You shall go to the ball at a glam club
Sunday before last, Matthew Bourne Cinderella at Sadler's Wells. Sam Archer as the RAF Pilot, Kerry Biggins as Cinders, Micheala Meazza as the Stepmother. (Taz and me have figured out that we've never seen Sam perform on stage, even though he's one of the principals - you can see him in the Car Man dvd.) Program makes the point that the music was written during WW2, and boy do the crashes and so on make this v obvious...
Starts off mid-Blitz, with sirens and original cine newsreel footage to set the scene, moves to Cinder's house, where you get intro to the family - dad in a wheelchair and barely responsive, Ella the doormat, the feckless brothers and sisters, (including the stepbrother who's a slimeball creep, the obligatory MB gay one) and finally the glorious bitch of a stepmother, who is graceful, self-absorbed and clearly above all of you peons. Cue the various boyfriends and girlfriends turning up, the RAF pilot stumbling in with an injury and Ella tending to him, everyone fawning over the glam pilot until the Stepmother kicks him out, scenes with Ella trying to get a response from her father, Ella dancing with a tailor's dummy that morphs into the pilot, the Fairy Godfather (resplendent in very shiny and tight white three-piece suit, very very otherworldly and detached. Interestingly he works as a behind-the scenes puppet master, influencing and moving peoples' actions rather than doing a bibbidi-bobbidi-doo act, which works fabulously for dance.) Everyone buggers off for the Cafe de Paris, Ella bunks out with suitcase, but outside, a bomb goes off as she and the pilot search for each other and Ella's knocked out by the blast.
:deep breath: yes, there was a *lot* going on in the first act.
commentary:
The first bit, intro of the step-siblings, although it did a job for introing everyone, was probably the weakest - too much of the cliche gawky that Bourne often does. After that, everything else was gorgeous dancing.
Nice touches: Godfather sliding down the mantel, and shadowing people to influence their actions. Spooky and powerful.
Tailors dummy sequence: awesome comedy, especially when Ella is having to physically jerk him around as though he still is a dummy in places.
Confusion and hostility of the crowd sequences outside, including getting herded by the ARP wardens and firefighters - the sets and costuming on this are deeply, deeply awesome, even when they're just the ARP overalls.
Second act, post gin and ice-cream (sticks to the 3-act structure, which allows for very distinct changes in tone as well as scenery)
Opens on a destroyed Cafe de Paris, bodies strewn everywhere. (go wiki for what happened to this club during the blitz) Godfather casts a beady eye across it, resurrects it so Ella can have her dance. Cue everyone going into full jive and awesome, officers arriving and vied for, Pilot arriving (uninjured, which is one of the more confusing time issues in this) and getting pounced on by the Stepmother - Sam goes into very put-upon auto mode during this dance, which is hysterical. Club owner's in the traditional greasy creep Scott Ambler role and at one point rolls out the piano. Brilliant. Gay step-sibling starts eyeing up one of the officers, who definitely reciprocates - there's an adorable moment later where they're in a clinch and spring apart on realising stepmum is right behind them. Stepmum just smiles benevolently in a 'eh, seen it all'. Which proves how glam she is. Special mention to Micheala here since she's all graceful legs - extending further, going higher than anyone else. AS USUAL. it's just more noticeable since she's playing second female. One day, she will be old enough to play the Queen in Swan Lake and then we will fall on the floor in a burbling heap of adoration at her superior glamness.
Ella arrives in fabulous sparkly dress, she and Pilot go into haze of beautiful dancing before getting out of there. Next we get dawn, Ella and the Pilot wake up in bed together. Cue effing gorgeous pas de deux in their undies. Certain people were reduced to tears. :cough: GIDEON :cough: Godfather comes calling, Ella has to leave, shoe gets left behind.
Third act. Back to Blitz-strewn outside. Pilot stumbles onto the riverside, amongst all the partygoers going home and people getting up early for work. Pilot gets into a fight when stumbling looking around for Ella (already injured by this point, was a bit confused when he got the head injury), gets beaten up, then wanders down tot he tube. where there are prostitutes. Shush, it's sleazy and pretty even if you are going 'oh-kaaay'. Ella wakes up in the hospital post-blitz, corridors all done with moving screens (rather awesome), stepfamily coming to visit. She rejects the pressies, later the stepmother tries to smother her and gets arrested, stepsiblings all deeply freked out by their mum (it's something to do with a flashback in which stepmother kneecapped her father and Ella witnessed. i think. Time issues are really hazy in this.) More drama than actual dancing in this part. Ella goes wandering, comes across Pilot getting electroshock to get his brain back to normal (he was going more and more crazy earlier and is still clutching her shoe). Recognition, all is good.
Switch to Paddington station, and lots of people doing farewell and greetings. Utterly, utterly lovely. (yeah, Dogma and Love Actually do not lie) With cameo from the Brief Encounter couple to one side. Several of the step siblings are saying goodbye or saying hello to their beaus. Including the gay one, who's waiting nervously around - and his officer does turn up. With flowers. awwww. Ella and Pilot turn up in formal smart civvies, off on their honeymoon. They're very correct and proper and stiff upper lip but still tender. The whole thing closes with the reappearance of the Godfather, who's spotted another couple he can get together.
overall, it's stunning, gorgeous and beautifully danced. Costuming and scenery to die for. However, some of it's a bit bitty and doesn't hang together too well. (I mentioned the time issues - although the Cafe de Paris has been resurrected with ghosts for Ella, this also screws somewhat with the timing for when the pilot gets his head injuries, since he wasn't injured at the ball and he was injured when he turned up at Ella's house, which is *before* the siblings bugger off to the ball) and the first dance in Act One is cliche not great Bourne, and you do get a bit confused about what is going on when the Pilot is stumbling around the depths of London.
