Swan Lake
- Created by: Sarah
- Created on: 24-05-14 15:40
View mindmap
- Swan Lake - Matthew Bourne, 1995
- Themes
- The Royal Family
- When created in 1995 there was enormous interest in the Royal Family and young royals
- References to duties of generic royal family member
- Boat christening; a ribbon cutting etc
- Research into King Ludwig II of Bavaria for character of the Prince
- Papparazzi and the media
- Connected to being a member of the modern Royal family
- Being a focal point and the center of media interest
- Prince shies away and shields himself from press that intrude in his life
- Connected to being a member of the modern Royal family
- Identity
- Connects themes of royal family and media that can surround someone who is thrown into the spotlight
- Bourne combined aspects of members of Royal families who were not complete people
- We follow the Prince on a journey to find his true identity which later becomes a crisis as he is treated as though he has had a mental breakdown
- Rejection
- Prince is craving for affection - established early on in the Prologue
- Mother refuses to comfort him after a nightmare - rejects his calls to be held
- Absolute need for the relationship with the Swan
- Prince is craving for affection - established early on in the Prologue
- The Royal Family
- Characters
- The Prince
- A dreamer that retreats into a fantasy when life becomes too difficult for him
- Facinated by swans since childhood - held a toy swan as a boy and took comfort from its softness and calmness but had nightmares about its wild, unpredictable nature
- Bourne likens the Princes obsession with swans to Alan Strang's obsession with horses in the play Equus
- As an adult he is weak and unstable - not suited to the Royal lifestyle
- Finds constant attention of the press unbearable
- He is gullible and impressionable and confuses what is reality and what is fantasy as a form of escapism
- Relationship with mother is lacking in love - jealous of her younger lovers but it too weak to challenge them and her on their behaviour
- The Swan/Stranger
- This is the Odette/Odile character from Tchaikovsky's original
- The Swan is a creature of the Prince's imagination
- He is strong, beautiful, masculine, lyrical and sensual but also wild, dangerous and territorial
- Leader of the Swan flock
- No facial expressions for both characters as they are a human trait
- Creates a blank canvas as it strips the human and leaves the animal
- Eyes and movement are the only forms of communication between the Swan/Stranger and Prince
- Stranger is the alter ego of the Swan
- He is dark, mysterious and glamorous with no social graces and sneers at Royal etiquette
- Fully aware of his sexual attractiveness and exploits it to the full - he is sly, cunning and manipulative and will always get his own way
- The Queen
- Middle aged but retains her beauty and allure - immensely proud of this
- Has no husband so amuses herself with younger lovers
- Disappointed by her son's weakness and finds him irritating and embarrassing and a constant reminder of her own mortality
- She gives him nothing - no affection or love so he seeks it somewhere else
- Outwardly she is cold and aloof with her son but with others she can be passionate and vivacious
- Swans
- All swans are played by men as Bourne felt that the musculature, strength and poise of male dancers reflected the swans' feral and rough nature
- Elegant beauty often hides the true nature of the swans
- Very sinister; highly protective; aggressive
- Swans still act as a corps de ballet but within the group there is individuality
- Bourne likes individuality within performers such as physique, height and own style
- The Prince
- Set Design - Lez Brotherston
- Designed for proscenium arch theaters
- 4 large white columns stand left and right of the stage for the entire performance; a white breezeblock wall is upstage throughout the palace scenes
- Entire structure or sections of it can be flown in and out when the action moves outside the palace
- Vast amounts of white used suggests a cold, clinical environment that lacks warmth, colour and love
- Act 1:Scene 3 - Opera house, stage within a stage done by flying set of a large, slightly askew proscenium arch with a royal box
- Suggests the fakery of it
- Painted backdrop of a Gothic castle bordered by trees is the setting for the pastiche ballet
- Center of white wall can be raised; Prince's bed can be turned 180 degrees and pushed into the space in the wall
- Back of the bed has a red cloth with a crown and represents a royal balcony
