My wife really enjoyed it, though I fear she omitted to mention 'all male' at any point in her description.
It wasn't as 'all male' as I had heard...
This was a treat for Carol, unfortunately her ME prevented her from going. I knew nothing about Swan Lake and it was my first trip to the ballet too. I really enjoyed last night and the only thing which would have made it better would have been sitting next to Carol. Oh well.
I suspect that a lot of contemporary interpretation has gone into this production. The scene in the "Swank" club was brilliantly done and I think some of the raunchy bits were less suitable for the younger audience members. Humour was present throughout the first half, and there was a pointedly funny moment when a dancer's mobile phone went off.
The all male Swans were intimidating in their deliberate moves, very coherent and the intimacy of the lead male Swan and the Prince character was convincing.
The second half was darker - and the dramatic final scenes had me hooked. Brilliant.
Hull New Theatre gave a standing ovation and the ballet took maybe a dozen bows before the curtain finally dropped. I'm very pleased I went.
