Swan Lake

The film is a recording of a stage production. What is on the stage is Matthew Bourne’s version of Swan Lake. The music is Tchaikovsky’s. Bourne has rebuilt the ballet. In the classical staging the swans are danced by women. In this version the swans are danced by men. The company comes on barefoot and bare-chested. That choice is what the production is best known for. At the centre of the account is a prince. The prince is hemmed in by life at court. In the finale the swans come out from under his bed. The recording was made at Sadler’s Wells in London. The filming was done during a live performance. Richard Winsor and Dominic North are on the stage. Ross MacGibbon directed the hundred and eighteen minute recording. The British production was finished in 2012.