Swan School Double Bill
Overview
The 2026 Swan School company presents a dynamic double bill showcasing the next generation of New Adventures performers. Auditioned and selected through our talent development programmes, this company of young professionals brings fresh energy, theatrical clarity and ensemble spirit to a performance that celebrates both the legacy and future of New Adventures.
Across the two works, the cohort performs material from Matthew Bourne’s early repertoire alongside a new piece by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Arielle Smith. Together, the programme sees these emerging artists exploring the physicality and storytelling of contrasting works.
As their first professional experiences, this double bill gives audiences a vivid introduction to bold new dancers at a formative moment in their careers, as they take on iconic repertoire, new choreographic voices and the intensity of performing as an ensemble.
Quote from Etta
About the pieces
Intertitle
Inspired by the Silent Film era Intertitle invites you into a series of fleeting stories - everyday moments suspended somewhere between ordinary and the extraordinary.
Like the title cards that once punctuated silent cinema, each scene offers a glimpse into lives in motion: a passing encounter, a longed looked, a disagreement, a quiet triumph, a private loss. Intertitle lingers on the details that often slip us by unnoticed, revealing the poetry, humour and tenderness woven through everyday life.
It is a celebration of the moments that shape us - both the monumental and seemingly insignificant - a reminder that everyday life contains a thousand untold stories.
Choreographed by Arielle Smith
Percys of Fitzrovia
Set in the eccentric bohemian art world of 1930s London, Percys of Fitzrovia is a sharp, witty piece choreographed by Matthew Bourne.
First performed by Adventures in Motion Pictures, this piece satirises the melodramatic rivalries, pretentions, and romantic entanglements of Bloomsbury-era creatives. Blending expressive modern choreography with music hall humour, it offers a charming glimpse into the signature narrative wit and theatrical storytelling that would later define Bourne’s global masterpieces.
Choreographed by Matthew Bourne