside, the stage is awash with exquisite costuming, opulent set design and explosive choreography.

Individually, the Prince (a sweet and earnest Dominic North) and The Swan (the powerful Will Bozier) are stunning. Together, they are not a typical pairing - but that serves only to highlight the atypicality of Bourne’s vision. The Queen (Katrina Lyndon) and Willis also contribute memorable performances combining theatrics with dance excellence, all the whole bolstered by a superb ensemble.

23 years after its original staging at London’s Sadler’s Wells, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake is back with more electricity, punch and swagger than ever before. With a standing ovation, the audience agrees; this is a must-see.

Runs until 27th January 2019

Reviewed by Bhakti Gajjar

Photo credit: Johan Persson

The Red Shoes - Review

Sadler's Wells, London


*****


Based on the film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
and the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale
Music by Bernard Herrmann
Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne

Ashley Shaw

The influences of cinema on Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes are everywhere. Walking into Sadler's Wells one sees that the stage is hidden behind an old style cinema curtain. The impression is both enchanting and effective, for Bourne’s latest offering is, in its elements, a ballet about a movie, about a ballet.

In the way that, back in 1948, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger created the Oscar winning movie that itself had been inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale - so too, nearly 70 years later has Bourne taken that movie and re-imagined it onto the dance stage. 

But this ballet is so much more than a glorious re-imagining of a classic film - for where Powell and Pressburger invited Brian Easdale to score the movie, Bourne has actually shifted his musical focus to Easdale's contemporary (and fellow Academy Award winner) Bernard Herrmann - and assisted by Terry Davies' magnificent orchestrations, a new musical composition for the ballet has been carefully stitched together, drawn entirely from Hermann's scores. The choice of music is inspired - and as cigarette smoke hangs in the air of nearly every scene, whilst the shoes may be red, the very essence of this production is noir.

The story revolves around Victoria Page, prima ballerina in the Ballet Lermontov and her role within "The Red Shoes" ballet within a ballet. The first half spills across locations in London and Monte Carlo and as Page moves closer to the first half's closing routine of the Red Shoes ballet itself, a doomed love triangle emerges. Boris Lermontov burns with an unrequited jealous desire for his star. Page however only has eyes for Julian Craster (Lermontov's orchestra conductor) and it is clear that both she and Craster are madly in love with each other.

Act Two tracks the trio across Europe and as much as Bourne's visionary choreography relates the narrative, so too does Lez Brotherston's stage design, with curves of balustrade immediately evoking the French Riviera. Brotherston draws upon the simplest concepts of design, married to 21st century technology. Suspended from a gantry, that itself moves across the stage in a way that the Starlight Express designers could only have dreamed of, the aforementioned cinema curtains evolve into the proscenium arches of opera houses, before melding into tugged back glimpses of the triangle's respective boudoirs as passions smoulder. Elsewhere, Brotherston’s evocation of a Monte Carlo steam engine is every bit as effective as his creation of a Mississippi steamboat for Sheffield's Showboat last Christmas.

But the beauty of a Bourne ballet is the visionary dance. As Victoria Page, Ashley Shaw drives the show, a mixture of poised passion and pathos. Bourne coaxes so much expression from her, both facial and in her movement, that the story flows effortlessly. Sam Archer and Dominic North as Lermontov and Craster respectively offer equally poised and perfectly weighted support to Page's arc. 

The Red Shoes Ballet sequence itself is of course enchanting. Duncan McLean’s projections providing a eerily ethereal backdrop to Bourne’s interpretation of the fairy tale. Alongside Shaw, Michela Meazza, Liam Mower and Glenn Graham as key dancers in the Ballet Lermontov provide a perfect complement to the story's detail. 

Sold out at Sadler's Wells for the rest of the run, a continued bravo to Sir Matthew and his New Adventures company for spending the next six gruelling months on the road, touring The Red Shoes around the UK. Whether one is a lifelong ballet devotee, or completely new to the genre, the show is unmissable. Kill to get a ticket!

Runs until 29th January 2017 - Then on tour. Tour details here

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty - Review

Sadler's Wells

*****

Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne

Ashley Shaw

Charles Perrault's classic fairy tale comes to the stage this season as Matthew Bourne completes his trilogy of Tchaikovsky's complete ballets. Sleeping Beauty (originally premiered in 2012) follows Swan Lake and The Nutcracker in typical Bourne style - it is clever, gripping and awe-inspiring.

Bourne pushes the boundaries of contemporary dance with striking choreography, so those looking for a typically Disney-esque treatment complete with dancers en pointe, will need to look elsewhere. But to anyone who is keen to experience the best of a small, innovative and enthralling company, this Sleeping Beauty is a delight.

The story is divided into four acts, each spanning a different period in time and - augmented by Lez Brotherston's fantastic costuming and set design - takes the audience on a journey through dance history. Beginning in 1890, with a nod to classical ballet, the tale progresses through 1911 to today, with movement on the more modern side of contemporary.

It is Bourne's desire to incorporate the 100 year sleep of Princess Aurora into the production that plays a pivotal role in this version of Sleeping Beauty, laying the gothic foundations of this self-described 'gothic romance.' The fairies are vampires, allowing the story to jump into the future without losing its characters to the mortal rite of death. And while there are dark undertones, an original use of puppetry also maintains the element of comedy.

Highlights include the dance of the fairies, which sees six striking solos merging neatly into one stellar piece; a scene set in the 'land of sleepwalkers' with fluid movements and the majority of the company on stage; and the wedding scene which, with its harsh undertones and choreography reminiscent of Christopher Bruce's Rooster, is truly captivating.

While these scenes may not sound familiar, it is worth noting that for all of the liberties Bourne has taken in telling this classic story, it firmly remains faithful to a “once upon a time” beginning and a delightfully happy ending.

Performances by Dominic North, as Leo the Royal Gamekeeper and Adam Maskell, as Carabosse the dark fairy and her son Caradoc are noteworthy. Both embody the spirit of their characters seemingly with ease - as the sweet and ever faithful Leo and sinister villains respectively. And Ashley Shaw's Princess Aurora is spell-binding, capturing the essence of the mischievous yet lovable royal daughter perfectly.

An outstanding production, in terms of originality, creativity and majesty, Sleeping Beauty is an unmissable masterpiece.

Runs until 26th January 2016

Guest reviewer: Bhakti Gajjar