Charlie Chaplin’s beautiful and moving speech on humanity and the fight for a free and united world, from his film The Great Dictator (1940), and with the addition of stirring music by Hans Zimmer from the film Inception (2010).
Utterly stunning. Never have his words rang more true than in these times of oppression, greed, and fear.
This week sees Chester Performs make its quest to cultivate Cestrian culture a late night affair as it launches its first ever Poetry Pub Tour.
Tim Clare, the award-winning, popular stand-up poet and presenter of the Channel 4 series How To Get A Book Deal, is our host for the evening; an engaging, hilarious and talented wordsmith, Clare was also the creator of the Poetry Takeaway which featured at the 2012 Essar Chester Literature.
We start at The Bear and Billet, then zigzag our way through rhyme, past metaphor and up Lower Bridge Street via The Cross Keys and Ye Olde Kings Head, before finally ending up at the Marlbororough (Yep, that is spelt correctly) Arms.
The formula is a winning one: everyone buys a drink, we sit, Tim chats to us and makes us laugh a lot, reads us one or two of his brilliant poems, we chat some more, then move on to the next pub... Sounds simple? Maybe so, but the best things always are.
To kick things off at the Bear and Billet, Tim recites a poem he has composed about a servant locked in a room for laziness and left to starve, whose ghost is still supposedly heard sobbing to this day. Since the pub, we learn, was the birthplace of John Lennon’s grandmother, the poet cleverly inserts one or two of said Beatle’s lyrics into the verse. To counter any surfeit doom and gloom at the Cross Keys Clare reads a piece, from his first published poetry collection, about ‘Beer Ghost’ – that strange phantom that only ever seems to visit and turn your room upside down when you’ve had a heavy night out.
Later at Ye Olde King’s Head, with a dozen of us gathered round him and with his trusty uke in hand, Tim delights us with the musical tale of one peculiar, old gent , a row boat and a quest to thwart the Oxbridge boat races, from his album of spoken and sung verses, Jesus buys me Cigarettes.
The fact that this evening’s event was the first of its kind means that the time spent at each venue is perhaps a little more rigorously observed at first than it should be, but after a pub (and pint) or two the night happily reaches a more natural pace.
It’s so incredibly refreshing to pass an evening with a mix of such warm and friendly faces from every age group, come together through a love of poetry to share laughs over a drink and learn about the fascinating, and often grisly, history of the city’s pubs in the process.
Were Chester Performs to make the tour a monthly occurrence, with an ever changing list of venues and visiting poets, the night would quickly become an absolute city favourite both for locals and for curious tourists after something a little different.
To find out more about Tim Clare and purchase some of his poetry and other writing, visit http://www.timclarepoet.co.uk/
Though rain begins to fall with aptly
theatrical timing, nothing can dampen the spirits of the audience members as they sit
munching their picnics, eagerly awaiting Chester Perform’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to commence at
Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre. It wouldn’t be a British Summer without a
shower or two , but luckily the clouds quickly pass to make way for this
intriguing interpretation of a timeless work.
In a
performance that reiterates the notion of reflection and contrast, we soon
learn that the actors playing mortal rulers Hippolyta and Theseus are also cast
as the flighty rulers of Faery, Titania and Oberon. Clever use of actor twins Danielle and Nichole
Bird means that Puck, the nimble trickster sprite, appears to zip around the
earth in the twinkle of an eye, speedily rushing off stage in one direction only
to zoom past again from the other seconds later. Though the two later come to
be on stage at the same time, admittedly shattering the ingenious illusion, the
production’s duality motif is further highlighted by the antics of the mischievous
pair.
The most
striking embodiment of this counterpart imagery appears when the acting troupe
of simple tradesmen first depart, lifting up a giant metal ring from around the
circular stone podium in the midst of the theatre - a symbolic loosening of the girdle
of reality and reason - to float in ethereal mimicry of the earthbound mortal
world. Only now that this strange doorway in the air is manifest, and the deliciously
atmospheric full moon gleams amid the real storm clouds above, can the Fairies
enter; attired like a motley gypsy band, they bring no end of mayhem and mischief
in their wake, not to mention spark a veritable explosion of carnal yearning in
the mortals with which they choose to toy for a night’s sport. . . With the
juice of an intoxicating flower smeared about their eyes, we see rival suitors
Lysander and Demetrius snarling and writhing like hounds as they hump the earth
(as well as the leg of a very bewildered Helena) in a burst of pure animalistic
passion.
