Manly Daily, Australia
By BRIAN GRIDLEY
ANY preconceived doubts about endless pirouettes on skates are quickly dispelled in this captivating, often thrilling production of Swan Lake On Ice.
No matter what your knowledge of, or inclination to, ballet or prejudices about ice shows, the sheer beauty and skill of the 25 Eastern European skaters, together with the choreography, costumes and stagecraft, are irresistible. Lovers of the original Tchaikovsky score could be frustrated, or worse, by the patched up, volume up version recorded by the Manchester Light Symphony Orchestra (even though the sound quality is fine) and the production itself has the quaint look and style of an old-fashioned operetta, complete with exaggerated gestures and miming.
But all that becomes a mere backcloth to the artistry of the ice skaters, the vibrant, ever-changing colours of costumes and sets and inventive touches (including ``swans'' soaring eight or 10m above the ice). We are told some of the skating moves have never previously been seen anywhere in the world - not even at the recent Winter Olympics - and the claim is easy to accept.
The first night audience was warmly receptive from the opening scene and in raptures long before the finale, where each of the featured performers seemed to be seeking to outdo each other with increasingly daring moves at breakneck speed. The names of the artists will mean nothing to most Australians (the principal roles are alternated, one performance to the next) but between them they could fill a roomful of trophy cabinets. The storyline follows the Swan Lake fable and is easily followed.
And whatever the purists' verdict might be, there's no questioning the show's entertainment value for all ages. It's splendid theatre, with some hypnotic and also genuinely breathtaking moments.