Etta Murfitt

This movie is a combination of mime and dance that accompanies the "voiced-over" lyrics of a selection of poems by John Betjeman. Altogether, this movie portrays the events of a weekend party at an English country house.

This new Christmas ballet film was conceived by Matthew Bourne and directed by his long standing film collaborator Ross MacGibbon. The film celebrates Bourne's power to imaginatively transform ballet, taking dance and dancers off the stage into studio, bringing together projections, animation, and an intimate shooting style to produce a distinctive new way of presenting dance on screen. Those who know Bourne's stage work will spot extracts from many of his biggest hits (including Swan Lake, Edward Scissorhands, and Nutcracker!), but for audiences less familiar with his work this is simply a journey through a series of magical worlds where stories are told through dance.

A mysterious stranger arrives in a small town community, leading the locals into greed, sex and murder.

In Brixton, Nora and Dora Chance – twin chorus girls born and bred south of the river – are celebrating their 70th birthday. Over the river in Chelsea, their father and greatest actor of his generation, Melchior Hazard, turns 100 on the same day. As does his twin brother Peregrine. If, in fact, he’s still alive. And if, in truth, Melchior is their real father after all…

On a bleak Christmas Eve, a lonely young girl who lives in an oppressive orphanage embarks upon a colorful, fantastical journey of self discovery and love.