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Post by crabtree on Dec 2, 2018 12:20:21 GMT
Has anyone caught the new tour of this - it is so sharp and tight, and every scene delivers. Quite a few changes, some of the design is different, and there are new ladies' costumes for the club and ball scenes, and a few stereotype characters have gone from the club, but the power and the trousers, oh my those fluffy trousers, are still as powerful and brilliant.
Do not miss.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2018 18:40:54 GMT
I'm seeing this for the first time tomorrow afternoon. I've wanted to see a Matthew Bourne show for years and I've never been to a professional dance show so I'm so excited and from what I've heard, if you're gonna see one Bourne show, this is the one to see.  |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Dec 7, 2018 19:29:29 GMT
I'm seeing this for the first time tomorrow afternoon. I've wanted to see a Matthew Bourne show for years and I've never been to a professional dance show so I'm so excited and from what I've heard, if you're gonna see one Bourne show, this is the one to see. Absolutely spot on. This one is really good. Although it’s good when he uses ballet dancers then you really you notice the difference |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2018 15:53:16 GMT
It's just magical. No lesser words apply. This is one of the best things I have ever seen, i have absolutely fallen in love with this show. 😍
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2018 11:21:22 GMT
Will begin this review by posting the five leads at the performance I saw so you guys know who was on but also so I can refer to them easily. The Swan/The Stranger - Matthew Ball The Prince - Liam Mower The Queen - Nicole Kabera The Girlfriend - Carrie Willis The Private Secretary - Glenn Graham So this was one of the best things I've ever seen. I absolutely loved it! I've never seen a Matthew Bourne production despite being a fan of his work based on video and interviews etc and I have never been to a full dance production before either! But this left me totally enthralled and engaged! The dancers where, all around, amazing! Obvious shout-out to all the guys playing the Swans who were sexy yet ferocious, scary yet sleek. Liam and Matthew (Matthew is doing just the London run btw) were both incredible, I couldn't stop watching them. Another shout out deservedly goes to Carrie as the Girlfriend who, for those who have seen the show, is designed clearly to be a standout and she was. I loved the set and costumes, all of which were beautiful, and the transitions and somewhat special effects in the mirror at the start and the end gave me chills. Some of their imagery was so simple yet so effective. I found myself so moved by the final scene and had tears running throughout. So beautiful. Full house and exceptionally well behaved audience, with full standing ovaition and huge applause and cheers. Will 100% catch this again as I want to see Max Westwell as the Swan after his amazing performance as Jerry in An American in Paris. 5*, one of the best shows I've ever seen. |
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Post by crabtree on Dec 9, 2018 12:28:30 GMT
So glad you enjoyed this, Daniel. I first saw it in 1995 - yep that long ago. For this tour and run they have spruced it up a bit.....the Swank club used to be peopled by familiar gay characters from the 60's. And as I remember the young Prince was played by a child, who did some of the Royal Duties. The naked statue seems to have acquired a drape. The Girlfriend now has a glitzy puffball dress that echoes the pink confection she wears earlier. Gone are the two huge hands holds the torches in the palace, and they are replaced by free standing torches. There's a more glitzy window for the swan appearances. Actually the girlfriend now seems a more fully rounded and rather tragic figure. And the trees are more detailed. all together it is still a sophisticated masterpiece.
So the swans turn against their leader because....? That old falling in love with a mortal thing?
