New Adventures
New Adventures is a British dance-theatre charity that produces and tours contemporary dance productions under Sir Matthew Bourne's artistic direction, serving live theatre audiences, arts education participants, and institutional funders in the UK and internationally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersFarnham, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What New Adventures does
New Adventures is a registered British charity (Charity No. 1125342) headquartered in Farnham, UK, that produces, tours, and distributes contemporary dance-theatre productions. Founded in 1986 and operating under the artistic direction of Sir Matthew Bourne, the company maintains a repertoire of large-scale works including Swan Lake, The Car Man, and Cinderella, and has historically toured to 37 venues across 18 countries, engaging 511,285 people in the 2018/19 season. It employs 51–100 staff and operates as an Arts Council England Band 3 NPO.
The business model combines multiple revenue streams: ticket sales (80% of performance revenue), cinema distribution, workshops, and grant funding from Arts Council England. Audiences are primarily consumer (B2C) live theatre-goers, with 29% first-time attenders indicating ongoing audience acquisition. Supplementary channels include the Reel Adventures streaming platform and community programs such as Doorstep Duets and Swan Lake Take Flight, alongside talent development via the Placement Programme launched in April 2024.
The underlying product is live dance-theatre performance; there is no software platform or AI component described in the underlying material. Operating technology is limited to standard web analytics (Google Analytics, Hotjar) for marketing measurement. The economic model is that of a mid-scale arts charity: grant-subsidized, earned-income from ticket sales, and dependent on continued Arts Council England support as principal funder.
New Adventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- New Adventures
- Legal name
- New Adventures Charity
- Website
- https://new-adventures.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- New Adventures is a British dance-theatre charity that produces and tours contemporary dance productions under Sir Matthew Bourne's artistic direction, serving live theatre audiences, arts education participants, and institutional funders in the UK and internationally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where New Adventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Farnham
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
New Adventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from live performance ticket sales across UK and international touring venues. In 2018/19, the company achieved 80% ticket sales across all public performances.
- Cinema Screenings: Productions are filmed and screened in cinemas globally. Cinderella was screened in 550 locations internationally with 18,475 admissions in 2018/19.
- Workshop and Program Fees: Revenue from Take Part programs including workshops, talent development programs, and educational activities delivered in partnership with venues and schools.
- Arts Council England and Trust/Funder Support: Principal funder Arts Council England provides ongoing NPO funding. Additional support from trusts, foundations, and corporate partnerships.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
New Adventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
New Adventures is Sir Matthew Bourne's dance theatre company that produces and tours large-scale contemporary dance productions (Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Red Shoes, Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker!, The Car Man, Sleeping Beauty, Edward Scissorhands, The Midnight Bell, Lord of the Flies) nationally and internationally. The company complements its touring productions with talent development programs (Swan School, Cygnet School, Overture, Jump Start, Placement Programme), community engagement initiatives (Doorstep Duets, Swan Lake Take Flight), and a digital streaming service (Reel Adventures).
Product overview
New Adventures is Sir Matthew Bourne's acclaimed dance theatre company, operating as a single unified producing organization rather than a platform architecture. The company produces large-scale theatrical productions (core products including Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Red Shoes, Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker!, The Car Man, Sleeping Beauty, Edward Scissorhands, The Midnight Bell, and Lord of the Flies), complemented by talent development programs (Swan School, Cygnet School, Overture, Jump Start, Placement Programme), community engagement initiatives (Doorstep Duets, Swan Lake Take Flight), and digital content streaming (Reel Adventures). The portfolio functions as an integrated ecosystem where touring productions generate content and audiences that feed into training programs and community projects, creating a continuous talent pipeline from grassroots engagement through to professional performance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Swan School: Talent development program for young dancers seeking to join New Adventures productions.
- Cygnet School
- Overture
- Doorstep Duets
- Swan Lake Take Flight
- Next Adventures
- The Culture Project
Products and services
- Swan Lake Matthew Bourne's reimagined version of Tchaikovsky's classic ballet, featuring an all-male swan corps and a contemporary narrative. Touring internationally since 1995, it is the company's signature production.
- Cinderella Matthew Bourne's reimagining of the Cinderella fairy tale, set in London during the Second World War Blitz, with Prokofiev's score. Toured internationally including China, Japan, and the USA. A 30th Anniversary Tour was announced for 2026.
- The Red Shoes Dance theatre adaptation of the Powell and Pressburger film about a ballet dancer torn between her art and love. Has toured internationally and received Bessie Award nominations for Outstanding Production and Outstanding Visual Design.
- Romeo and Juliet Matthew Bourne's contemporary interpretation of Shakespeare's tragedy, featuring emerging male and female dancers from around the UK and incorporating young local cast members at each touring venue.
