I was a bit sceptical about going to see this show I’ll admit. Having never seen a ballet before, and not knowing much about this particular one, I figured that the evening would be enjoyable enough but that it wouldn’t really capture my imagination. How wrong I was!
This interpretation of the story isn’t the same as the traditional sense. The piece is a mixture of contemporary dance with ballet, which in my opinion heightens the story – from the softness and elegance of the ballet, to the rush and the passion of the contemporary.
Swan Lake follows the story of a prince who longs for a more enjoyable existence than cutting ribbons and attending royal functions. In a dreamlike sequence he imagines what it would be like to fly with the swans he sees in a park, which starts his ascent into madness, which results in tragic consequences.
The production value is astonishing! The set is especially striking – it seems no expense has been spared on the wonderful royal hall, and the backdrop to an opera. The one thing I felt was missing however, was a live orchestra. I realise that with a full casts of 25, as well as accompanying stage managers, dressers, etc, that it would be impractical to tour with a full pit, however, during the more climactic scenes, when the music was reaching a crescendo, I did feel that it was such a shame that there was no live band – it would make the production more “real”.
The choreography is what this show is famous for, and boy it doesn’t disappoint. The dancing is flawless, and what is particular exceptional about it all, is that each cast member has their own routines – many hours have been spent in the rehearsal room, and it pays off!
The acting is also very good. Sam Archers shines in particular as the prince. One of the main differences between this version of Swan Lake and the traditional version is that the swans are played by an all male cast. This, I think, heightens the drama – it shows the sheer strength and the elegance of the animals.
It was obviously very risky 15 years ago to have two male principles dancing with each other and showing that two men can connect, but it was definitely worth it, because it adds a new dimension to a show, which I’ve not seen before in any show. The show has not aged, and is still as edgy now as it was when it opened in London 15 years ago.
May this be the beginning of a wonderful relationship between Matthew Bourne’s production company and Liverpool audiences.
Swanderful!!! 9/10
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Chichester 2010
I've had a quick glance at whats on this summer in Chichester and I'm not sure what to make of it. There are definately a few things which look good, and I shaln't be missing - Pygmalion and 42nd street, both of which are in the Festival Theatre, but the rest of their programming doesn't look too hot! Both shows at the minerva (The Critic Sherridan Stoppard The Real Inspector Hound and The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist) don't really appeal to me in the slightest (they just have really long names!), and one of them is a co-production between Chichester and Liverpool, and so without a doubt I will get to see it in Liverpool for free! Overall I'm not too impressed with this years! It would always take alot to beat last years Enron and Oklahoma and 2007's Macbeth and Babes in Arms, but I feel that the programming just doesn't look as strong on paper! I hope I am wrong however, and am indeed glad that they've brought Patrick Stewart back (in a show I won't be able to see), and am very much looking forward to seeing Rupert Everrett in Pygmalion! They're also bringing Enron back to the Festival Theatre for 10 performances only which I'm sure will do very well, however I do feel that it was so good last year due to the small space it was in and some of that will undoubtably be lost! x
Wicked @ West End
Sorry it's took a while to put up a post! I've been very busy recently!
Anyway, during the last week in November, I took my nieces down to London to watch Wicked as a treat! I'd promised I would take them a few years ago after I showed them the trailer after going to see it myself. One weekend I went home with a poster of the show, the tickets and a poster I'd made which showed them the things they would do in London. I did a treasure hunt where they had to follow the clues to find the prize. After a while they eventually found it and boy, where they excited! It was lovely to see their little faces light up!
Fast forward 2 months and my sister and nieces arrived at my flat late on the Friday evening. It was my nieces birthday so they drove up straight from her birthday party. After going to Asda to buy magazines for the journey and some snacks for the next day, we went back to my flat, watched Jonathon Ross on the TV and went to bed.
