Matthew Bourne completed his Tchaikovsky trilogy with his Gothic SLEEPING BEAUTY.
It's a darkly romantic tale of Aurora, her love for the palace gardener Leo and the other-worldly creatures who alter their destiny.
Bourne starts in 1890, the year of SLEEPING BEAUTY's premiere, when the childless King and
Queen forget to thank the dark fairy Carabosse who helped them get a daughter so she curses the child to die on her 21st birthday.
However the good fairy Count Lilac alter it so Aurora will fall asleep for 100 years.
In 1911, Aurora celebrates her 21st birthday with gardener Leo who loves her. Caradoc, the now-deceased Carabosse's son appears and enacts her curse leaving Aurora in a deep sleep. Here Bourne adds his own delicious take - Count Lilac bites Leo's neck, turning him into an ageless vampire.
In 2011, Leo and Count Lilac must rescue Aurora from Caradoc's clutches..
Shelf or charity shop? A definite shelfer. I thoroughly enjoyed reliving the sheer Gothic romanticism of Bourne's reimagining, his always entertaining choreography, the excellent performances of Dominic North as Leo, Hannah Vassallo as Aurora and Adam Maskell as Carabosse/Caradoc and the tireless ensemble. Les Brotherston's set design and costumes are marvellous - I particularly liked the punk elegance of Count Lilac and his retinue with their frock coats and distressed layers of lace and silk - while Paule Constable's lighting design also contributed towards the success of the production, filmed here at Bristol Hippodrome. Oh and I had forgotten the mischievous Baby Aurora puppet!
No comments:
Post a Comment