Now a household name, Sir Matthew Bourne caused a significant stir in the ballet world in 1995, when his reimagined version of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake was premiered at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. 
In the production, a fairytale love story, the traditionally female cohort of delicate swans are replaced with male dancers - strong, hissing and overtly masculine. What’s On spoke to James Lovell - who plays the protagonist Prince - Bryony Wood - the character’s inappropriate Girlfriend - and Alistair Beattie - who appears as one of the swans - to discover why, 30 years later, the production still has impact...

What was the journey that led you to performing with New Adventures?
Alistair Beattie: I watched Swan Lake when I was 14 or 15 years old. I was still in training, and I do remember it quite clearly - I watched it and thought ‘That's what I want to do when I’m older.” I furthered my training in Birmingham at Elmhurst School for Dance. I spent three years training there, and then a couple of years after I graduated, I auditioned for the company for the first time. 
Bryony Wood:  My journey with the company started quite similarly. I watched Swan Lake - I actually vividly remember watching James as the Prince. We've had similar training; I’d just found out I was going to be doing Romeo & Juliet, playing the role of Juliet, and it was a massive thing. It was my first job, and I remember watching James on the stage and thinking to myself ‘Oh my god, that's gonna be me one day!’ It was such a beautiful moment. 
James Lovell:  I had a pretty surreal journey into it. I was really, really young. I had done one year of professional ballet school at Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham. It was during the summer break of my second year that the National Youth Ballet - which is a summer school for kids up to 19 - did a gala performance at Sadler's Wells, and Matthew was watching… A week later, I was back at school, feeling a bit glum because it had all finished, and I got an email saying ‘Could you come along to these workshops? We're calling them Swan School.’ It was the first round they'd done. I joined in with that - all while I was doing my second year.

This tour is in celebration of the production's 30th anniversary. Why do you think it has endured and is still so popular?
Alistair: It's just an incredible production… It's pretty much sold out wherever we go. We get such amazing responses from the audience, and I think even now, 30 years on, it's still sort of groundbreaking. It’s crazy to think that a piece that's 30 years old is still pushing boundaries. It says a lot about our society.
Bryony: One thing about New Adventures is that you can't compare it to anything else. It stands on its own, and this show in particular, with the male swans and their ferocity. You just can't take your eyes off anything. You're so drawn in, there isn't a single moment where you're distracted or thinking about something else.
James: I think the themes within the show will forever be relevant. It depends who comes to see it and how they want to view it -  whether it's the Prince falling in love with an idea of something, or actually falling in love with a man… It's all actually more relevant now than ever, especially with a character like the Girlfriend in the palace - there's hints of Megan and Fergie! 

The Girlfriend is a very funny character. Bryony, during the rehearsal process, were you able to be quite playful as you developed your performance?
Absolutely! I was told to make it my own. To begin with, it was quite tricky because you just want to play the character, and that’s what the audience finds funny. If you're trying to be funny, it doesn't read the same - so you have to really believe it but also know that what you're doing is very much a character and is very over the top; it's so humorous! I was allowed a lot of freedom, and with that you try things, you play with things. There's a lot of guidance in that as well, which is really lovely. I think with any role that you do in this company, you're allowed to put your own stamp on it. I personally love when I act with a different person - James and Steven play the Prince completely differently, and that's really lovely because it gives you a different take on the show. It keeps everything really fresh.

James, would you ever want to see the other side of the coin and play the big swan?
Absolutely not - it terrifies me! There's only ever one person who's played both the Prince and the Swan, and I think it goes without saying, really, that you're built one way or the other, normally. They’re so different. Someone compared it to Roxy and Velma in Chicago. Roxy is the throughline; it's a marathon. Velma is the sprint - she's only on for half the show, if that, but when she’s on, she's belting or she's dancing. I'm much more of a marathon. I'm a tortoise, and I'm happy with that - I'm the emotional tortoise!

Alistair and James, how much involvement with Birmingham Hippodrome did you have in your time training in Birmingham?
Alistair: When I was a student, I was lucky to get the opportunity to work with Birmingham Royal Ballet, who are based there, so I've spent quite a lot of time at the Hippodrome. It's always a bit surreal - I really strongly think back to that time when I was a student. I didn't have a job, but I was working with professionals, and it’s what I wanted to do.
James: I did The Nutcracker with BRB in my second year, and it's so special. I know my way around the Hippodrome - it's nice when you know a theatre. I think all of my teachers are still at Elmhurst Ballet School. I always try to pop in on the students, because it always meant a lot when I was training if someone from the theatre would come in. It's what you crave. Ultimately, that's why you trained - because you want to perform.

For any young people aspiring to join you on stage, do you have any advice?
Bryony: Yes! Take as many classes as you can, work with as many different choreographers, push yourself with loads of different styles, go and take acting classes… Just learn and evolve and push yourself in so many different aspects, because if you've got that strong foundation, the sky is your limit; you can do anything.
Alistair:  Being proactive is great, especially if you want to work with New Adventures. They provide so many opportunities; open days, Swan School - I think they did a Cygnet School this time around… This may sound weird, but put yourself in uncomfortable situations and push yourself, because then you're going to have a broad range of experiences, and that's really going to help and mould who you are as a performer.
James: The outreach that the company does is amazing… A lot of it is free, and if you take part, you get a ticket to a show, normally. You get to see part of what you've been working on, on stage with the people who do it for a living. I think it's inspiring.

Feature by Jessica Clixby

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake visits Birmingham Hippodrome from Thursday 6 until Saturday 15 February