- Nutcracker! Matthew Bourne's reimagining of the Nutcracker set in a Victorian orphanage on Christmas Eve, transforming the traditional ballet into a magical coming-of-age story.
Quantifiable outcome
- 511,285 people engaged in activity in 2018/19 season
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use New Adventures
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
New Adventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
New Adventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Farnham MaltingscoreLongstanding partnership for community programs including Doorstep Duets (created in 2021), My Shout, and Dance in the Meadow. Farnham Maltings serves as New Adventures' operational base and co-develops community engagement initiatives.
- Julie's BicyclecorePartnership to pilot Creative Green certification for the touring sector. New Adventures was the first touring company to achieve Creative Green certification for their Swan Lake tour in 2018/19. Joint work on environmental sustainability in arts.
- Sadler's WellscoreLondon home venue for annual Christmas season and co-producer of productions. Longstanding partnership with Swan Lake residency at Sadler's Wells.
- Theatre Royal PlymouthcoreOpening venue for multiple tours including the 2018 Swan Lake tour. Key UK touring partner venue.
- Ahmanson Theatre, Los AngelescoreInternational co-producer presenting Cinderella for five-week season. Matthew Bourne is an Associate Artist at the venue.
- Woking Borough CouncilminorPartner in Edward Scissorhands community response piece, working with LGBTQ+ adults in the area.
- Central School of BalletminorStudent Associate program partnership providing professional development opportunities for ballet students who join company rehearsals and performances.
- Surrey LibrariesminorCommunity partner for Doorstep Duets and Response Piece programs, hosting performances in library spaces.
- Theatre and Live Events Production Services LtdminorAngela McEvilly serves as Administrator for this organisation, connecting placement program opportunities.
- One Dance UKminorPaul Smethurst sits on the Board of Trustees for One Dance UK, the national body for dance.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
New Adventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Phoenix Dance Theatre: UK-based contemporary dance company with national touring and education programmes. Smaller scale but directly comparable operating model.
- Rambert: One of the UK's leading contemporary dance companies, also a touring organisation with a comparable repertoire-driven, narrative-style model and similar scale of national and international activity. Both companies are ACE-funded NPOs of comparable scale operating in the UK dance ecosystem.
- Scottish Ballet: National dance company with a comparable touring and community engagement model and similar NPO funding base. Comparable scale and educational programme breadth.
- English National Ballet: Major UK dance company with a strong touring footprint and audience-development agenda. Comparable in scale and ACE NPO status, though weighted toward classical ballet rather than narrative dance-theatre.
- Northern Ballet: UK touring dance company producing large-scale narrative productions, with comparable regional touring model and audience-development programmes.
- Birmingham Royal Ballet: UK-based dance company with significant national touring activity and similar ACE NPO funding structure. Comparable audience scale and educational outreach mission.
Emerging players
- Hofesh Shechter Company: UK contemporary dance company built around a single choreographer's vision, touring internationally. Comparable in artistic model but smaller scale and shorter track record than New Adventures.
- Akram Khan Company: UK contemporary dance company producing narrative, internationally-touring work led by a single high-profile choreographer. Smaller scale than New Adventures but directly comparable in artistic model and international touring footprint.
- Ballet Black: UK touring dance company with a strong education and outreach focus and ACE NPO funding. Smaller in scale but directly comparable in mission and touring model.
Broad incumbents
- The Royal Ballet: The UK's flagship classical ballet company based at the Royal Opera House. Larger and broader in scope, but operates in the same UK dance sector with overlapping audience and donor base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
New Adventures social profiles
Digital presenceNew Adventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
New Adventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
New Adventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
New Adventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about New Adventures
What does New Adventures do?
New Adventures is Sir Matthew Bourne's dance theatre company that produces and tours large-scale contemporary dance productions (Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Red Shoes, Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker!, The Car Man, Sleeping Beauty, Edward Scissorhands, The Midnight Bell, Lord of the Flies) nationally and internationally. The company complements its touring productions with talent development programs (Swan School, Cygnet School, Overture, Jump Start, Placement Programme), community engagement initiatives (Doorstep Duets, Swan Lake Take Flight), and a digital streaming service (Reel Adventures).
Is New Adventures a public or private company?
New Adventures is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was New Adventures founded?
New Adventures was founded in 1997. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is New Adventures based?
New Adventures is headquartered in Farnham, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does New Adventures make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are cinema Screenings, workshop and Program Fees and arts Council England and Trust/Funder Support.
Who are New Adventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Phoenix Dance Theatre, Rambert, Scottish Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet. Emerging players are Hofesh Shechter Company, Akram Khan Company and Ballet Black. The Royal Ballet is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does New Adventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for New Adventures.