Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake at Sadler's Wells

A firm Christmas tradition for many years is a visit to Sadler's Wells to see the Matthew Bourne and New Adventures dance spectacular and this year it was the return of 'Swan Lake'. The posters for the show proudly proclaim 'The Legend Returns' and that's exactly what it is, a legend in dance. I've seen it before and it always a delight to see the dance which is a testament to Matthew Bourne's story-telling.

This is a re-telling of the classic 'Swan Lake' story as only Matthew Bourne could and there's a lot more to this than changing the swans from female to male. In the context of this story that seems so natural.  This production has been updated for the 21st Century - no major changes, it's mainly the details that are updated, like the hissing of the swans. It all worked perfectly for me.

It takes a while to meet the swans in their feathery trousers since we start off with the Prince and his mother the Queen launching ships and opening art galleries, a lovely comic ballet performance (a dance within the dance), and the Prince going to a sleazy nightclub before he finds his way to the lake. And there he meets the Swan and his flock. This is a delightful sequence of dances during which the Swan and the Prince slowly synchronise their dancing and movements, moving as one across the stage, such a beautiful sight.

The second half opens with the grand ball at the Palace with the Swan in human form as the Stranger in black leather who dominates the dance floor. A very dramatic way to take the story forward and it was great to see the female dancers dancing in ridiculously high high-heels. Positively dangerous I thought.

But then we move on to the final scene when the swans invade the Prince's bedroom to take their revenge for changing their leader.  Such a dramatic scene that pulls you into it with the spiky, jerky movements of the swans as they peck and bite and fight the Swan and the Prince. And... I'll leave it there. You need to see this production to feel the emotional weight of the thing created by Matthew Bourne.

I loved it. I always do. It was the first Matthew Bourne show that I ever saw and it remains my favourite. Max Westwell was a great Swan/Stranger and Liam Mower as the Prince, they made a great lead duo. I also really liked Freya Field as the Girlfriend, really playing up to us as the audience with her gaffs of dropping her handbag and her mobile phone going off - great characterisation. Well done to the whole troupe and a great way to welcome in the Christmas season!