INVENTIVE adaptations of old favourites were the order of the year, perhaps in response to political and social uncertainties.

Wise Children, the new company set up by Kneehigh's Emma Rice, was responsible for two of the year's highlights, with Malory Towers (York Theatre Royal) turning Enid Blyton's somewhat dated story about a girls' boarding school into an uplifting piece of musical theatre that addressed bullying and the value of community with humour and a big heart.

Those elements were also present in the company's production of Angela Carter's Wise Children (HOME, Manchester). A love letter to the theatre, it used bawdy comedy, song and dance and puppetry to address heavyweight subjects and emotions.

Using comedy to explore dark themes such as incest and child neglect was a feature of the Royal Shakespeare Company's adaptation of Roald Dahl's much-loved Matilda (Alhambra Theatre, Bradford).

Its sadistic vision of the adult world, dreamed up by composer Tim Minchin and writer Dennis Kelly, transported the original children's book into even darker territory. Cross-generational appeal was there in some pitch-black comedy, bad guys who were too caricatured ever to be truly scary and the celebration of brain over brawn.

Its central message of personal agency was also explored in Dada Masilo's Giselle (Alhambra Theatre, Bradford).

Far from being traditional chocolate-box ballet, her adaption revised the central character from romantic victim to vengeful lover.

Despite Giselle's response to betrayal being updated, the basic storyline remained unchanged while being filtered through the dance and culture of Masilo's native South Africa.

Here the Queen of the Wilis was a fly whisk-toting Sangoma, there was a Yami funeral hymn, and the earthbound movements, drawing on tribal dance traditions, resonantly communicated power and youthful energy.