Matthew Bourne’s Early Adventures

‘The undisputed king of dance theatre’ (Observer) makes his Brighton Festival debut with a 25th anniversary triple bill of acclaimed early works that launched his career.

Spitfire (1988) – an advertisement divertissement – is Bourne’s ‘brilliant and hilarious’ (Guardian) first hit. A celebration of masculine vanity and the preening grandeur of the classical male dancer, it updates 19th-century Romantic ballet to the world of men’s underwear advertising.

The Olivier-nominated Town and Country (1991) crystallized the Bourne style: gloriously witty and ironic, yet moving and heartfelt. ‘An evening of sly, whimsical, cruel and extremely funny entertainment’ (Vogue), it explores notions of national character from a bygone era.

Inspired by much-loved Gallic icons from Edith Piaf to Jacques Tati, The Infernal Galop (1989) invokes the France of the uptight English imagination, with all its glorious clichés joyously paraded.

Matthew Bourne’s company New Adventures has produced some of the most successful dance theatre works of the last 25 years. Its productions include Swan Lake, Nutcracker!, The Car Man, Edward Scissorhands, Dorian Gray and Cinderella.