Having studied the work of Matthew Bourne at college, I was more than excited to be given the opportunity to review his retelling of The Red Shoes at the Norwich Theatre Royal. Being unfamiliar with both the original Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale and the 1948 film, this story was completely new to me. I…
Arts
Review: Romeo and Juliet at Norwich Theatre Royal
Matthew Bourne’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a genius and creative reimagining of a much-loved story. The storytelling is simply fantastic, and the dances and choreography could not be more perfect. Straying slightly from a typical Romeo and Juliet plot, Bourne sets this story in ‘Verona Institute’ a psychiatric hospital where Juliet (Cordelia Braithwaite) is imprisoned….
Arts
Review: Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake at the Norwich Theatre Royal
Before watching Matthew Bourne’s production of Swan Lake, my friend who was with me in the audience told me that her grandmother greatly disapproved of men in tights on stage. She would have hated this gender-swapping version of Swan Lake, which luckily for the audience did not conform to the traditional gender roles that many…
Arts
Cinderella: “the most breathtaking thing I have ever watched”
I thought that Matthew Bourne’s production of Red Shoes would be the best thing I would ever watch, but his Cinderella production completely stole my heart. It was the most breathtaking thing I have ever watched. Matthew Bourne has a way of bringing out the darkest themes in his ballets with incredible effectiveness. As predicted,…
Arts, OldVenue
The Genius of Bourne: Edward Scissorhands Review
Matthew Bourne is a genius. There is no other way to summarise the magnificent performance of Edward Scissorhands, which celebrated its first major revival at the Theatre Royal in Norwich this Tuesday. The ‘New Adventures’ production certainly lived up to the Companies’ critical acclaim, through capturing the spirit of Tim Burton’s eerie fairy-tale and beautifully…
Arts, OldVenue
Liam Mower: Putting On the Scissorhands
Matthew Bourne has often been regarded for his idiosyncratic adaptations of classic tales. He blends various genres of dance in a daring way which pushes and pulls against custom. He denies any categorisation of his work with one seeming aim – to push back harder with each new move. With the international success of Bourne’s…