The next morning we got up super early and I made everyone sausage and bacon muffins before we left to catch the bus. The five of us jumped into a taxi and got to the bus station a bit too early - think Pete was a bit anxious that we'd miss the bus otherwise! The bus turned up on time (so only a 35 min wait in the cold!), and so we got on and began our journey. It did seem to last quite a long time, but the fact that the bus wasn't too busy meant that we could all stretch ourselves out on the coach and just while away the hours until we got to London. After what seemed like forever, we finally entered the city! The sites were amazing and the sun seemed to shine the whole way to Victoria coach station. The kids and my sister definately enjoyed the sights from the inside of the coach.
Once we had arrived, we met up with Mark, who had travelled down from Birmingham. The first thing we did was to walk to our hotels (which took a while to locate on the maps!) and to dump our stuff. Luckily Dawn and the kids hotel was quite close to our hotel. We left the girls to freshen up and unpack whilst we went and did the same. 40 minutes later we all met up and went and purchased our tickets for the tube, during which time Mark got lost! After finding him, we jumped the tube to Oxford St, where we spent a few hours looking in Topshop, Hamleys and had a Subway. It was nice to see the pretty lights and the shops, but I'd advise taking a load of London virgins to Oxford Street 4 weeks before Christmas on a Saturday afternoon! It was not fun!
After a little walk around town, we got the tube to Victoria station (my nieces directing us quite well after being taught how to read the tube map), and met Tim who was joining us for the show. Everyone was very excited, including myself who'd already seen the show twice before! The nieces bought a t-shirt each and I got my Wicked hoodie (thanks Pete), and we settled ourselves down to watch the show. It was enthralling, and enjoyable on every level - I don't think I'll ever get bored of this show! The kids particularly enjoyed Defying Gravity, and my sister actually cried! My bro enjoyed the show as well, because although he'd seen it before, this time he had better seats. He's becoming almost as West End cultured as I am - having seen Avenue Q, Spring Awakening and now Wicked twice in the past year! It must be the London bug!
Afterwards, we tried waiting for autographs, but I think that we'd missed the majority of the cast due to spending too long in toilet queues. This was a shame, but didn't ruin our evening. We went to Leicester Square and spent a couple of hours wandering round admiring the sites which everyone enjoyed, before returning to our hotels and getting some shut eye for the night.
Everyone was up bright and early the next day - breakfast was served at 8ish, and for the price of the hotel, it wasn't much kop! We dumped our bags in the luggage room and went for a wander around central London. The kids enjoyed walked around Buckingham Palace and the London Eye. We all enjoyed a boat trip up the Thames, which was suprisingly cheap! The day was quite miserable but didn't dampen our spirits (Ok, well only Beckys!). We met up with Tim once again and she acted as tour guide along with Peter! We spent a while in Harrods, were Dawn bought us some lovely cakes, before returning to our hotel and picking up the bags. Afterwards we returned to the city centre, where we went Ice Skating! Only myself, Dawn and the kids did this as the others wanted to sit inside and enjoy a hot chocolate. I think this may have been a good idea in hindsight as it was raining cats and dogs! It didn't matter though to be honest as we all enjoyed ourselves. We then went and had a quick look at Convent Garden, before biding farewell to Tim and Mark who were returning to their respective homes, and taking the tube to Euston Station. En route, Danw bought a load of souveniers for everyone back home, and the girls got their very own "I heart London" hoodies, which they were very impressed with!
Once at Euston station, we realised that we had around half an hour to spare and so we went and got a burger king (pete and zoe a harry ramsdens). We then boarded the train and everyone fell asleep on the way home, were reality awaited us! Dawn and the kids drove back to Skem and me and Peter tidied up before falling asleep!
It was a great weekend, which hopefully the children, and my sister will remember for a very long time! I hope they return to London in the future and that it gives them the theatre bug! x
Anyway, during the last week in November, I took my nieces down to London to watch Wicked as a treat! I'd promised I would take them a few years ago after I showed them the trailer after going to see it myself. One weekend I went home with a poster of the show, the tickets and a poster I'd made which showed them the things they would do in London. I did a treasure hunt where they had to follow the clues to find the prize. After a while they eventually found it and boy, where they excited! It was lovely to see their little faces light up!
