It’s hard to put into words quite how much I love this production. Celebrated choreographer, Matthew Bourne, who transformed the ballet SWAN LAKE into a modern West End and Broadway hit when he re-imagined the swans as sexy, topless bird-thugs has now turned his attention to SLEEPING BEAUTY. He has taken the notoriously thin plot, traditionally staged as a series of technical dance exercises and given it wit, depth and psychological insight. The result is stunning and utterly satisfying on every level.This version begins in 1908 when a beautifully realized, puppet, baby princess creates mayhem for the palace servants and is visited by a shimmering vision of benign vampire sprites whose blessings counter the towering presence of a magnificent evil fairy.
We skip to 1911 when her imperial Russian family are celebrating her 18th birthday and the wild-child must decide between the attentions of stuffy suitors, a beautiful gamekeeper, and the sexy, brooding son of her enemy. It is he who gives her the thorny rose on which she pricks her finger, sending everyone to sleep for a hundred years. After the interval and a century later the gamekeeper and the son compete for her heart in the haunted forest around the castle and the decadent world of Russian night-life.
It’s sumptuously staged with stunning costumes and fine acting from the dancers all set to the gorgeous sweeping music of Tchaikovsky but it’s the ingenuity of the new settings which keep you engrossed; peppered with wonderful detail in the characterization and scenario, drawing you into the intoxicating world of tragedy and romance. The audience laugh out loud, gasp at the revelations end up deeply moved by love’s power to triumph over the toughest odds. Something the traditional interpretations never convey.
Don’t miss out on an unforgettable evening of total theatre that will stay with you for a hundred years
When I saw it Hannah Vassallo was a delight as the princess whose anarchic high spirits prevented her from ever seeming a victim, Ben Bunce had extraordinary sexual charisma as the fairy bad boy AND his beautiful, evil mother and Dominic North was so scrummy as the swarthy gamekeeper that you wanted to cover him in jam and cream and devour him like a scone.
After a long day, in the bleak London winter I was transported and utterly beguiled by the soaring music and the magic, romance and drama of Bourne’s work.
Why are you still reading this when you should be booking your ticket? Don’t miss out on an unforgettable evening of total theatre that will stay with you for a hundred years.
If I could I’d give it six stars. Do not on any account deny yourself this sexy, romantic, sumptuous, dance drama.
I first saw this hilarious comedy in a try out fringe production at the Pleasance Theatre some years ago.