Review: Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake at Milton Keynes Theatre

The sensational production, best-known for replacing the traditional female corps de ballet with a menacing male ensemble, is an alternative and modern interpretation of a classic romance story, which is simply mesmerising.

I’m ashamed to say I had not seen a Matthew Bourne production before, and I felt anxious at the prospect of not being able to follow the story.

But with an incredibly powerful performance from Chris Trenfield as The Swan, I became entirely consumed with how the complexity of love was superbly demonstrated through the act of dance, which had you laughing one moment and crying the next.

Liam Mower plays the Prince with such outstanding vulnerability that you find yourself completely absorbed in the moment as you witness him fight feelings of loneliness and confusion and the desperate longing for love.

His tense and difficult relationship with his mother is portrayed in the first few scenes, as he struggles to connect with the royal lifestyle and turns to the bottle when his affection towards her is rejected.

The character’s feelings are so perfectly portrayed as you witness the disdain his mother feels for a girl his son has caught the eye of.

Carrie Johnson (The Girlfriend) does a fabulous job in making the audience fall in love with her as she charms us with her full of life and energetic performance.

But in The Queen’s opinion there is nothing this girl can do right, which results in some hilarious scenes that are a welcome break from the intensity of the rest of the ballet.

There are moments when it almost feels as if there is too much to take in. For instance, during the nightclub scene, the action fills the entire stage and even though you are desperate not to miss the slightest movement from any of the characters, it’s inevitable.

It is a stark contrast to the spectacular scenes featuring just The Swan and The Prince as the men partake in a powerful dance that leaves you utterly breathless.

Of course it goes without saying that the combination of these talented men and the stunning soundtrack is a thing of beauty.

So whatever you do do not miss this phenomenal show that runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday.