The Sleeping Beauty

Published Thursday 10 January 2008 at 13:30 by Thom Dibdin

Ashley Page and Antony McDonald have created a luscious new Sleeping Beauty, set in real time, that gives Scottish Ballet a work to get its teeth into.

Aurora’s birth in 1830 allows designer McDonald to work in plenty of references to the fascination with fairies of the time into the opening prologue. Page offsets the elegance of his mortals with a quirkily jerky grace to the fairies, led by Limor Ziv’s Lilac Fairy, and counter-pointed by Kara McLaughlin’s deliciously wicked Carabosse.

It’s in Act I, and Soon Ja Lee’s first appearance as Aurora at her 16th birthday, that Page brings his truly populist appeal to the fore. Aurora’s dance with the four suitors is breathtaking choreography as she weaves intricate and delicate lines around the solidity of her partners. Soon Ja Lee floats through her performance, creating a knowing innocence for Aurora that seems to challenge the suitors in her rejection of them.

Everywhere you look there is a humour in this production which makes reference to the story’s underlying messages. It is obvious in the phallic cactus which pricks Aurora into sleep. But more subtle in the long transition of Act II, in which Riding Hood (Sophie Laplane), Snow White (Luisa Rocco), Bell (Nathalie Dupouy) and Cinderella (Quenby Hersh) are guided to safety by Matt Dibble’s agile Bluebird - along with Gregory Dean’s solid Prince.

The real time setting is all the more understandable in the final act with its Art Deco-influenced post-war design of London in 1946. Page has allowed himself full reign with the themes and variations. It is all hugely satisfying and, while nothing quite matches the charm and style of Act I, this is a Sleeping Beauty to awaken the senses.