Starts off mid-Blitz, with sirens and original cine newsreel footage to set the scene, moves to Cinder's house, where you get intro to the family - dad in a wheelchair and barely responsive, Ella the doormat, the feckless brothers and sisters, (including the stepbrother who's a slimeball creep, the obligatory MB gay one) and finally the glorious bitch of a stepmother, who is graceful, self-absorbed and clearly above all of you peons. Cue the various boyfriends and girlfriends turning up, the RAF pilot stumbling in with an injury and Ella tending to him, everyone fawning over the glam pilot until the Stepmother kicks him out, scenes with Ella trying to get a response from her father, Ella dancing with a tailor's dummy that morphs into the pilot, the Fairy Godfather (resplendent in very shiny and tight white three-piece suit, very very otherworldly and detached. Interestingly he works as a behind-the scenes puppet master, influencing and moving peoples' actions rather than doing a bibbidi-bobbidi-doo act, which works fabulously for dance.) Everyone buggers off for the Cafe de Paris, Ella bunks out with suitcase, but outside, a bomb goes off as she and the pilot search for each other and Ella's knocked out by the blast.
:deep breath: yes, there was a *lot* going on in the first act.
commentary:
The first bit, intro of the step-siblings, although it did a job for introing everyone, was probably the weakest - too much of the cliche gawky that Bourne often does. After that, everything else was gorgeous dancing.
Nice touches: Godfather sliding down the mantel, and shadowing people to influence their actions. Spooky and powerful.
Tailors dummy sequence: awesome comedy, especially when Ella is having to physically jerk him around as though he still is a dummy in places.
Confusion and hostility of the crowd sequences outside, including getting herded by the ARP wardens and firefighters - the sets and costuming on this are deeply, deeply awesome, even when they're just the ARP overalls.
Second act, post gin and ice-cream (sticks to the 3-act structure, which allows for very distinct changes in tone as well as scenery)
Opens on a destroyed Cafe de Paris, bodies strewn everywhere. (go wiki for what happened to this club during the blitz) Godfather casts a beady eye across it, resurrects it so Ella can have her dance. Cue everyone going into full jive and awesome, officers arriving and vied for, Pilot arriving (uninjured, which is one of the more confusing time issues in this) and getting pounced on by the Stepmother - Sam goes into very put-upon auto mode during this dance, which is hysterical. Club owner's in the traditional greasy creep Scott Ambler role and at one point rolls out the piano. Brilliant. Gay step-sibling starts eyeing up one of the officers, who definitely reciprocates - there's an adorable moment later where they're in a clinch and spring apart on realising stepmum is right behind them. Stepmum just smiles benevolently in a 'eh, seen it all'. Which proves how glam she is. Special mention to Micheala here since she's all graceful legs - extending further, going higher than anyone else. AS USUAL. it's just more noticeable since she's playing second female. One day, she will be old enough to play the Queen in Swan Lake and then we will fall on the floor in a burbling heap of adoration at her superior glamness.
Ella arrives in fabulous sparkly dress, she and Pilot go into haze of beautiful dancing before getting out of there. Next we get dawn, Ella and the Pilot wake up in bed together. Cue effing gorgeous pas de deux in their undies. Certain people were reduced to tears. :cough: GIDEON :cough: Godfather comes calling, Ella has to leave, shoe gets left behind.
Third act. Back to Blitz-strewn outside. Pilot stumbles onto the riverside, amongst all the partygoers going home and people getting up early for work. Pilot gets into a fight when stumbling looking around for Ella (already injured by this point, was a bit confused when he got the head injury), gets beaten up, then wanders down tot he tube. where there are prostitutes. Shush, it's sleazy and pretty even if you are going 'oh-kaaay'. Ella wakes up in the hospital post-blitz, corridors all done with moving screens (rather awesome), stepfamily coming to visit. She rejects the pressies, later the stepmother tries to smother her and gets arrested, stepsiblings all deeply freked out by their mum (it's something to do with a flashback in which stepmother kneecapped her father and Ella witnessed. i think. Time issues are really hazy in this.) More drama than actual dancing in this part. Ella goes wandering, comes across Pilot getting electroshock to get his brain back to normal (he was going more and more crazy earlier and is still clutching her shoe). Recognition, all is good.
Switch to Paddington station, and lots of people doing farewell and greetings. Utterly, utterly lovely. (yeah, Dogma and Love Actually do not lie) With cameo from the Brief Encounter couple to one side. Several of the step siblings are saying goodbye or saying hello to their beaus. Including the gay one, who's waiting nervously around - and his officer does turn up. With flowers. awwww. Ella and Pilot turn up in formal smart civvies, off on their honeymoon. They're very correct and proper and stiff upper lip but still tender. The whole thing closes with the reappearance of the Godfather, who's spotted another couple he can get together.
overall, it's stunning, gorgeous and beautifully danced. Costuming and scenery to die for. However, some of it's a bit bitty and doesn't hang together too well. (I mentioned the time issues - although the Cafe de Paris has been resurrected with ghosts for Ella, this also screws somewhat with the timing for when the pilot gets his head injuries, since he wasn't injured at the ball and he was injured when he turned up at Ella's house, which is *before* the siblings bugger off to the ball) and the first dance in Act One is cliche not great Bourne, and you do get a bit confused about what is going on when the Pilot is stumbling around the depths of London.