#liam mower

Lucy May Barker shares how she becomes Babygriz.

A backstage Olivia Barnett-Legh as Bombalurina from Monday.

Amy Louise Whittle, an alumni of several productions is back temporarily, covering Jennyanydots yesterday, and gets welcomed to growing cast by Grace Chan covering Rumpleteazer and Jessie-Jae Davis as Tantomile.

Gabrielle Parker as Jemima shares in the lastest Gumbie fashion with Hazel Baldwin as Jennyanydots.

A few photos from former cast members Russell Dickson as Munkustrap and Carrie Willis who was the Dance Captain and a Swing (and covering Demeter and Jemima here).

A memory from May this year from Hazel Baldwin covering Grizabella and an outtake from the promotional photo shoot with Russell as Munkustrap.

And a photo from Liam Mower as Mistoffelees from earlier this year from the previous cast, with Lucy May Barker as Grizabella.

I know. I know. I’m late, but AT LEAST I DID IT! Also, I spent the most amount of time looking for reference for him compared to anybody else.

Mistoffelees is no longer a tux I repeat Mistoffelees is not a tuxedo cat anymore!!

Liam Mower as Mistoffelees, 15 May 2022.

Just that bit of grey/white at the top of his chest, pulling away to his left shoulder, and the armwarmer on his right arm (this is obvs a mirror selfie so assume it's flipped horizontally). I'd love to see how much white there is on the rest of his body, but that will come.

Also: pink nose. (Adorable but again I'm concerned about visibility and contrast from the audience.) Also he has whiskers, unlike some of the other cats!

But, here's the other big Mistoffelees revelation: not only does he change his unitard for his solo, but his wig! And his wig has curled ears! unlike the straight ones in his Quaxo outfit.

It's sometimes happened in the history of the show that Misto will change his wig for his solo outfit, but not very often—I can't remember the last time it happened? Maybe US tour V? And when it does happen it's usually because the solo wig is bigger or more showy or, as in Paris 1989... has glitter. 👀

He sparkles, y'all!

Also, from the glimpses we had of him on opening night, his solo wig seems to be a bit of a return to the 'sideburns Misto' look, as suggested by the wig person setting the sideburns into place here—plus the general shape is much more cryptid than the cute Quaxo look above, so I am a fan of them both existing in the same show. Misto can be both cute and terrifying. 😌 It is his right.

Another thing to note: look, he obviously does descend from above rather than coming in from the wings, and he has a proper harness instead of just putting his foot in a loop of rope! Loop's still there—and one around his wrist too—but he's not going to come crashing down or twist at joint if he slips out of one. So first he steps out of the loop, then releases his wrist, then goes down to unbuckle the thigh straps—while, presumably, the conductor gives him time by drawing out the drum roll— then once he's ready he shouts PRESTO!

Gif is of Roan Pronk, a swing who covers Mistoffelees:

So I finally got to watch the 2019 Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake with Will Bozier and Liam Mower and I have thoughts.

First things first - Nicole Kabera is gorgeous queen and Katrina Lyndon is having a blast as the girlfriend.

I quite like good 95 % of Bourne’s changes he made from the original 1995 production - be it in choreography, costume or dramaturgy. I like the slight shift with the girlfriend not being in it from the beginning with the general secretary, which makes her story more tragic and painful, so bring it on! I like there’s no prince as a kid at the beginning with a swan plushie. But I’m not sure I like that the connection between the secretary and the stranger was erased. True, with the 1995 production the end of act III (the ball) looked a bit too cartoon villain-y, with the stranger evil laughter while shaking hands with the secratary, but now - he just goes to the queen and embraces her and it’s just... Bland. I don’t know, I quite like the idea of the secretary plotting with everything and everyone all the time.

Now to the main characters. Liam is pretty good (saying it in the most british way possible), there’s no denying that, his dancing and technique is on top, his acting skills undeniable and he’s a perfect cast choice for this role.

But now to Will. I was truly looking forward to finally seeing him, as he was the only Swans/Strangers I missed back in 2019 when I was in London to watch the production live. And I hate to say it, but I was quite disappointed. His characterisation was OK I guess, nothing special necessarily, but nothing too bland either. But what was putting me off all the time was his technique... It was clear he is not a classically trained dancer (as Adam Cooper was back in 1995 or Matthew Ball and Max Westwell in the 2019 run) and it was painful to watch, especially with the whole company evolving so much in this aspect! Back in 1995, they were not what you would call a ballet company (and New Adventures is not claiming they are a classical ballet company, so it’s cool) and there was basically just Adam Cooper (and possibly Scott Ambler) standing out. But now, looking at the company (both men and women), they are different kind of animals now. True, Bourne is still much more about musical/jazz/modern/ballroom/whatever type of dancing, but it is undeniable his dancers now are much better in the classical ballet technique department. And watching the male corps de ballet as swans doing really well with all their arabesques, pas de chevals, developpes and pointed feet in general, and then Will who you can see is trying, but his feet are just not trained enough for this sort of things... And it’s infurriating, because the man has A JUMP! His elevation is huge, he was seriously flying over the stage.

Is the Swan about pointed feet? Of fucking course it is not. The Swan is all about raw energy, animalistic power, charisma... (to the point where Matthew Ball sometimes looked like too well classically trained ballet dancer, not truly ready for the sheer abandon)  But the technique matters as well. It may not be the most imporant thing (and gods know it is not for me, not by far!), but while its lacking is putting you off, then it is clearly a problem.

Will found his was as the Stranger, he seemed much more in his element, reigning over the stage and all the characters. And he was positively glowing in last act as the beaten up, but still fighting Swan. I love all those moment where he was jumping head first between the other swans, ferociously protecting his prince, fighting for him almost on the verge of absolute hysteria. The ending was as heartbreaking as it should be.

But still...

MB’s SL is still one of my very favourites. It’s still fucking spectacular and I love all the paralels and connections and reflections of the original SL characters and story with Bourne’s new one and all the possibilities his retelling offers. But I just couldn’t shake the treacherous ideas about different casting for this latest dvd edition.