Link of the Week - Matthew Bourne & company on creating his ground-breaking Swan Lake in 1995

Adam Cooper, the original 1995 Swan character in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake. © Hugo Glendinning

It’s nearly 30 years since Matthew Bourne created his Swan Lake, and the Observer’s Rachel Cooke recently interviewed Bourne and several others involved in the 1995 premiere. It was a ground-breaking production with its all-male corps of Swans, and it’s terrific to hear the low-down on how it came to be. Besides Bourne, there are reminiscences from designer Lez Brotherston, Adam Cooper, the first Swan (or ‘the Swan/the Stranger’ to use the proper role title), and Isabel Mortimer, who was the first Queen.

‘You very rarely see men moving together like this’: Matthew Bourne on 30 years of his radical Swan Lake, The Observer, 10 November 2024

The interviews coincide with the latest UK tour of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake - the 30th Anniversary Tour with the tag-line ‘The Next Generation’. It’s touring now and through to summer 2025 - Further Details. If you are based in London, then note it opens next week at Sadler’s Wells on 3 December 2024 and runs through to 26 January 2025.

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