Matthew Bourne's Early Adventures, dance review: No missteps in lively retrospective

Where would you find clog-dancing country bumpkins, a merman in a silk dressing gown, and a hedgehog's funeral? In a show celebrating 30 years of choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne, revisiting some of the early works that made his name.

All the hallmarks of Bourne's later work are here: the classic film references, the mime, the quirky humour.

The pieces here (Watch with Mother, featuring childish games of schooldays, the two-part Town and Country, and the French-themed The Infernal Gallop) date back to 1989-91, but they hark back to a much earlier era – Bourne was doing vintage before it was fashionable – a rose-tinted past of Joyce Grenfell, Noel Coward and Percy Grainger. But while the nostalgia is fond, it is also cheeky, mocking and never afraid to poke fun at social structures and stereotypes.

For all Bourne's cosiness and smiles, the work is actually quite subversive: a tender but stiff-upper-lipped duet between two men; some casual gay sex by the gents' urinals, interrupted by a gaggle of maraca players.

And there's always been a kind of subversion in Bourne's unashamed intent to entertain, which is what this light, lively and very enjoyable show does.

Until 8 April, Sadler's Wells; sadlerswells.com