The result is a riotous fight scene with a rainbow
spectrum of powder paint bombs blooming in the air with Fairies devilishly
providing the unwitting humans with ammunition. Whilst hilarious, it has to be
said that the dismayed sense of sisterly betrayal Shakespeare penned in the quarrel
between Helena and Hermia is somewhat disappointingly drowned out in the uproar.
Nevertheless,
the combined efforts of director Alex Clifton and choreographer Imogen Knight
ensure that the Bard’s elegant and ornate Elizabethan words are colourfully expressed
in a manner that is enormously entertaining to all the family. Spectacle is very much the order of the day and
we are given it in abundance: lords and ladies chant in candlelit procession; Fairies
crow a rustic lullaby on folk instruments; the humble workemens' troupe performs its play-within-a-play
to the newly-weds (now seated, like the audience, with drink and picnic in hand)
along with a sprightly Morris dance, at both of which the audience continually
roar with laughter, clapping and stomping away to the music.
Actors and
audience alike delight in the frequent interaction with the gathered onlookers:
lordly Oberon smears the charmed flower’s aphrodisiacal juice upon the noses of
an elderly couple and cheekily wishes them a good night, whilst Bottom runs about
as an ass with a Fairy entourage to steal a swig of prosecco or a mouthful of
grapes from stunned picnickers, and lovelorn Helena chases her would-be
sweetheart through the seated crowd to take a perilous dive off the terrace
above.
Shakespeare’s
work continues to speak to us through the ages of the unifying and transcendental
power of love whilst convention is well and truly turned on its head, and this
production remains faithful to these themes whilst instilling it with a fresh and
original vibrancy.
Chester's heritage suffered enormously during the twentieth century, when much was destroyed to make way for its ring road and for modern commercial structures.
Horrifyingly, Chester Cathedral recently proposed a masterplan for the redevelopment of its surrounding area, which includes the destruction of Chester's ancient pedestrian Kaleyard Gate on Abbey Street in order to make way for car access to a Free School soon to be created in Abbey Square. Chester's walls, including the ancient pedestrian Kaleyard Gate, are a Grade I Scheduled Monument, and for the Dean and Chapter to have suggested this is utterly disgraceful and is in violation of English Heritage legislation.
Below is a template email to be sent to English Heritage requesting their intervention in this matter in order to preserve Chester's unique and already dwindled history. The message can be edited as you see fit, and can optionally be altered in order to send it to the Cathedral's project team director.
I'd be extremely grateful if you could find take a minute or two to either send a copy of this email to English Heritage or even write a few words of your own expressing your opposition. PLEASE, help save our history!
----------
LETTER:
To whom it may concern,
As you will be aware, Chester’s historic buildings and monuments suffered colossal blows during the twentieth century, with much of its heritage being erased in the name of “Progress”. It is as a concerned citizen of Chester and eager defender of history that I am writing to you. Nearly all of the city walls, including its pedestrian Kaleyard Gate (situated on Abbey St), are a Scheduled Monument with Grade I listing; however, the Dean and Chapter of Chester Cathedral have audaciously proposed the Gate’s destruction as part of a project for redevelopment that has had to be altered once already due to its infringements on heritage conservation. Operations director for the Cathedral’s master plan, Simon Warburton, recently described the gate as nothing but a ‘hole’ in an interview for the Chester chronicle, appearing to be totally ignorant of the fact that the Kaleyard Gate has existed for almost seven and a half centuries and has, from the very beginning, been part of the history of the Cathedral, with the monks having requested its creation in order to access their vegetable garden. The tradition of the gate being locked at the 8 o’ clock curfew each evening, originally to prevent the attacks from marauding Welshmen, has also been observed since that time, and always by the Cathedral. Incredibly, it now wishes to turn its back on all this and seeks to destroy one of the city’s ancient gateways for the benefit of those attending a Free School soon to be created in Abbey Square in partnership with the University of Chester. It is unimaginable that the Cathedral could condone destroying a piece of the city’s already dwindled heritage which is so completely bound to itself in order to shave a few minutes off the school run for a select minority dropping off its children at a school that will no doubt endure for a sum of years that is paltry in comparison to that of the Gate’s age. In light of the fact that Gorse Stacks car park is less than five minutes away, and a car park is in existence on the other side of the Kaleyard Gate in which private parking could be easily developed, it is baffling to think that the notion of bulldozing a large hole in the walls has even been considered. It is already devastating enough to learn that the plans also include building luxury houses on the city’s sole surviving ancient green, beneath which lie the remains of the Deva Roman fortress barracks rediscovered in the 1920s; this further recklessness cannot be allowed. I implore English Heritage to intervene and protect the Kaleyard Gate from this madness – for this proposal surely is madness – at all costs and preserve this unique portion of Chester’s illustrious history for future generations.
The Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre has been delighting its audiences since its launch back in 2010 by champions of Cestrian culture Chester Performs. With nine critically acclaimed productions under its belt, the open air group goes to show it only improves with age as it wows us with this year’s outstanding productions of Othello,A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cyrano de Bergerac.
Edmund Rostund’s renowned play follows the tale of the nobleman Cyrano, chief Cadet in the French army’s Gascon company and wordsmith extraordinaire who can melt or enflame a heart by merely opening his mouth; he has nevertheless afflicted by an overly large nose. Our hero’s cousin and secret love, the fair Roxanne, is smitten by a handsome but inarticulate new Cadet and so Cyrano embarks on the heart-breaking quest to woo the lady on his friend’s behalf.
Having previously written for the Grosvenor Park theatre, Glyn Maxwell makes a triumphant return with this striking, new adaption directed by Lucy Pitman-Wallace; no mean feat, with the writer having to tackle a the original work's forty threenamed parts – as well as a host of soldiers, courtiers, poets and more – all inhabiting five utterly different sets, from a baker’s shop to a war-zone, and somehow transform it all into twelve actors performing in one single outdoor space.
Shuffling the play’s chronology, the nun’s from Act V are ingeniously brought forward to the opening (thus seamlessly framing the plot) as they begin to recount the tale of the soldier-bard from some fifteen years before. Before long, we see the nun’s take on the roles of many of those in the story, suddenly arming themselves and donning plumed hats as they riotously merge with other figures that enter now from all directions in sumptuous period costume, along with the titular protagonist himself played by Edward Harrison. The actor's portrayal of de Bergerac and his legendary panache is superb: sporting a stylised nose cleverly crafted from parchment covered in poetry, Harrison is charismatic, witty and collected with the most perfect theatrical timing.
Indeed, the whole cast ought to be praised for their stellar performances, not least the nuns with their ever-changing roles; perhaps most notable amongst them being the talented twins Danielle and Nichole Bird. Many of the cast also had a chance to showcase their musical accomplishments: during a rousing and rustic Gascon anthem played to lighten the lift hearts before battle; Katherine Toy’s pleasing accordion interludes between and even during scenes; the emotive and truly haunting a capella chanting of what seemed to be a Latin mass during the dual between Cyrano and one hundred men, skilfully choreographed in slow motion by Sue Nash.
With actors scaling the seating and livelily interacting with audience members happily picnicking mere feet away, Cyrano de Bergerac is an outstanding performance – at times brimming with humour, at others poignant and heart-rending – that is sure to thrill this summer’s theatre goers.
Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty Hears
Bumps in the Night
The commencement of award-winning
choreographer Matthew Bourne’s latest production in 2012 marked the 25th
anniversary of his acclaimed company, and is touring the UK until mid-May when
it will continue with a host of international performances. Sleeping Beauty evokes
much of the darkness of Charles Perrault’s original fairy tale whilst turning
the plot on its head in a bold new retelling of this timeless story of malice, unconquerable
love, and hope.
In
this reimagined version, the King and Queen, desperate for a child of their
own, invoke the aid of Carabosse the Evil Fairy who, offended by the lack of royal
gratitude for granting their wish, curses the newborn baby, Princess Aurora, to
prick her finger upon a rose and die when she comes of age in her twenty first year.
The Good Fairy, Count Lilac, though unable to lift the evil curse, transforms
it into one hundred years’ enchanted sleep instead. After his mother’s death,
the Evil Fairy’s son Caradoc arrives at the Princess’s birthday celebrations and
leads the doomed Aurora to her fate. When her secret true love, Leo (alas no
prince, but rather the humble gardener’s boy) unintentionally eludes the Good Fairy’s
slumberous enchantment over the castle, he must take drastic action and overcome
the mortal implications of the long years that lie before him in order to awaken
the sleeping princess, battle against Caradoc and his deadly, amorous intentions,
and be reunited with his love once more.
