31 August, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
This touring Irish production from writer, director and choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan is an adaptation of Swan Lake, mixing theatre with contemporary dance in a modernised setting; and rather than Tchaikovsky, the music is by Dublin trio Slow Moving Clouds.
In this retelling, Jimmy (Alexander Leonhartsberger) is a depressed thirty-something grieving his father and the loss of their ancestral home, while his disabled mother frets over his single status. Fionala (Rachel Poirier), the swan, is the victim of an abusive priest played by Mikel Murfi, in one of several roles, binding the story together as the narrator and Rothbart analogue.
I came for the dance but it was the story choices and the narrative moments that really worked me. The modern update, blending melancholy realism and myth, is very effective.
I also really liked that this adaptation gives a true backstory to Fionala/Odette - my usual complaint about Swan Lake is that it gives too much time to the prince, who is frankly the least interesting. In the traditional version his story is the overarching thread; this version can be more truly said to have dual storylines, intertwined, as much her story as it is his.
The dancing, surprisingly, was the least interesting part for me. Aside from a rhapsodic, freewheeling dance at the end with the whole cast and the stage awash in feathers, I found the choreography only… adequate.
Not my favourite version in my quest to see All The Swan Lakes, and gosh I miss Tchaikovsky, and the traditional choreo to be honest - but a show worth seeing. And only 75 minutes! PERFECT.
Content warning: haze, smoke, feathers?, sexual violence
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