Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Bord Gais Energy Theatre – Review
by Frank L. 

Dates: 20 – 24 May 2025 – Part of the Dublin Dance Festival

It was over thirty years ago that Michael Bourne had the idea to reconfigure the quintessential classical ballet of Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake. In its original manifestation, it extols the swans as female, and over the years, there have been many magnificent productions using the symbol of the swan as female. Bourne’s revolutionary idea was to have all the swans as male. Stripped to the waist and wearing pantaloons covered with white feathers, they are in his iteration of Swan Lake, uncompromisingly male. But they are male figures of complexity, mostly affectionate and loving, but also capable of aggression. In addition, Bourne has transposed the story to late twentieth-century Britain, and it centres on the search of a young prince, with an unloving, domineering mother, to find his inner self. And he does so in his dreams, which are dominated by swans and one in particular. Bourne’s imaginative reinterpretation captivated audiences when it premiered, and it has continued to do so on the world stage ever since.

Bourne describes in his informative programme note how his Swan Lake “changed my life and forever transformed the fortunes of my company,” New Adventures. So much so that New Adventures has been able to create a school of dancers from the age of 12 years of age and now an additional programme for dancers aged 16-18. As a result, he is able to proudly claim that 56% of the company in this production of Swan Lake have taken part in a New Adventures development programme, and it shows.

There is throughout an intensity in the ensemble pieces, particularly as the swans dash hither and thither about the stage, but also in how the dancers transform themselves into guests at a Royal Ball and move as a phalanx threateningly across the stage. There are many such set pieces, but they are the backdrop to the relationship between the Prince and his Mother, the Queen; his relationship with the Swan and its human manifestation as the Stranger at the Royal Ball and his relationship with the unsuitable girlfriend. These principal roles alternate between two or three different performers during the run, so every performance will contain within it a slightly different dynamic. But the breathtaking discipline of the corps will remain a constant.

The costumes throughout are exquisitely tailored. The send-up of a grand social occasion in an Opera house highlights social differences. A seedy club appropriately called Swank’s bar exposes with wit the shallow glamour of a down-at-heel night club. Every venue and passing scene is uplifted by innovative and exciting dance. Many moments make you smile or even laugh out loud, it engages on many levels.  In this regard, the duets between the Prince and the Swan/ Stranger, of which there are several, are mind-blowing in the range of emotions they conjure.

Throughout, you have the glorious and familiar music of Tchaikovsky. It is great that Bourne’s masterpiece has returned to Dublin. It was last seen here in 2019. Take this opportunity to see it, it is not to be missed.