Baby Aurora may be key to the story of Sleeping Beauty, but in most ballet productions she’s present only as an unconvincing afterthought – a bland prop of a doll who’s either ignored by the court around her or dandled carelessly in the arms of dancers who’ve never been instructed how to hold a baby.
But Matthew Bourne’s imagination thrives where others’ fail and typically one of the stars of his version of Beauty is little Aurora – not a doll, but a captivatingly realistic puppet, who crawls precociously around the palace and beats enthusiastic time to the fairies who dance around her crib.
It’s one of the many beguiling reinventions of this 2012 production, in which Bourne transforms the innocuously familiar fairytale into a drama of gothic, Manichean glamour. While the story of the original Petipa ballet peters out by act three, Bourne sustains the tension by having Aurora’s two “suitors” – the romantic gamekeeper Leo and the evil Caradoc – locked into a life and death battle until the end. At the same time, Bourne and his associate choreographer Christopher Marney pay serious dance homage to the original ballet, with some deliciously knowing and funky raidings of the Petipa steps.
The performances are all detailed and heartfelt. Ashley Shaw is an excellent Aurora – her dancing modulating from a puppyish spontaneity to a plush and spacious lyricism. Dominic North is a funny and devoted Leo, and Adam Maskell dominates the stage as Caradoc, looming elegantly and sinisterly over his prey. There’s one major flaw in the luridly taped version of Tchaikovsky’s music, to which the Wells’ sound system does no favours. But otherwise this is an exhilarating, entertaining production – and one clearly destined to become a classic of the genre Bourne has made his own.
• At Sadler’s Wells, London, until 24 January. Buy tickets at theguardianboxoffice.com or call 0330-333 6906.