Act one
begins in 1890 (the year in which Tchaikovsky’s production was actually first
performed), act two springs us forward to 1911, and act three then leaps resoundingly
into the modern day when Aurora’s bewitched sleep finally ends. Lez
Brotherstone, Liverpool-born designer, has created beautiful sets for all these
periods and everything in-between. His designs are at the same time delightfully
simplistic and gorgeously lavish: The Victorian interior of the castle is dominated
bya wide window through which the
full-moon peers, only to be masked by a gigantic velvet drape that splits the
stage in half; the topiaries and rolling
expanse of grass in the castle grounds of 1911 create the illusion of a bright
and airy Edwardian summer’s day; A strange land of fog and lantern-covered
trees acts as the dreamscape of the enchanted sleepers; the elegant red and
black 21st century night club is the stylish haunt of fairies in the
present day. A cleverly designed set of
double conveyor belts towards the back of the stage enables the cast to drift ethereally
about all these sets, allowing for some incredible choreography.
In terms of music, it must be said that the overall
impact of the whole piece is weakened to an extent by the lack of a live
orchestra, despite the very admirable use of Tchaikovsky’s score by music producer Terry Davies sound designer
Paul Groothuis. The thrilling atmosphere an orchestra can generate as it tunes
up moments before curtain is something a sound system will simply never be able
to match.
The
cast performances, however, are truly unimpeachable. Huge credit must be given
to dancer Hannah Vassallo, whose accomplished portrayal of the feisty princess is
fantastically animated, in spite of the fact she spends a large portion of the performance’s
latter half dancing as though asleep as
well as blindfolded.
Dominic
North’s acting and dancing skills are excellent, there’s no doubt, but even they
can do little to inflate the somewhat regretably lacklustre quality of Bourne’s hero Leo, who
tends to remain as two-dimensional as the archetypal figures of Tchaikovsky’s
original masterpiece. Indeed, the relationship between the gardener’s boy and
Princess Aurora somehow remains disappointingly hollow throughout. Far more convincing
is the dark web of emotions belonging to the sinister yet charismatic antagonist
Caradoc, whose disdain for Aurora quickly mingles with desire as he dances a seductively
menacing pas de deux with her and later caresses her lifeless body in a memorable
and skilful dance sequence.
Tom
Jackson Greaves, who plays Caradoc, also shines in his alternate role as the Evil
Fairy Carabosse, whose brief, regal and menacing presence is keenly felt, not
least during the especially haunting moment she conjures up a ghostly vision of
the future princess, who dances on stage costumed so as to appear faceless as she
eerily prophecies the details of her future curse.
Not
without humour, the second half of the performance opens in the year 2011 with a
group of true-to-life modern teens vainly posing for pictures outside the briar-ridden
gates of the castle, and the beanie-covered head of lovelorn Leo pops out of a
tent with his endearingly mini set of wings revealed. Earlier in the
performance, masterful puppetry very nearly steals the show as it has the
mischievous baby Aurora scrambling about the stage, scaling curtains and
sitting up inquisitively in her cot, all whilst interacting perfectly with the cast
members.
Bourne’s
fairies (three of either sex) are decked in glittering aristocratic finery
trimmed with multi-coloured rags to hint at their wild, otherworldliness; each sports
an unobtrusive set of delicate wings and a black mask-like strip of shadow across
the eyes. Bourne instils these mysterious creatures with a figurative and
literal bite: in a vampiric twist, good fairy Count Lilac, played by the
talented Christopher Marney, takes heartbroken protagonist Leo (who has accidentally
alluded the sleeping charm the fairy earlier placed across the castle) in his
arms and sinks his teeth into his neck, granting him immortality and the means to
await the awakening of his beloved in one hundred years’ time, reiterating the
production’s subtitle: ‘A Gothic Romance’.
Though
it is not without faults, Matthew Bourne’s is a strong and visually stunning adaption
in which his unique style of choreography flows seamlessly together; his vast imagination
takes root and blossoms in order to fill us with child-like wonder, like the
storyteller extraordinaire that he is.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is
unequivocally one of the best literary works of the twentieth century. ‘In my
younger and more vulnerable years’ (to quote the opening lines of the novel’s realistically
flawed narrator, Nick Carraway), I was introduced to the text at school and was
instantly smitten.
It follows the tale of one enigmatic
man’s unquenchable sense of hope as he tirelessly strives to win back a love that
slipped through his fingers years before, all amid the corruption and decadence
of Jazz Age New York. Though evocative of its era, it is a timeless story that resonates as strongly today as it did then, and with gorgeous prose and short,
pacey chapters, The Great Gatsby is a
must-read you’ll devour in no time at all and be left wanting more.
