Showing @ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh until Sat 1 Dec – run ended
Matthew Bourne and Scottish Ballet make a fantasy duo in this sumptuous, passionate and edgy rendition set to Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty adaptation. We are plunged into a world of mystery and magic where the wicked Carabosse curses the infant Aurora. The spell is inescapable and by age sixteen Aurora falls into a heavy and unrelenting sleep for 100 years.
This much we all know; Bourne however has altered more than the setting. In his take, Aurora (Hannah Vassallo) is already in the throngs of her romance with Leo (Dominic North) – who as a gardener must be kept as an illicit love affair – by the time the curse strikes. There is no way for Leo to reunite with his princess save through magic – happily bestowed once more by the unsettling Lilac Fairy (Christopher Marney).
While the audience travels through the ages, the piece as a whole retains many contemporary echoes. There’s a fascination with the neo-Gothic, as every scene is filled with passionate and dark overtones. The first half is the best of the night: an unrelenting high, truly rendering the energy of the gothic genre. Bourne has mastered the fairytale and never fails to enchant his audience. It’s a most attractive production, visually arresting at every turn with the heavy drapery of luxurious materials and stunning costumes. The performances are, without exception, superb; Aurora is the quintessential Disney-like princess, with a touch more spice and fire updating the old pastiche. And our hero Leo is just that bit cheekier than we are used to. Bourne’s slight alterations to such tried and tested formulas as the fairytale make this reinvention a work of mastery. It’s fun and light-hearted, but as Bourne demonstrates, doesn’t have to compromise on quality, sincerity or quirkiness.