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Post by justafan on Dec 9, 2018 12:36:35 GMT
I was at that same matinee and can only agree with everything danieljohnson14 says - and what perfect audience behaviour - could hear a pin drop and not a mobile phone, sweet wrapper or crisp packet in sight! Very happy with my £38 seat in the 2nd circle - worth every penny. Can’t wait to go again - would love to see it again at Sadlers Wells but it’s basically sold out
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2018 13:01:46 GMT
I was at that same matinee and can only agree with everything danieljohnson14 says - and what perfect audience behaviour - could hear a pin drop and not a mobile phone, sweet wrapper or crisp packet in sight! Very happy with my £38 seat in the 2nd circle - worth every penny. Can’t wait to go again - would love to see it again at Sadlers Wells but it’s basically sold out December is Sold Out, but there is some availibiliry throughout January so keep your eye out! And they always put returns on there too! plus, if you're London based, it's doing Wimbledon on the tour. Thrilled you enjoyed it! I was in the Second Circle too, I wonder if we were near eachother? I was in L8. |
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Post by dippy on Dec 9, 2018 14:35:41 GMT
danieljohnson14 by luck (or by choice since they released Swan/Prince casting) you got in my opinion the best Swan/Prince casting combination of this tour. I've seen all 3 Swans and Princes and they are by far my favourite two. Glad you enjoyed it, I've not seen it at Sadler's yet, going next week. I'm not too fond of the changes they've made in updating the show. I loved all those colourful crazy characters in the Swank bar, now it's so dull. One thing that I feel is an awful change is the lighting design. Gone are all the beautiful shadows which I felt were really important to the show. Another change I really don't like are the projections, I don't feel they are needed at all.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2018 14:38:22 GMT
danieljohnson14 by luck (or by choice since they released Swan/Prince casting) you got in my opinion the best Swan/Prince casting combination of this tour. I've seen all 3 Swans and Princes and they are by far my favourite two. Glad you enjoyed it, I've not seen it at Sadler's yet, going next week. I'm not too fond of the changes they've made in updating the show. I loved all those colourful crazy characters in the Swank bar, now it's so dull. One thing that I feel is an awful change is the lighting design. Gone are all the beautiful shadows which I felt were really important to the show. Another change I really don't like are the projections, I don't feel they are needed at all. Haha by luck, I didn't check out the schedule at all until I saw Max Westwell was in the cast! But thrilled I saw the best in your opinion, both were amazing! |
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Post by crabtree on Dec 9, 2018 18:56:13 GMT
ah Dippy you are right about the projections...how could I forget those. The awfully naff animation of the swan on the swan and vesta - who ever thought that was an idea. A comical moment in a very non comical section.
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Post by tmesis on Dec 9, 2018 19:49:21 GMT
I too agree that this is by far Bourne's best show. I was thinking of catching this but the changes you've mentioned are are a bit off-putting. I would particularly like to see Matthew Ball in this as I've seen him many times at ROH and he's exceptionality good.
Apart from this Swan Lake I've gradually gone off his work (I've seen all his stuff for the past ten years.) His recent work seems to have less actual dance in it and too much (not very engaging) storytelling.
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Post by justafan on Dec 9, 2018 21:54:03 GMT
I was at that same matinee and can only agree with everything danieljohnson14 says - and what perfect audience behaviour - could hear a pin drop and not a mobile phone, sweet wrapper or crisp packet in sight! Very happy with my £38 seat in the 2nd circle - worth every penny. Can’t wait to go again - would love to see it again at Sadlers Wells but it’s basically sold out December is Sold Out, but there is some availibiliry throughout January so keep your eye out! And they always put returns on there too! plus, if you're London based, it's doing Wimbledon on the tour. Thrilled you enjoyed it! I was in the Second Circle too, I wonder if we were near eachother? I was in L8. I was A19 - perfect view |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2019 11:24:33 GMT
New recording of the current cast coming! |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 23:44:59 GMT
Cast on the recording announced. |
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Post by justfran on May 18, 2019 19:03:30 GMT
We were lucky enough to see the show this week in Newcastle, after wanting to see a Matthew Bourne production for years. It was absolutely brilliant! The main cast we saw were:
The Swan/Stranger - Will Bozier
The Prince - Dominic North
The Queen - Nicole Kabera
The Girlfriend - Katrina Lyndon
The whole show was excellent but the two acts with all of the swans were the stand-out. The music, the sets and costumes - everything was great and looked like a first class production. I've seen ballets before but nothing like this, it was definitely one of the best live productions (of any kind) that I've ever seen. The ending was very emotional and a well deserved immediate standing ovation. Will Bozier was so athletic and commanded the stage, Dominic North was equally as good yet so different. Wished I could see it again - then checked by chance and managed to get tickets again for a second performance. I was pleased we had a slightly different lead cast so this time saw:
The Swan/Stranger - Max Westwell
The Girlfriend - Freya Field
A second amazing performance and was able to notice little things I hadn't seen the first time. Audience loved it even more and think the curtain call was longer, with Max in particular enjoying the applause. A very special production indeed.