- Bed disappears later on in Act 1 and a crown hangs down in the space and a red carpet is rolled out
- Seedy club in Act 1:Scene 6 - pink ruche curtains are draped along the back; bar upstage right; podium upstage center; pink neon sign above the bar
- Bar contains recognizable 60's and 70's characters
- Act 2 - set in a park; bare-branched trees are upstage of the 4 pillars, cartoon like stretching out as though they are grasping; streetlight, park bench and bin are DSR; notice on light says 'Do not feed the birds'; full moon above scene
- Costume Design - Lez Brotherston
- Swans
- Hair and upper body are covered in white make up; eyes are highlighted in black and there is a black triangle from the crown of head to bridge of nose
- Wear deep-welted knee-length pantaloons; white fabric is slit to show the swans plumage; bare foot
- Brotherston (costume designer) wanted to give them the feeling of a bird; Bourne was showing the aggressive and physical; wanted to keep them as bare as possible but no tights - classical idiom
- The Queen
- Black wig with white streaks either side pulled back into a chignon - air of sophistication
- Sinister nod towards the Bride in The Bride of Frankenstein and Cruella De Ville
- Style is very Christian Dior - long sleeved full length dressing gown, blood-red satin ball gown - striking, regal; 1950's Hollywood film star
- Black wig with white streaks either side pulled back into a chignon - air of sophistication
- Ballet costumes
- Old Romantic period ballet style; Moth maiden in calf length tutu; Butterfly maidens in mid-thigh length yellow tutus and 2 in lacy black thigh length shorts
- Wood cutter - green lederhosen, white billowing sleeved shirt, white tights, green boots, comedy moustache and whiskers
- Trolls wear full head masks, mottled brown unitards, hairy pantaloons, codpiece with warty, spiky protrusions, all 3 wear long rubbery fingers
- Seedy club scene
- Act 1:Scene 6 - East End gangsters in dark glasses, tuxedos, highly polished black shoes; fan dancers in black bras, suspenders and stockings under short hot pink dresses with pink feather boas
- Swans
- Lighting - Rick Fisher
- Atmospheric lighting makes it public and personal
- Prologue - subdued creamy glow suggests a nightlight; blue-white light on Swan in the window makes it ghost-like, dreamy and distant; yellow glow cuts through when Queen enters as though door has been opened
- Act 1 - golden glow on Prince as though dawn has just broken; whiter light when servants enter becoming more yellow-white and warmer
- Queen and Prince in public view light is whiter colder and not safe and warm; flashing lights go off to show the press; darkness when subjects salute, white gloves glowing in the dark
- Ballet has 2 follow spots for leads; pantomime lighting - greener when troll appears to support costume and show evil; when he is killed a warm yellow-white light returns
- Princes quarters have a white-blue effect; shadows are cast - distorted, spooky and uneasy
- Club scene - pinks and oranges for a seedy feel; street is dark and shadowy
- Princes quarters have a white-blue effect; shadows are cast - distorted, spooky and uneasy
- Ballet has 2 follow spots for leads; pantomime lighting - greener when troll appears to support costume and show evil; when he is killed a warm yellow-white light returns
- Queen and Prince in public view light is whiter colder and not safe and warm; flashing lights go off to show the press; darkness when subjects salute, white gloves glowing in the dark
- Act 2 - white-blue lighting suggests cold early morning, moon provides only lighting; when prince gets lost in imagination light is blue; green is added on tree branches; yellow-white for duet
- Swans disappear and leave Prince in purple haze with a touch of yellow to show dawn breaking
- Act 3 - Searchlight effect used as catwalk - old movie premiers; ball has a yellowish glow for warmth,fun and happiness
- Light almost cut when Prince dances with Stranger, shadows on one side of the wall - in Princes mind; Stranger leaves and lighting returns
- Prince on floor DSC, guests surround him, in front of footlight, bright white-yellow light on guests around him - sinister and distorted
- Light almost cut when Prince dances with Stranger, shadows on one side of the wall - in Princes mind; Stranger leaves and lighting returns
- Act 4 - white-blue footlights on white wall, shadows warping perspectives and dimensions
- Used again when Swans appear under Prince's bed; finale lighting blue and green, swirling effect makes it dreamlike; prologue lighting repeated
- Themes
Comments
No comments have yet been made