A would-be suicide saved by a swan.

A prince saved by a man.

A man saved by reflection. 

From the purest of pain to the grandest of grace… only we aren’t there yet, and the fairy’s tale is far from over.

There will be darkness before the light,

hurt before the healing,

and loss before the love.

But always… always… there is love.

When last we left our prince, he had attempted to take his life…

“His attempt is subverted by The Swan who emerges from the water. The Prince recognizes The Swan from his dreams and is instantly attracted to him. The Swan is joined by other swans who seem to threaten The Prince. The Swan controls them and protects The Prince, becoming his soul mate and his reason to live.” ~ David Roberts

“More importantly, the Swan’s embrace of The Prince is the moment he recognizes who he is and what kind of love he wants and needs. He is able to accept that he is gay and finds a peace that he has never known before.” ~ David Roberts

“In the second act, despite the growth he has experienced, the Prince falls into deeper despair, particularly when, at a dance, he recognizes an intruder to look just like his Swan. The events which follow result not in life, but in the accidental death of his Girlfriend.” ~ David Roberts 

“Alone in his bed, he is visited by the swans who quickly disappear. The Prince’s Swan emerges from the bed and in a tender and beautiful fashion, invites The Prince onto the bed.” ~ David Roberts 

“The other swans re-enter and kill The Swan. The Prince, alone, dies of despair. His mother enters to discover her dead son and for the first time expresses emotion, even love for him. Above the bed appears The Swan with the Young Prince cradled in his wings.” ~ David Roberts

~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~

1. Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
2. Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
3. A Purple-Hued Interlude
4. Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
5. Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
6. A Blue-Hued Interlude
7. Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
8. Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
9. Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
10. Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
11. A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
12. A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
13. Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
14. A Milky Interlude 
15. Rock Out, Cock Out/ Hang Out, Wang Out: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
16. Cocktail Cocktale: Part One and Part Two.
17. A Fairy’s Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
18. Willy Wonkers: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
19. A Peacock In Everything But Beauty: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
20. Swan Lake Fantasia: Part One and Part Two.

We begin with a waltz.

A swan.

And a young prince.

A fairy tale turned on its head, reversing gender roles, mind-fucking preconceived notions, and inverting the idea of where wisdom and knowledge resides, this story is like a multi-faceted jewel with many planes and cuts and angles. 

Life examined through the eyes of a child is life at its purest, and no matter how we try to hide what we do, children always see right through it. Whether they realize it plainly and actually, or merely sense it through instinct and natural empathy, children know. 

We know.

Mathew Bourne’s take on ‘Swan Lake’ posits a male version of the ballet – a gay fantasia that blasphemes the traditional and uptight ballet rules, throwing them out and replacing them with passion and messy emotion. It thrilled and moved me, sparking memories of a childhood of dreams and nightmares, desire and fantasy and tragedy – a dramatically operatic presentation of a gay boy’s past, somehow imagined and known and conjured by a gay composer. 

A review by David Roberts captured the story and the meanings behind it better than I could have done. He will narrate the rest of this swan’s tale.

“”Swan Lake” opens with The Young Prince tossing and turning in his very large bed, agitated by nightmares. Above him appears a figure from his imagination, a powerful swan. The figure disappears and his mother The Queen enters his room to console him; however, when he reaches out to her she turns away from him unable to give him the love and attention and acceptance that he needs.” ~ David Roberts

“In the remainder of the first act, we see The Young Prince and The Prince now grown attempting to adjust to being part of a Royal Family. He is paraded around by his mother, they both wave a lot (as Royals do), smile a lot (as Royals must), cut ribbons and launch new ships. But all of this activity does not satisfy the Prince’s need for love.” ~ David Roberts

“This is a Prince struggling with issues of separation and individualism, sexual identity, and self-realization. His Private Secretary continuously tries to set him up with a girlfriend. The Queen does not approve of this commoner and The Prince becomes more frustrated in his ability to find a significant relationship and determines to commit suicide by throwing himself into the lake in the park on the grounds of the palace.” ~ David Roberts 

“The funny thing is, the more people I surround myself with, the lonelier I feel. I could be dancing in a sea of people and still be completely alone. You may be the very first person at one of these parties to see me.”
? M.A. Kuzniar

~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~

1. Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
2. Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
3. A Purple-Hued Interlude
4. Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
5. Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
6. A Blue-Hued Interlude
7. Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
8. Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
9. Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
10. Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
11. A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
12. A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
13. Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
14. A Milky Interlude 
15. Rock Out, Cock Out/ Hang Out, Wang Out: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
16. Cocktail Cocktale: Part One and Part Two.
17. A Fairy’s Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
18. Willy Wonkers: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
19. A Peacock In Everything But Beauty: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
20. Swan Lake Fantasia: Part One.

Why shouldn’t a peacock transform into a swan? 

Why should such magic be reserved solely for the ugly ducklings?

And haven’t they suffered enough?

Even the beautiful don’t often realize at what price beauty comes. It is not always a gift.

The same might be said of youth, more powerfully too, as that is something all of us have had in one way or another. Did you realize yours when it was at hand? Did you appreciate and acknowledge its power? Did you savor or favor those precious days? 

Everyone had a childhood, and the common elements of childhood are largely the same no matter where or when you journeyed through yours. It was a time of peril and danger, delicacy and delight, tenderness and toughness – the very best of times, and the very worst. The entire world tilted and teetered on a tear or a laugh, and the smallest of gestures felt like the grandest and most life-altering of catastrophes. 

Darkness loomed around every corner and every edge of every day. 

The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale has reached its swan transformation, which is arguably the centerpiece of the entire project. Twenty years ago I was only just beginning to genuinely reflect and process my own childhood – the hurts and harm done in that time, done to me, done by me – and this sort of self-psycho-analysis came with its own risks, its own darkness. 

Our prancing peacock shape-shifts into a beautiful swan – beautiful and viciously brutal.

~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~

1. Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
2. Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
3. A Purple-Hued Interlude
4. Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
5. Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
6. A Blue-Hued Interlude
7. Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
8. Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
9. Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
10. Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
11. A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
12. A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
13. Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
14. A Milky Interlude 
15. Rock Out, Cock Out/ Hang Out, Wang Out: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
16. Cocktail Cocktale: Part One and Part Two.
17. A Fairy’s Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
18. Willy Wonkers: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
19. A Peacock In Everything But Beauty: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.