Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake - challenging, daring and beautiful

As Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake tours the country to celebrate its 30th anniversary, it's interesting to think that it ruffled quite a few feathers when it premiered in 1995.

It made the front pages of the papers for being 'the gay Swan Lake' as Bourne gender-flipped the story, turning the usually female Swan into a male who beguiles the reluctant-to-marry Prince.

How times have changed, and for the better. As beguiling as its mysterious protagonist, Bourne's beautiful production depicts a same-sex courtship with eroticism and humour.

The seduction has an air of danger, while the Dance of the Little Swans is performed by a quartet of preening show-offs who are as precision-timed in their footwork as they are individual in character.

Donning the now iconic white-feathered britches of The Swan/The Stranger are a trio of rising stars from the director-choreographer's New Adventures troupe Harrison Dowzell, Jackson Fisch and Rory Macleod, while the Prince is played by James Lovell, Leonardo McCorkindale and Stephen Murray.

On press night, Dowzell and Lovell made for a steamy couple as seducer and seducee - their dancing astonishingly fluid and as entrancing as the sumptuously staged and gorgeously lit production.

Bourne's choreography is witty and clever, having the Prince use his footmen as stepping stones from his giant bed and setting a scene in a Sweet Charity-style night club that pays homage to Bob Fosse. Reverent about form, he's playful within it, coming up with moves that seem startlingly new.

It makes for a breathtaking night at the theatre. With its magnificent Tchaikovsky score and simplicity of plot, it’s an entertaining and accessible ballet for non-aficionados. It's challenging and daring and beautiful - at times fanciful and fun, at others dark and disturbing.

This version of Swan Lake remains a vital and vibrant work which, like the Swan at its centre, entrances and thrills.

Taking up residency at Sadler's Wells in London (where it was first staged nearly three decades ago) over the festive season, it will be touring the UK until mid-2025. Don't miss it.

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake is at Sadler's Wells, London, until 26 January and is touring the UK until 7 June.