Matthew Bourne

In a castle high on a hill lives Edward; a boy created by an eccentric inventor. When his creator dies he is left alone and unfinished with only scissors for hands until a kindly townswoman invites him to live with her suburban family. Can Edward find his place in the well-meaning community which struggles to see past his curious appearance to the innocence and gentleness within?

A romantic wee ballet – Matthew Bourne’s acclaimed reworking of the classic romantic ballet La Sylphide. Highland Fling tells the story of James, a young Glaswegian who is lured from his nuptial bed by an unearthly siren. As his love for this beautiful ‘Sylph’ becomes an obsession, he embarks on a journey that takes him from the mean streets and nightclubs of Glasgow into a magical world beyond. This gothic fable of winged fairies and kilted ladies - filled with all the wild excesses of romanticism - has been given an ingenious make-over by Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures and is packed with all their trademark wit, magic and wicked humour.

Matthew Bourne choreographs this performance of Tchaikovsky's ballet, filmed live in London. The show, the longest running ballet on both Broadway and the West End, follows the story of Prince Siegfried, who promises his love to swan maiden Odette, only to be tricked by magician Von Rothbart. The stars include Richard Winsor, Dominic North, Nina Goldman, Madelaine Brennan, Steve Kirkham and Joseph Vaughan.

On 3 May 2022, Cameron Mackintosh invited many of Stephen Sondheim’s old friends to join him in London’s West End for a thrilling, joyously staged production. He had specially devised it to celebrate Sondheim’s extraordinary talents as a composer and lyricist. Featuring an all-star cast including Michael Ball, Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Petula Clark, Anna-Jane Casey, Rosalie Craig, Janie Dee, Judi Dench, Daniel Evans, Maria Friedman, Haydn Gwynne, Bonnie Langford, Damian Lewis and Julia McKenzie.

Set in London during the Second World War, the drama features Cinderella and a dashing young RAF pilot. Together just long enough to fall in love, they are parted by the horrors of the Blitz. Among the obstacles to their reunion is Cinderella’s sinister step-mother, while the Angel weaves his magic to protect our heroine.

This thrilling, audacious, and witty production is perhaps still best known for replacing the female corps-de-ballet with a menacing male ensemble, which shattered convention, turned tradition upside down and took the dance world by storm. Filmed Live at Sadler's Wells.

The Red Shoes is a tale of obsession, possession and one girl's dream to be the greatest dancer in the world. Victoria Page lives to dance but her ambitions become a battleground between the two men who inspire her passion. Matthew Bourne’s magical adaptation of the classic Powell and Pressburger film is set to the achingly romantic music of golden-age Hollywood composer Bernard Herrmann. Filmed live at Sadler’s Wells in London.

This movie is a combination of mime and dance that accompanies the "voiced-over" lyrics of a selection of poems by John Betjeman. Altogether, this movie portrays the events of a weekend party at an English country house.

This new Christmas ballet film was conceived by Matthew Bourne and directed by his long standing film collaborator Ross MacGibbon. The film celebrates Bourne's power to imaginatively transform ballet, taking dance and dancers off the stage into studio, bringing together projections, animation, and an intimate shooting style to produce a distinctive new way of presenting dance on screen. Those who know Bourne's stage work will spot extracts from many of his biggest hits (including Swan Lake, Edward Scissorhands, and Nutcracker!), but for audiences less familiar with his work this is simply a journey through a series of magical worlds where stories are told through dance.

Director and choreographer Matthew Bourne's radical reworking of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. The score remains the same, but the famous corps de ballet is now danced by men.

Eliza Doolittle is a young flower seller with an unmistakable Cockney accent which keeps her in the lower rungs of Edwardian society. When Professor Henry Higgins tries to teach her how to speak like a proper lady, an unlikely friendship begins to flourish.

Contemporary dance company Adventures In Motion Pictures' triumphant modern re-interpretation of Swan Lake, with its cast of male swans, has turned tradition upside down and has taken the ballet fraternity by storm. Never has such a contemporary re-working of a traditional ballet thrilled both ardent critics and modern dance enthusiasts in such equal measure. Originally broadcast on the PBS series "Great Performances" (season 26, episode 15).

Matthew Bourne's Romeo and Juliet is a passionate and contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare's classic love story. Bursting with youth, vitality and Matthew Bourne's trademark storytelling.

With family-sized helpings of Matthew Bourne’s trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy, Nutcracker! follows Clara’s bittersweet journey from a darkly comic Christmas Eve at Dr Dross’s Orphanage through a shimmering, ice-skating winter wonderland to the scrumptious candy kingdom of Sweetieland, influenced by the lavish Hollywood musicals of the 1930s. Tchaikovsky’s glorious score and Anthony Ward’s newly refreshed delectable sets and costumes combine with Bourne’s dazzling choreography to create a fresh and charmingly irreverent interpretation of the classic.

60-minute film in which ballet star Darcey Bussell undertakes a very personal journey to meet the heroes and dancers who transformed male ballet.

The action takes place in the 1960s over a period of nine months in a small Italian American community in the fictional mid-western town of Harmony, USA.

On a bleak Christmas Eve, a lonely young girl who lives in an oppressive orphanage embarks upon a colorful, fantastical journey of self discovery and love.

Matthew Bourne choreographs this version of Tchaikovsky's ballet performed at Sadler's Wells Theatre. Bourne sets the first part of the story in 1890, the year in which Tchaikovsky completed his version of Charles Perrault's classic fairy tale, with Beauty pricking herself on the poisoned rose in 1911 and awakening 100 years later in the contemporary world.

Matthew Bourne choreographs this version of Tchaikovsky's ballet performed at Sadler's Wells Theatre. Bourne sets the first part of the story in 1890, the year in which Tchaikovsky completed his version of Charles Perrault's classic fairy tale, with Beauty pricking herself on the poisoned rose in 1911 and awakening 100 years later in the contemporary world.

Rebecka Martinsson from Kiruna has not really found herself despite her big successes at a law firm in Stockholm. When a friend from her childhood passes away, Rebecka returns to Kiruna where she's drawn into a thrilling hunt for a killer.

Sadler’s Wells & BBC Arts present a three-part celebration of dance featuring many of the UK’s leading dance companies and the most exciting new emerging talent. Presented by Brenda Emmanus as part of BBC Arts’ Culture in Quarantine, this unique festival has been curated in lockdown by Sadler’s Wells, London - one of the world’s leading dance houses.