Bourne to be wild

John Burfitt Swan Lake opened in 1995 in the UK. Why has it taken so long to get to Australia?

Matthew Bourne It has always been on the cards and it had become a company joke that whenever we had done the piece, it had been mentioned that possibly we might make it to Australia. We have had some Australian dancers in it and I always thought it was an audience we were missing out on.

JB How many Australian dancers are in this current cast?

MB Just the one -“ Nick Cunningham.

JB Were you criticised for daring to re-set the story among the royal family?

MB I thought when the show first opened it would be the thing everyone would focus on as the royals were so in the news with scandals with Diana, Camilla and Fergie. But it wasn’t, strangely. It was the iconic image of the woman in a tutu that had been changed to men as swans the newspapers really picked up on.

JB So what was the royal family’s reaction to the show?

MB I think it is a piece they have an affection for as a lot of the royal family have seen it and I have been invited to the palace for lunch, and the queen requested it at the royal variety performance a few years back. There is something about it which is quite sympathetic.

JB What was lunch at the palace like?

MB It was lunch for 10 -“ I was never quite sure why I was invited, but it was something I couldn’t miss.

JB The show has been called a gay ballet and a homoerotic dance work. Is it?

MB I didn’t want to label it as I feel it has universal appeal. It is not as straightforward as being a gay story. The swan is symbolic of something the prince wants to be -“ free, wild and beautiful. In Act 3, it does turn sexual when he finds himself attracted to someone who reminds him of the image of the swan. It is far more complicated than to say it is a gay story.

JB Why did you decide to change it?

MB I watched the ballet a lot, and began to imagine it in a different way. I thought it might be interesting if the swans were male and the story could take on a psychological interest. One day, I was observing the swans near Buckingham Palace, and they seemed more masculine to me. It seemed natural that you could have male swans as well as female swans and therefore wipe away everyone’s image of Swan Lake .

JB Did you ever wonder if this would be a disaster?

MB A lot of people thought I was just going to turn it into a big joke. And a lot of people thought it would be men in drag, as they could not imagine Swan Lake with anything but the tutu. So when it premiered, the part where everyone thought it was going to be funny with the swans was where it turned quite serious. We were all quietly confident we had something that worked.

JB The bare-chested dancers caused quite a reaction.

MB What the swans are is a combination of masculinity and beauty and lyricism, but they eventually become a pack of murderous creatures. So I don’t understand why a pack of bare-chested men wouldn’t be as appealing to women as well as to gay men. It is just erotic, not sure about it being just homoerotic.

JB What has been the gay community’s reaction to the work?

MB The gay community loved it when it premiered, but there were other people who said another gay tragedy because he kills himself at the end. But my answer is that it is Swan Lake and it is written in that way -“ I can’t tag on a happy ending.

JB Is it important to you that Swan Lake is part of the Mardi Gras festival?

MB I love the fact the show is in town during Mardi Gras. I hope the gay audience embraces it -“ there is something we can really identify with. I am excited to be in Sydney as well, having never been there for it.

JB Will your partner Arthur Pita be joining you on this trip?

MB He was originally a swan and that is how we met when he was in the West End production. He is now a choreographer in his own right. If he is suddenly free, I will bring him over. He has just done Carmen at the Royal Opera House.

JB Are there any plans to open your other shows Mary Poppins and Edward Scissorhands in Australia?

MB I have heard there are plans to get Mary Poppins up. Edward Scissorhands will depend on how Swan Lake does. If that takes off, we will be back on a regular basis.

JB You have often been called the the bad boy of ballet. Does that title really fit?

MB It makes me laugh as I didn’t come through ballet -“ I am really more a contemporary modern choreographer. The bad boy thing is so not me. I actually feel I am quite old fashioned in my values of wanting to put on an entertaining show. I was once even called the Noel Coward of dance, and I enjoyed that one. I think Noel might have even approved.

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake plays 21 February-18 March at The Capitol Theatre. Bookings on 1300 136 166.