There are so many cosy and delightful things about attending a traditional performance of Swan Lake, but Mergaliev Classical Ballet’s production at Richmond Theatre is a slightly different proposition.
This isn’t because of any anarchistic set-design or a radical retelling of Siegfried and Odette’s triumph against supernatural overlord The Swan King, Rothbart. It is diversity and proximity that sets this production, in this specific setting, apart.
A standard trip to the ballet in London would involve peering across a sea of red velour towards a stage full of distant limbs creating kaleidoscopic flowery visions. However, Richmond Theatre, with its 900-seat auditorium and Grade Two-listed, raked stage, presents a much more intimate telling of this fairy tale. It is possible to witness the humans in the tutus and behind the paint. You can even, if tempted, watch the footwork...
With a cast from: Italy, Ukraine, Armenia, Spain, Japan, UK, USA and Cuba, there is an unusual offering of diversity and non-conformity in this company—height, body-type, ethnicity and, sometimes, elements of technique vary in a way that makes you consider the personalities in front of you from the corps to the principles. The Jester, played exuberantly by Aibar Toktar, is the most virtuosic performer next to our female lead—Odette / Odille, played by Assel Askarova, whose extensions and placements are as regal and flawless as you'd expect. There were a few moments of asynchronous pas de chat in the dance of the three signets, but this can be forgiven as it was recovered without a blink.
It was a rare joy to see married couple and principles, Askarova and husband Azamat Askarov, who plays Siegried, perform together. This is, in part, because of how they complement each other physically but also the ease with which they frame and elevate each other. Amara Galloway and Kira Ewing brought memorable character to the court sequences and Victoria Ellwood didn’t miss a mark or nuance of musicality as a member of the ensemble and Hungarian Soloist.
One element that caught me off-guard was how guided this narrative is by generous movements of music. To choose to watch Swan Lake is to surrender to over two hours of non-verbal storytelling in continuous space—a challenging ask in today’s world of shrinking platforms and attention spans. Being close enough to view the origin of that sonorous oboe motif and some very nifty castanet work on the side of the stage made me grin ear-to-ear.
You would be well advised to surrender to this nicely pitched, mid-scale production of Swan Lake which foregrounds, perhaps not wholly intentionally, the humanity of its ethereal world. Swan Lake continues its UK tour in Aylesbury.