Romeo And Julian?
Matthew Bourne [pictured], a man who has been dubbed the UK’s most successful choreographer, is about to make his mark on Shakespeare’s greatest love story – Romeo And Juliet. Bourne’s all-male Swan Lake is currently riveting audiences in Sydney, and it’s been touring the world for more than 10 years. So when Bourne’s version of Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet hits stages expect the unexpected – like the absence of Juliet, for example, and a gay lover for Romeo.
According to the UK Times, Bourne seeks to create a convincing gay relationship through dance. “It’s more to do with dancing than with sexuality. A male dancer, whether he’s gay or straight, fits into a relationship with a female partner very happily. Getting away from that, making a convincing love duet, a romantic, sexual duet, for two men that is comfortable to do and comfortable to watch — I don’t know if you can. I’ve never seen it done.”
Bourne’s Swan Lake has long been critically acclaimed, and while this take on Shakespeare’s work will no doubt raise some eyebrows and will bring the puritans out of the woodwork, it won’t be the first time that homosexual undertones have been suggested in Shakespeare’s work. A number of his sonnets were written to young men and of course, there’s Mercutio, who has long been considered a gay character in the play.
If anyone can take on this challenge it’s Bourne, and will make for another very interesting interpretation of this timeless work.
Picture from www.ballet-dance.com
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