Fast forward 2 months and my sister and nieces arrived at my flat late on the Friday evening. It was my nieces birthday so they drove up straight from her birthday party. After going to Asda to buy magazines for the journey and some snacks for the next day, we went back to my flat, watched Jonathon Ross on the TV and went to bed.
The next morning we got up super early and I made everyone sausage and bacon muffins before we left to catch the bus. The five of us jumped into a taxi and got to the bus station a bit too early - think Pete was a bit anxious that we'd miss the bus otherwise! The bus turned up on time (so only a 35 min wait in the cold!), and so we got on and began our journey. It did seem to last quite a long time, but the fact that the bus wasn't too busy meant that we could all stretch ourselves out on the coach and just while away the hours until we got to London. After what seemed like forever, we finally entered the city! The sites were amazing and the sun seemed to shine the whole way to Victoria coach station. The kids and my sister definately enjoyed the sights from the inside of the coach.
Once we had arrived, we met up with Mark, who had travelled down from Birmingham. The first thing we did was to walk to our hotels (which took a while to locate on the maps!) and to dump our stuff. Luckily Dawn and the kids hotel was quite close to our hotel. We left the girls to freshen up and unpack whilst we went and did the same. 40 minutes later we all met up and went and purchased our tickets for the tube, during which time Mark got lost! After finding him, we jumped the tube to Oxford St, where we spent a few hours looking in Topshop, Hamleys and had a Subway. It was nice to see the pretty lights and the shops, but I'd advise taking a load of London virgins to Oxford Street 4 weeks before Christmas on a Saturday afternoon! It was not fun!
After a little walk around town, we got the tube to Victoria station (my nieces directing us quite well after being taught how to read the tube map), and met Tim who was joining us for the show. Everyone was very excited, including myself who'd already seen the show twice before! The nieces bought a t-shirt each and I got my Wicked hoodie (thanks Pete), and we settled ourselves down to watch the show. It was enthralling, and enjoyable on every level - I don't think I'll ever get bored of this show! The kids particularly enjoyed Defying Gravity, and my sister actually cried! My bro enjoyed the show as well, because although he'd seen it before, this time he had better seats. He's becoming almost as West End cultured as I am - having seen Avenue Q, Spring Awakening and now Wicked twice in the past year! It must be the London bug!
Afterwards, we tried waiting for autographs, but I think that we'd missed the majority of the cast due to spending too long in toilet queues. This was a shame, but didn't ruin our evening. We went to Leicester Square and spent a couple of hours wandering round admiring the sites which everyone enjoyed, before returning to our hotels and getting some shut eye for the night.
Everyone was up bright and early the next day - breakfast was served at 8ish, and for the price of the hotel, it wasn't much kop! We dumped our bags in the luggage room and went for a wander around central London. The kids enjoyed walked around Buckingham Palace and the London Eye. We all enjoyed a boat trip up the Thames, which was suprisingly cheap! The day was quite miserable but didn't dampen our spirits (Ok, well only Beckys!). We met up with Tim once again and she acted as tour guide along with Peter! We spent a while in Harrods, were Dawn bought us some lovely cakes, before returning to our hotel and picking up the bags. Afterwards we returned to the city centre, where we went Ice Skating! Only myself, Dawn and the kids did this as the others wanted to sit inside and enjoy a hot chocolate. I think this may have been a good idea in hindsight as it was raining cats and dogs! It didn't matter though to be honest as we all enjoyed ourselves. We then went and had a quick look at Convent Garden, before biding farewell to Tim and Mark who were returning to their respective homes, and taking the tube to Euston Station. En route, Danw bought a load of souveniers for everyone back home, and the girls got their very own "I heart London" hoodies, which they were very impressed with!
Once at Euston station, we realised that we had around half an hour to spare and so we went and got a burger king (pete and zoe a harry ramsdens). We then boarded the train and everyone fell asleep on the way home, were reality awaited us! Dawn and the kids drove back to Skem and me and Peter tidied up before falling asleep!
It was a great weekend, which hopefully the children, and my sister will remember for a very long time! I hope they return to London in the future and that it gives them the theatre bug! x
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