Event at a glance
Venue: Theatre Royal Haymarket (8 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4HT)
Date: 5 October 2015
On Until: 30, October, 2015
Ticket Cost: 20-80 GBP
My brief review: very
McQueen: the savage beauty of Alexander McQueen's mind and life; Highly recommended
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I have always been into fashion, however, I always had this question when I watched all the fashion shows of the top brands, such as Armani, Gucci, etc. : Can these top designers make something beautiful,
aesthetically beautiful? No
offense to all these top brands, but they might be classy, they might be
luxurious, they might be elegant, they might be unique, but they are rarely beautiful. Until one day,
Alexander McQueen came into my sight. Finally, there was a designer who designs dresses that girls really
like.
Note that I use the word
like here, not
desire. Sometimes people desire a Chanel not because they like that piece of Chanel, but because it is Chanel. Alexander McQueen, however, walks into girls' heart. He sees them and sees into them. He realizes girls' beautiful dreams, not just on their appearances, but also on their souls. The
extravagance,
unconventionality,
lavishness and
rebelliousness is
pervasive in every Alexander McQueen's piece. The color and the cut, the pattern and the material all reflect girls' kingdom. What makes a designer who presents this savage beauty to the world? What's his world like? These questions inspired me to see this biography play, McQueen.
Digital Spy provides detailed background information of this play:
Writer James Phillips described the play as "a journey into the visionary imagination and dark dream world" of McQueen.
The
play is inspired by a quote from McQueen in 2008, where he spoke of a
story about a girl who lives in a tree in his garden "and comes out of
the darkness to meet a prince and becomes a queen".
It follows a fan named Dahlia who breaks into McQueen's home to steal a
dress after spending 11 days up a tree. When McQueen catches her, he
decides to spend a night together with her in London instead of
reporting her.
The play's website states that it is not suitable
for people under 16, and "contains nudity, adult themes and language
some may find offensive".
Stephen Wight, who looks extremely like Alexander McQueen, plays Alexander McQueen. To be honest, I am so shocked to see how similar they look that I suspect it might be Alexander McQueen himself. I can imagine how much Stephen Wight has studied about Alexander McQueen's life to play this character, or how successful the makeup artists are. In this play, Stephen Wight powerfully portrays the talented and
tormented genius, his strong mind and weak heart, his bright ideas and dark world, his
offensive language and
protective love. It seems that these opposite elements always co-exist in Alexander McQueen's life. Perhaps it is the tension of these opposite elements that led to his
suicide.
 |
| Stephen Wight |
 |
| Alexander McQueen |
The play's start is quite special. 15 minutes before the show starts, Alexander McQueen is already on stage under the spot light, walking back and forth, seeming to be figuring out something difficult. As the time draws closer to the start, the audience light starts to dim gradually until it is totally dark, then everyone is quiet and the play starts.
The stage setting is uniquely McQueen style, with live models and
mannequins dressed in the identifying
skeleton style.. The live models play so well that you can hardly tell who is a live model and who is actually a mannequin. Two of the models are
doppelganger , who look exactly the same and are always together, but always do the opposite movement. They are probably the symbols of the
contradictory forces co-existing in Alexander McQueen's inner world.
The play shows how Alexander McQueen ingeniously eye-cuts and makes an elegant dress from scratch. This unique talent of precision is not only on designing, but also on his power of
penetrating people's mind. It is almost scary that how much he can read people's mind.
In terms of his personal life that is mentioned in the play, it seems that his mother is his emotional support, the one who inspires, motivates and encourages him to be a brilliant designer. He also shows strong love and dependence on his mother.
The play has a happy ending that Alexander McQueen saves Dallia, his fan, changes her value of life, and motivates her to live and cherish life. This links back to the lines in the beginning of the play: what is a dress? Something that makes you happier and changes you. Indeed, in the end, Alexander McQueen not only makes a dress for his fan, but also changes her view of life.
The play presents the gold feather coat of 2010, which in the play
is said to have the power of making whoever wears it feel like a queen. You can also find these pieces in the play: the red feather dress, the Armadillo Shoes and the Scottish kilt dress. The Scottish kilt is said to be in honor of his Scottish father.
I don't know anything about fashion and, to be honest, I don't care much. Yet, I was intrigued by this post and decided to go and see the show, and was not disappointed. The life and death of McQueen are a moving human tale that transcends fashion. A genius is never normal, and his life was anything but. I know can say I like his style and I am a bit sorry that I will nevel be able to wear his clothes!
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