World renowned choreographer Matthew Bourne opened his UK tour at the Theatre Royal in Bath on Wednesday.

The tour is part of Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Dance Company’s 25th anniversary celebrations.The triple bill of Early Adventures; Spitfire, Town and Country and The Infernal Galop, launched Bourne’s career in the 1980s.

The first dance, Spitfire, involved four dancers preening and posing in men’s underwear. They competed for attention as they danced and posed for a photo shoot for men’s underwear. It was both funny and skilful showing the full strength and ability of the dancers.

Town and Country explored very recognisable English themes such as hunting, riding, golf and cross stitch. The bathing and dressing scene with two dancers being bathed and dressed at high speed had some very comical moves. There was also an express version of the classic film Brief Encounter with clever use of lighting, music and sound. Town and Country is very theatrical with its costume, lighting and effects. The dancers showed exceptional skill as they danced together at times moving as one.

The Infernal Galop took the audience away from English shores to the streets of Paris in the 1930s and 40s. It gave a typical English perception of France with berets and striped jumpers. The comical relationship of the two male dancers was both funny and explicit as they were continually frustrated at the interruptions of the other dancers. The dance ends as you would expect, with a gentle version of the Can-Can.

Early Adventures was brilliant, it was entertaining and showed off the dancers’ abilities to the full. It played with themes that were very familiar and these themes were backed up with skilful choice of music. It’s a performance that anyone would enjoy.

Early Adventures is at the Theatre Royal in Bath until Saturday May 12.