Matthew Bourne

Leave Bizet’s Carmen alone

18 June 2022 9:00 am

I’ve always felt uncomfortably ambivalent about the work of Matthew Bourne. Of course, there is no disputing its infectious exuberance…

The Nutcracker wasn’t always considered quite such a box of delights

18 December 2021 9:00 am

The enduring appeal of The Nutcracker. The ballet wasn’t always considered quite such a box of delights

At last some genuine gala material: Royal Ballet's Balanchine and Robbins reviewed

12 June 2021 9:00 am

The OED defines ‘gala’ as ‘a festive occasion’. In the ballet world this usually translates as a handful of stars,…

Gripping – if you skip the non-stop Yentobbing: Dancing Nation reviewed

6 February 2021 9:00 am

Thank God for the fast-forward button. Sadler’s Wells had planned a tentative return to live performance last month but the…

Chilling: Arthur Pita’s The Little Match Girl at Sadler’s Wells reviewed

11 January 2020 9:00 am

Did your feet twitch? That’s the test of The Red Shoes. Did your toes point? Your ankles flex? Your arches…

Daffy charm and diabolo tricks: Bolshoi’s The Bright Stream reviewed

17 August 2019 9:00 am

The Bright Stream is a ballet about a collective farm. Forget everything you know about collectivism — the failed harvests,…

January as you would wish it: Royal Ballet’s Les Patineurs reviewed

5 January 2019 9:00 am

The Royal Ballet’s Les Patineurs is January as you would wish it. No slush, no new-year sales, no streaming chest…

This Juliet needs a new Romeo

29 October 2015 9:00 am

You always remember your first time, don’t you? And in ballet one imagines that Juliet wants to remember her first…

You can feel as if you’re in a colony of rabbits: Matthew Bourne’s Car Man reviewed

1 August 2015 9:00 am

Hot, languorous, sizzling… I was thinking what an ideal show Matthew Bourne’s noir comedy is to watch on a summer’s…

Turning feral: Lord of the Flies

Matthew Bourne’s Lord of the Flies: when boys turn feral

18 October 2014 9:00 am

GCSE Eng Lit pupils are doing well from dance this season with two set books told in the medium of…