As the excitement grows for the
release of Baz Luhrmann’s latest bold new film adaption starring Carey Mulligan
and Leonardo Dicaprio, it seems that Gatsby mania has taken hold.
Francis Cugat’s
poignant artwork for the original edition of The Great Gatsby (right) so impressed F. Scott Fitzgerald that he decided
to reference it in the book itself: ‘I had no girl whose disembodied face
floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs’. As well as new editions of
this cover, many others are now being released. In particular, Penguin has
created a sumptuous new set of Fitzgerald’s stories with beautiful, shimmering Art
Deco covers (Below).
Perhaps most
influenced of all by the renewed interest in all things 20s is, however, the
fashion world, as seen in Sue Wong’s new collection of elegant evening gowns dripping
with glittering jewels and embroidered beading. And it’s no small wonder, with
Prada having designed the dazzling array of costumes for the film’s actresses,
mixing vintage styles with some of its more recent lines to create some strikingly
beautiful and daring new pieces (below).
Four sketches released by Prada for their The Great Gatsby costume designs
Along with hit
series such as Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire, The Great Gatsby is also prompting men to look to the iconic styles
of the past in favour of sleek tailoring, tie pins and luxurious fabrics. Being
an advocate of classic men’s attire, I couldn’t be more thrilled.
In a bid to
remain faithful to the look of the period, Catherine Martin, the film’s Academy
Awarding-winning Production Designer, approached Brooks Brothers (the clothing company
that the author Fitzgerald himself used) to design the clothes for the film’s leading
actors as well as all the male extras. To tie in with the film’s release,
Brooks Brothers have released a collection based on the garments used in the
film, even including their trademark straw boater hats (see below).
Brooks Brothers new Gatsby collection based on the garments they created for Luhrmann's new film.
Fitzgerald
was also a patron of iconic jewellers Tiffany & Co. with whom Martin also collaborated
for the film. Tiffany created signature pieces, such as Gatsby’s daisy-themed
signet ring (below), as well as allowed costume
designers access to their extensive archives in order to recreate jewellery
contemporary to the period, like the
exquisite tiara band (below) sported by actress Carey Mulligan at one of Gatsby’s
extravagant parties. What’s more, the jewellers has released its Jazz Age Glamour Collection, decorating
the flagship Fifth Avenue store with window displays inspired by the film (below). To show their appreciation for the original book, Tiffany has even granted
Orion Books permission to use a design from their archives to create a new book
cover.
Some of Tiffany's deco Jazz Age Glamour Collection window displays, New York
The film will be in cinemas on 10th May, and I not only hope
it is able to live up to the hype surrounding it, but that it also does justice
to Fitzgerald’s masterpiece. If nothing else, Luhrmann’s adaption has made us appreciate
once more all the beautiful artistic triumphs of a bygone era. I leave you with the words of Jay Gatsby himself: “‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you
can!’”
This is the third time I have been
irrestibly drawn to watch the Ivor Novello Award-winning acoustic folk artist perform live
now, and I would do so a thousand times more for such an incredible talent. Scott’s desperately beautiful songs are
nothing less than bewitching: his fingers dance effortlessly over the strings
and a voice floats suddenly toward you as if from a dream, holding the thronged
audience of Telford’s Warehouse, Chester, in hushed awe.
What I find
most striking about Scott’s performances is that if you were to close your eyes,
you could be forgiven for thinking you were actually listening to hymns being sung
to you by some unearthly cello and not a man, so distinctly like the sound of swelling
strings is the tone of his voice.
He is taking this tour, he explains, to get
the songs out of his system and learn their personal meanings before recording
them in the coming months for what will be his fourth album after Passing Stranger, Elsewhere, and What theNight Delivers.
Afterwards, he
seems genuinely humbled and grateful that people appreciate his work, and is eager
to make to time to chat warmly with his fans, without rushing.
Scott’s talent
puts to shame the likes of artists such as Damien Rice and recent flavour of
the month Ed Sheeran, and though he has a large following and is very much a respected
“musician’s musician”, quite why his household acclaim isn’t greater than it is
at present is utterly baffling. Regardless,
Scott’s fourth album will hopefully be released at some point later this year,
and I simply cannot wait.
