New Adventures’ Sleeping Beauty: ballet with bite!

Dominic North (Count Lilac) and New Adventures Dancers

Paris Fitzpatrick (Carabosse), Ben Brown and Perreria De Jesus Franque

Andrew Monaghan (Leo) and Ashley Shaw (Aurora)

Ashley Shaw (Aurora)

Paris Fitzpatrick (Caradoc) and Ashley Shaw (Aurora)

By Mark Pullinger, 07 December 2022

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“Bourne is a great storyteller... his choreography is witty and inventive”

Reviewed at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London on 7 December 2022

The Sleeping Beauty (Sir Matthew Bourne)

New Adventures

Lez Brotherston, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Paule Constable, Lighting Designer

Ashley Shaw, Dancer

Andrew Monaghan, Dancer

Paris Fitzpatrick, Dancer

Dominic North, Dancer

The Red Shoes: dazzling dance drama at Sadler’s Wells

Deborah Weiss, 10th December

Stunning visually, Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes makes a triumphant return to Sadler's Wells, with New Adventures at the top of its game.

*****

30 years on, Bourne’s Swan Lake still shines in Amsterdam

Mark Vicente, 30th October

Thirty years after its original production, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake makes its return to the stage championed by an impressive ensemble of dance artists from Bourne’s own company New Adventures.

*****

Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell: emotionally compelling

Amanda Jennings, 12th June

In The Midnight Bell, Sir Matthew Bourne has produced some of his best choreography, loose and free-flowing but tense with desire and mixed with dread.

****1

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake: breathtakingly clear action

Amanda Jennings, 12th December

Bourne has created an extraordinary legacy. His Swan Lake will remain relevant for generations to come.

****1

Matthew Bourne's Romeo and Juliet: a 21st century love story

Naomi Mori, 10th April

Sir Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures brought its groundbreaking Romeo and Juliet to Tokyo for the first time and wowed the audience with its magical storytelling.

*****

Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands: a huge cut above average

Deborah Weiss, 13th December

Bourne's Edward Scissorhands may not have quite the dramatic impact of his Romeo and Juliet or Swan Lake, but there is much to applaud and enjoy.

****1

More reviews...

Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.