The Edinburgh International Festival will tonight see the opening of the biggest-selling dance event in its history.
Matthew Bourne's Dorian Gray is something of a sensation even before its dancers hit the stage of the King's Theatre, after selling more than 11,000 tickets.
Bourne, one of the UK's most acclaimed choreo-graphers, is presenting Dorian Gray as his first new show in nearly three years.
It has sold 11,212 tickets, breaking the Festival's previous record of 10,146 tickets for Mark Morris's Hard Nut in 1995.
With 10 days of booking left until the last performance of Dorian Gray, and some tickets still remaining, total sales could reach the capacity of 13,000 seats.
The production, as the title suggests, is a version of Oscar Wilde's classic story. Bourne, however, moves the tale to the worlds of contemporary art and politics.
Bourne is best known for his adaptations of ballets such as Swan Lake, The Car Man, Edward Scissorhands and Nutcracker!.
Last night, he said: "I am thrilled with this news. My company last came to the Edinburgh Festival in 1992 and it is so rewarding and exciting that after such a long time there is so much interest in our new show."
Jonathan Mills, director of the Festival, said: "Matthew Bourne's Dorian Gray has become the biggest selling dance show in the Festival's history, and I am delighted that it is proving so popular, though it doesn't come as a surprise."
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