Once upon a time… All great fairy tales start with those immortal words, and this one is no different. However, what Matthew Bourne has done with this version of Sleeping Beauty is so much more than a standard fairy tale. And it’s definitely more than just a dance show. Bourne and his team, Etta Murfitt and Neil Westmoreland, have taken the story that we know and built on it to produce an epic visual tale of love and overcoming adversity.
As the show opens, we meet baby Aurora, the result of a bargain Aurora’s parents made with Carabosse, the Dark Fairy. As in the traditional tale, Aurora receives gifts as a baby from various fairies. Carabosse’s threat of a short-lived life is once again mitigated by the King of the Fairies, who promises sleep over death; but just as Aurora is falling in love with Leo and it seems like she might get her happily ever after… the story continues just as we expect and asleep she falls.
When reworking Sleeping Beauty, Bourne realised that in order to make the love story more authentic, he needed to keep Leo around for the 100 years while Aurora sleeps… and to find out exactly how he did that – well, you’ll have to come and see the show! Suffice to say, the additions to the story are inventive and creative and work perfectly.
The storytelling in this production, as in all work produced by New Adventures, is exceptional. Not a single movement is wasted, every moment feels intentional and bursting with meaning. There are layers of meaning in every artistic and stylistic choice, from movement to facial expression, to costume, to makeup, to interaction with others. It is so special to watch.
By having the story span from 1890 – incidentally the date of the original ballet of Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Petipa to the same music used in this production written by Tchaikovsky – right through to the present day, Bourne, designer Lez Brotherston and lighting designer Paule Constable had immense creative freedom that they used to the fullest, as well as the challenge of incorporating different styles of clothing and ballet … and therefore lots of quick costume changes!
The costumes are sumptuous: cleverly and accurately marking moments in time, while also meeting the flexibility requirements of the dancers. I was entranced by the lighting, as Constable created spaces and blew open emotions with her intricate design.
All this would be nothing though without the exceptional talent on stage. It was actually baffling when the cast came out for the bows to discover that there weren’t more of them… the company had seemed much larger. I wish I could mention every member of the company here, because every single one of them deserves to be known and recognised.
However, I must single out Katrina Lyndon as Aurora and Dominic North as Count Lilac, the King of the Fairies. Both had absolutely exquisite movement and storytelling and were truly enchanting on stage. Lyndon’s character arc as Aurora from independent teen, to trapped young woman was powerful in itself, and then to see her also develop an entire and separate language for her body for the period in which she was asleep was testimony to her talent.
I can’t recommend this production highly enough. It is a visual feast, and it makes ballet accessible in a way that many other productions do not.
Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty continues at the Alhambra theatre in Bradford until Saturday 25th February. Information and ticket links can be found here: https://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/matthew-bournes-sleeping-beauty The show will continue to tour England and Scotland until April 2023, with information and ticket links to be found here: https://new-adventures.net/sleeping-beauty#overview
Reviewer: Jo Tillotson
Reviewed: 21st February 2023
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★★