Imagine the ballet Cinderella with the original music by Sergei Prokofiev, but transplanted to London during the Blitz. Or Romeo & Juliet – with another unforgettable Prokofiev score – set in a dystopian future designed to crush the spirits of the young. Then there’s the most famous ballet of all time, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, redone with the usual flock of delicate tutu-wearing female dancers replaced with a menacing ensemble of male swans.
Ring any bells? That’s right – they’re all the work of iconoclastic British director Matthew Bourne, who cut a swathe through the dance theatres of the 1990s in much the same way Nirvana blasted through the pop charts, blowing minds and thrilling end-of-the-century audiences to the timelessly modern possibilities of 500-year-old art form. Bourne’s work was brash, sexy and dazzlingly different, and he worked with the most brilliant set designers of his time to bring audiences to their feet from the West End to Broadway and beyond.
Now the Sydney Opera House has a series of five recently made performance films of Bourne’s work that it is presenting exclusively on its Stream platform throughout November. It’s a chance to have a front row seat on some of the most exciting ballets in contemporary history.
In addition to Cinderella, Romeo & Juliet and Swan Lake – yes, it’s the same Swan Lake that we see Billy Elliot performing in at the end of the movie – the series includes The Car Man, a dance piece that reimagines the story of Bizet’s opera Carmen. The setting is a greasy garage-diner in the American midwest of the 1960s where the arrival of a handsome stranger throws a spanner into the lives of the locals.
Rounding out the series is Bourne’s stage adaptation of the greatest ballet movie ever made, The Red Shoes, in which the rising ballet star Vicky Page struggles to please the domineering impresario Boris Lermontov while falling in love with composer Julian Craster – with tragic results.
Matthew Bourne has won more Olivier Awards (British theatre awards) than anyone except Dame Judi Dench, and is the only British director to have won Tony Awards for both Best Choreographer and Best Director of a Musical. He’s also a pioneer in reaching wider theatre audiences through the medium of film with many of his productions filmed for TV and cinema release.
With international touring and travel remaining incredibly difficult, the Stream series is an opportunity to get your fix of amazing theatre in your own home. There are two ways to watch: for $35 you can purchase a Season Bundle which gives you access to watch all five films immediately. Or you can purchase individual films as they're released for $10 each. Swan Lake is available from November 2; Romeo & Juliet November 9; The Red Shoes November 16; The Car Man November 23; and Cinderella November 30.