Dec 17, 2011 twenty years on, matthew bourne s dickensian take on tchaikovsky is as joyous as ever, though the ballets structural flaws remain, writes luke jennings. Matthew bournes nutcracker southampton tickets, mayflower. The choreographer sets act i not in the cosy home of a welltodo bourgeois family, but in a grim orphanage. From the ages of 14 to 16 he was an avid autograph hunter, attending most west end opening nights and waiting outside stage doors and top london hotels. Returning after nine years this nutcracker for all seasons features familysized helpings of bournes trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy. It is christmas eve and the orphans are preparing for the annual visit of the institutes governors. Bournes reinvention moves the story from the stahlbaums grand house to dr dross orphanage where clara is whisked away from her bleak and lonely life to sweetie land. Matthew bournes nutcracker, sadlers wells, london the. Doctor dross and his wife run the orphanage like a labour camp, with the orphans made to work for their keep whilst the drosss own two children, sugar and fritz. The battle over, the nutcracker transforms into a human and they head off to sweetieland. The additions he makes to classical ballet i enjoyed.
His work includes contemporary dance and dance theatre. Matthew bourne, was born in hackney, london he went to william fitt and sir george monoux school in walthamstow, london. His version of the first act is a wickedly bleak deviation from the standard victorian opulence. Dancers perform matthew bournes nutcracker at sadlers wells, london, 2007. This article is more than 1 year old walthamstows roger ascham school has a superstar expupil. The sweetest of all matthew bournes treats returns to plymouth for one week only.
Find more information about the show and book now from. From a dickensian orphanage to the kaleidoscopic fantasy of busby berkley musicals, its matthew bournes nutcracker. Matthew bournes version shakes up the scenario by setting the ballet in an orphanage. Dross orphanage, through a shimmering, iceskating winter wonderland to the scrumptious candy kingdom of sweetieland, influenced by the lavish hollywood musicals of the 1930s. Moving the christmas party from a comfortable middleclass home to a dickensian orphanage whose proprietors starve their wards to spoil their own children, it then shifts to a wonderland where sweets and sugar are a nonetoo. Twenty years on, matthew bournes dickensian take on tchaikovsky is. Twenty years on, matthew bournes dickensian take on tchaikovsky is as joyous as ever, though the ballets structural flaws remain, writes luke jennings. Matthew bournes nutcracker, festival theatre edinburgh. The original magician and maker of the nutcracker doll, dr drosselmeyer, becomes truly sinister dr dross, who runs the orphanage with his equally tyrannical wife. Dross orphanage, through a shimmering wonderland to the spectacular candy folk of sweetieland. Matthew bourne turned his magic to the muchloved ballet and his bright and brilliant interruption was an instant hit.
Matthew bourne, martin duncan, anthony ward set and. Choreographer matthew bourne and his new adventures company are industry leaders, having developed groundbreaking hits including the red shoes and swan lake. Matthew bournes new adventures present the nutcracker uk and ireland tour opening at the theatre royal plymouth in november 2020 and will play a christmas season at sadlers wells. Sir matthew christopher bourne obe born january 1960 is an english choreographer. But it is just a place for bourne to play with the innocent clara as her nutcracker is stolen from her by the orphanage owners daughter.
This video clip has been created for educational purposes. This nutcracker however, i saw he changed the setting to an orphanage but then had trouble following the story as it progressed. Mayflower theatre southampton matthew bournes nutcracker. New adventures is delighted to announce the 2020 tour dates for matthew bourne s nutcracker. One of his earliest pieces of choreography, matthew bournes nutcracker is also one of his most charming and imaginative. This was matthew bournes first full length work, made three years before the groundbreaking swan lake, with its cast of male swans, that hurled him into ballet superstardom. With familysized helpings of bourne s trademark wit, and magical fantasy, this nutcracker. Buy matthew bournes nutcracker tickets directly from the official theatre box office for the best choice of seats. The drosss come to investigate the disturbance, but the children rebel and with the aid of the nutcracker they overcome and restrain them. It is christmas eve and the orphans are preparing for the annual.