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Post by peggysue on May 18, 2019 19:42:32 GMT
I was persuaded by my daughter to see this, as I had not really been interested in ballet before - how wrong I was! I was mesmerised throughout. The costumes were all stunning, especially the butterfly dresses (and of course the swans). All of the cast were exceptional, outstanding performances by Max Westwell (the Swan) and Dominic North (the Prince). It's unusual to see the two leads take the first and last bows, I'm glad they did as they gave such incredible performances. I wasn't expecting it to be so funny in parts and then also so emotional. Needless to say I came home and booked to see the next Matthew Bourne production which is Romeo and Juliet, can't wait.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2019 20:03:49 GMT
So glad you enjoyed this, Daniel. I first saw it in 1995 - yep that long ago. For this tour and run they have spruced it up a bit.....the Swank club used to be peopled by familiar gay characters from the 60's. And as I remember the young Prince was played by a child, who did some of the Royal Duties. The naked statue seems to have acquired a drape. The Girlfriend now has a glitzy puffball dress that echoes the pink confection she wears earlier. Gone are the two huge hands holds the torches in the palace, and they are replaced by free standing torches. There's a more glitzy window for the swan appearances. Actually the girlfriend now seems a more fully rounded and rather tragic figure. And the trees are more detailed. all together it is still a sophisticated masterpiece. So the swans turn against their leader because....? That old falling in love with a mortal thing?
Me too, as regards seeing it back in the day. I saw it first time round, with Adam Cooper, and I was totally blown away by it. I'm terrified of seeing it again in case it doesn't measure up to my memory. I'm finally seeing it again on Thursday though, eep.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2019 21:49:13 GMT
Oh dear.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2019 22:16:43 GMT
I feel so grumpy. Like the grumpy cantankerous old woman in a sea of cheering standing-ovationy crazed audience. They loved it. I just do not get it though.
What it really felt like to me was as if someone had taken a masterpiece and photocopied it 25 times, getting progressively weaker and fuzzier each time, adding in cheap jokes and losing the heart. Like a black and white Mona Lisa with a comedy moustache and sparkly eyeshadow, which everyone then raves about.
Maybe it's me. I was in my early 20s first time and had never seen anything like it. And it was Adam Cooper who had so much charisma and a flawless technique. This time I'm in my mid 40s and I felt I'd seen all this before, and done much better.
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Post by crabtree on May 26, 2019 11:30:14 GMT
Elanor, and you are right. it was dazzling, and the imagery brilliant, and the energy, but something was missing. and I put it down to the medium sized stage of the Lyceum. They couldn't get all the set on stage, and the compositions didn't work to their full advantage, and the stage looks to have a rake, but even so, I am still left in awe of the production and the sheer stamina it must take to do each night, let alone eight times a week for a year.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2019 16:10:05 GMT
Maybe the stage size didn't help, and I had no issues with the commitment of the dancers, but I really just felt disappointed with the production as a whole, compared to what it once was.
I felt, especially with the second half party scene, that they were playing it for too many cheap laughs. And it was so *noisy* - so much huffing and puffing and shouting and THUMPING when they jumped. I didn't get much sense of grace at all from the swans - and yes, I know they need to be properly swan-like and scary and strong, but the main Swan we had was strong but not graceful, in my opinion. Really very thumpy landings on all his jumps, and in the party scene was nothing more than a rude arse.
The only saving grace for me was Liam Mower as the Prince, who was very graceful and really conveyed the emotions. I'd have happily watched a lot more of him and less of the rest.
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Post by peggysue on Apr 20, 2020 13:28:55 GMT
Saw this on Sky Arts last night. The cast was the same as the tour when I saw it last year apart from Liam Mower playing the prince. It was a fabulous performance as expected and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Jan 16, 2024 15:35:20 GMT
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Post by justfran on Jan 17, 2024 11:56:59 GMT
Tour confirmed for the 30th anniversary. Christmas 2024 at Sadler’s Wells.
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