My review of Swan? was published online by Canberra CityNews on 26 March 2026. The review below is a slightly enlarged version of the CityNews post. Here is a link to the CityNews review.
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25 March 2026. The B, Queanbeyan
First staged in Moscow in 1877, Swan Lake is one of the oldest ballets in the current theatrical repertoire. It is also perhaps the ballet that has been meddled with more than any other over the years. Some tinkerings have been simply changes to the storyline—venue, era, characters and the like. Think of Graeme Murphy’s exceptional production for the Australian Ballet, for example. Others have taken excerpts from the choreography and/or storyline and turned them into jokes or odd comments of some kind. Remember the Dance of the Little Swans from the all-male company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo? Swan?, from Bad Knees Studios, falls into the latter category. Danced as a solo performance by Lauren Brady, it has been described as ‘a dark comedy/clowning piece’.
Before the show began, we were asked to answer a question on a slip of paper that said, ‘What would your dream hero be like?’. When we entered the theatre, Brady, dressed in a quite beautiful blue and white tutu (not sure about the make-up though), was there collecting our responses and making quacking noises as she did so. At that stage she was also sporting an orange swan-like beak attached to her nose. She chatted to us for a while before launching into an abbreviated explanation of the storyline of Swan Lake, focusing on the events that had changed the life of Odette, the White Swan of the original story. Her words centred frequently on her thoughts about love and life in contemporary society. The contemporary focus was highlighted by Brady’s use of a vape, which she picked up, used and put down throughout the 70 minutes of the presentation.
There were two occasions when she selected male members of the audience to come forward and engaged in an onstage conversation with them, which also involved a box in which our answers to the dream hero question had been stored. Slowly the production unfolded, with some kind of emphasis on the role of love in life and with occasional sexual overtones, until Brady closed the show.
I cannot count Swan? as one of my favourite productions but I was probably in the minority. The audience involvement throughout was strong and loud. Full of enthusiasm whenever Brady danced some very simple choreography, audience members hummed one of the main musical themes from Tchaikovsky’s 1877 composition, which (perhaps surprisingly?) pretty much everyone knew. Everyone also joined in imitating Brady’s duck-like quacks that permeated the piece, and there was much laughing from across the audience.
The show may have been more enjoyable for me had I actually been able to see more of what was happening. Brady’s performance took place at floor level in front of a grouping of several tables and chairs, which were occupied by enthusiastic audience members. Other seating consisted of regular tiered rows behind the tables and chairs. But when Brady lay or spread out in some way on the floor, which occurred often, it was impossible to see what was happening since the view from the tiered seating was obstructed by the tables and chairs and their occupants. Moreover, in that situation Brady’s voice was not always clear enough to hear exactly what she was talking about.
I’m really not sure what the point of Swan? was and I was relieved when the show finished. Other members of the audience clearly had a great night out.
Michelle Potter, 26 March 2026
Featured image: Lauren Brady in Swan? Photo: © Marc J Chalifoux
I was a guest of Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre for this production.