In a
performance that reiterates the notion of reflection and contrast, we soon
learn that the actors playing mortal rulers Hippolyta and Theseus are also cast
as the flighty rulers of Faery, Titania and Oberon. Clever use of actor twins Danielle and Nichole
Bird means that Puck, the nimble trickster sprite, appears to zip around the
earth in the twinkle of an eye, speedily rushing off stage in one direction only
to zoom past again from the other seconds later. Though the two later come to
be on stage at the same time, admittedly shattering the ingenious illusion, the
production’s duality motif is further highlighted by the antics of the mischievous
pair. 
The most
striking embodiment of this counterpart imagery appears when the acting troupe
of simple tradesmen first depart, lifting up a giant metal ring from around the
circular stone podium in the midst of the theatre - a symbolic loosening of the girdle
of reality and reason - to float in ethereal mimicry of the earthbound mortal
world. Only now that this strange doorway in the air is manifest, and the deliciously
atmospheric full moon gleams amid the real storm clouds above, can the Fairies
enter; attired like a motley gypsy band, they bring no end of mayhem and mischief
in their wake, not to mention spark a veritable explosion of carnal yearning in
the mortals with which they choose to toy for a night’s sport. . . With the
juice of an intoxicating flower smeared about their eyes, we see rival suitors
Lysander and Demetrius snarling and writhing like hounds as they hump the earth
(as well as the leg of a very bewildered Helena) in a burst of pure animalistic
passion.
The result is a riotous fight scene with a rainbow
spectrum of powder paint bombs blooming in the air with Fairies devilishly
providing the unwitting humans with ammunition. Whilst hilarious, it has to be
said that the dismayed sense of sisterly betrayal Shakespeare penned in the quarrel
between Helena and Hermia is somewhat disappointingly drowned out in the uproar.
Nevertheless,
the combined efforts of director Alex Clifton and choreographer Imogen Knight
ensure that the Bard’s elegant and ornate Elizabethan words are colourfully expressed
in a manner that is enormously entertaining to all the family. Spectacle is very much the order of the day and
we are given it in abundance: lords and ladies chant in candlelit procession; Fairies
crow a rustic lullaby on folk instruments; the humble workemens' troupe performs its play-within-a-play
to the newly-weds (now seated, like the audience, with drink and picnic in hand)
along with a sprightly Morris dance, at both of which the audience continually
roar with laughter, clapping and stomping away to the music. 
Chester's heritage suffered enormously during the twentieth century, when much was destroyed to make way for its ring road and for modern commercial structures.
The Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre has been delighting its audiences since its launch back in 2010 by champions of Cestrian culture Chester Performs. With nine critically acclaimed productions under its belt, the open air group goes to show it only improves with age as it wows us with this year’s outstanding productions of Othello,A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cyrano de Bergerac.
Indeed, the whole cast ought to be praised for their stellar performances, not least the nuns with their ever-changing roles; perhaps most notable amongst them being the talented twins Danielle and Nichole Bird. Many of the cast also had a chance to showcase their musical accomplishments: during a rousing and rustic Gascon anthem played to lighten the lift hearts before battle; Katherine Toy’s pleasing accordion interludes between and even during scenes; the emotive and truly haunting a capella chanting of what seemed to be a Latin mass during the dual between Cyrano and one hundred men, skilfully choreographed in slow motion by Sue Nash. 
The commencement of award-winning
choreographer Matthew Bourne’s latest production in 2012 marked the 25th
anniversary of his acclaimed company, and is touring the UK until mid-May when
it will continue with a host of international performances. Sleeping Beauty evokes
much of the darkness of Charles Perrault’s original fairy tale whilst turning
the plot on its head in a bold new retelling of this timeless story of malice, unconquerable
love, and hope. 
The
cast performances, however, are truly unimpeachable. Huge credit must be given
to dancer Hannah Vassallo, whose accomplished portrayal of the feisty princess is
fantastically animated, in spite of the fact she spends a large portion of the performance’s
latter half dancing as though asleep as
well as blindfolded. 
Bourne’s
fairies (three of either sex) are decked in glittering aristocratic finery
trimmed with multi-coloured rags to hint at their wild, otherworldliness; each sports
an unobtrusive set of delicate wings and a black mask-like strip of shadow across
the eyes. Bourne instils these mysterious creatures with a figurative and
literal bite: in a vampiric twist, good fairy Count Lilac, played by the
talented Christopher Marney, takes heartbroken protagonist Leo (who has accidentally
alluded the sleeping charm the fairy earlier placed across the castle) in his
arms and sinks his teeth into his neck, granting him immortality and the means to
await the awakening of his beloved in one hundred years’ time, reiterating the
production’s subtitle: ‘A Gothic Romance’.