New adventures 202021 tour dates for matthew bournes. They are particularly relevant to this production, which casts adult performers as a group of very needy young orphans. The nutcracker \u0018 hoffmans story tchaikovsky an opulent party on christmas eve clara, the daughter of rich parents bourne a dickensian orphanage on christmas eve setting a loveless house on christmas eve marie, who has a favourite doll called clara the main protagonist clara. Last seen on stage in 2012 to celebrate its 20 th anniversary, matthew bournes. Matthew bourne, british choreographer and dancer noted for his uniquely updated interpretations of traditional ballet repertoire. Bournes trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy, nutcracker. With scott ambler, emily piercy, saranne curtin, ewan wardrop. With familysized helpings of bournes trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy, nutcracker.
One of his earliest pieces of choreography, matthew bourne s nutcracker is also one of his most charming and imaginative. This delicious theatrical feast has familysized helpings of matthew bournes trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy. The longawaited return of new adventures nutcracker. Well its about growing up and its about first love and these are themes we can all relate to. Bbc beds, herts and bucks theatre interview with matthew. It is intended to illuminate the history, theory and aesthetics of mass media. He found the story difficult to follow for children and so tried to make something for the whole family, about a little girl who starts with nothing, grows up experiencing her first love, and who eventually gets her man something that most people can relate to. Dross orphanage, through a shimmering, iceskating winter wonderland to the scrumptious candy kingdom of sweetieland. Dross orphanage, through a shimmering, iceskating winter wonderland to the scrumptious candy kingdom.
My very first fulllength production dates from 1992 and remains the most singular interpretation of tchaikovskys masterpiece, back in 2020 to delight a new generation of theatre and dance fans. When matthew bourne approached the piece in 1992, a century after that st petersburg premiere, he identified another problem. He was also known for his choreography for popular revivals of classic musicals. The matthew bourne nutcracker is the first version geared specifically to balletophobes. The nutcracker is traditionally a celebration of sweetness both the sentimental and saccharine kind and one of the many joys of matthew bourne s reinvention of the ballet is its allout assault on sugar.
The sweetest of all matthew bournes treats returns for the first time in nine. The sweetest of all matthew bourne s christmas treats returns to london for a limited season at sadlers wells theatre. The morphing of the nutcracker from stumbling, plastic headed thing, into proud, striding adonis, symbolises claras wish to transform her life. That for most presentday audiences, the wealthy 19thcentury household in which the first act is set was itself a fantasy, greatly reducing the potential impact of the dreamland. Dross orphanage, through a shimmering, iceskating winter wonderland to the scrumptious candy kingdom of sweetieland, influenced by the lavish hollywood musicals of the.
The sweetest of all matthew bourne s treats returns for the first time in nine years. Dec 01, 2002 it was a year later, 1994, when i realised that what hed seen was a nutcracker courtesy of the livewire imagination of matthew bourne, then a barely known moderndance maverick with a bent for. Matthew bournes nutcracker this delicious theatrical feast has familysized helpings of matthew bournes trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy. Nutcracker is revealed as the orphanage boy clara has long fancied. Matthew bournes nutcracker new adventures, sadlers wells. The orphans are a motley crew, whose individual personalities shine through from. Dec 19, 2004 choreographerlibrettist matthew bourne swan lake, car man has taken tchaikovskys traditional christmas chestnut and placed it firmly inside an artistic nutcracker of his own, squeezing and. Matthew bournes nutcracker tchaikovskys nutcracker. The nutcracker breaks open the wall of the orphanage to show clara there is a better world outside. Bournes notable works included swan lake, play without words, my fair lady, the red shoes, and mary poppins. Matthew bournes old primary school dance his nutcracker. With familysized helpings of bourne s trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy, nutcracker.
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