Matthew Bourne's Cinderella - I've been waiting for this ballet for probably two years. Ever since I saw Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake at TheatreHD. Without a doubt, the talent, the presentation of the director-director and choreographer with each performance seems brighter and richer.
I don’t want to compare, but Cinderella is shown in darker tones than I expected. On the other hand, the events on the scene take place during the Second World War, and the ruins of buildings, the raids of German bombers, the fires – all this was real, and it is impossible to deny it. As well as what I like, the story gets so under the skin that goosebumps run over the skin. Just magnificent scenery, transporting the viewer to that terrible time.
Still, this is Matthew Bourne - romance, staging dances (classic, some Gothic, expression), life, a kind of otherness, a little jokes and irony. Just after the fabulous and colorful "Sleeping Beauty" it was not easy to accept this side of Bourne's productions.
The choice of dancers is always very successful. This is the Angel (Liam Mover) – just stunning in his white suit – this arrogance, cold beauty and mercy in one image. And stepmother – Michela Miazza could show the mood of her heroine with a couple of gestures, lively facial expressions – just an incredible coincidence of the character and appearance of the actress.
The fairy tale, changed in a new way, is completely different, and although the main storyline is preserved, it is so humanized, permeated with life that at some point I completely forgot that I was watching a shifted motif of a famous fairy tale.
The choreography is sharp, very expressive and vivid. Which is typical of this director. Dancers cross the line between dance and play, as if living a fictional story in reality.
The main characters are Ashley Shaw (Cinderella) and Andrew Monaghan (Air Force Pilot). Attraction, love, tenderness, passion - they all showed it, but very sensual, light, beautiful.
I want to note the costumes – how much I was used to brightness and luxury in previous performances, that at first I could not get used to the gray and black colors – but this is justified by history itself and it was impossible otherwise.
I advise those who love ballet, uniqueness and individuality, those who can look at old stories and see new ones in them.
8 out of 10