There’s a lot to say about this triple bill, not least that it’s not what you expect. On paper it’s a typical triple, with a new ballet, a narrative ballet and a classic ballet providing a mix of moves, music and decor. However, there the similarity ends, as it soon springs all sorts of surprises.

Unintentional comedy is the surprise in Sphinx, Glen Tetley’s reimagining of the myths of Oedipus and the Sphinx. Many will have seen Tetley’s Pierrot Lunaire and will anticipate its plain costuming and puritan rigour. Instead comes a ballet big in scale and bling in tone. There are Seventies deluxe costumes and makeup, and a Mucha‑revival plumed ramp from which the prone Marianela Nunez dispenses riddles. Along comes Oedipus (Rupert Pennefather), for whom the Sphinx falls despite the warnings of Anubis (Edward Watson).

The dancers are very good, as is the playing of Martinu’s Double Concerto but everyone seems bemused by the choreography which reminds you of the grandiose leaps and multiple spins of the Bolshoi’s Spartacus. Even the super-fit Nunez was gasping for breath.

The surprise in Wayne McGregor’s new Limen is his evolving style. McGregor is the Royal’s resident choreographer and until now we’ve know him for his highly articulated, almost insect-like movement vocabulary. In Limen he includes a softening line and sensuous poise. The duet for Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood features gorgeously sinuous lifts and falling catches, and looks every bit the love duet you least expect from McGregor.

No surprise is McGregor’s tip-top collaborators, with new music by Kaija Saariaho and set design by LED artist Tatsuo Miyajima. The bright-to-nude costumes by Moritz Junge work psycho-chromatic effects, as does Lucy Carter’s evocative lighting.

The final surprise comes in the casting of Balanchine’s Agon, although it probably shouldn’t. Johan Kobborg is not young by dancer standards but he outclasses everyone, sculpting magic from Balanchine’s plotless masterpiece. Special mention to Melissa Hamilton, whose central duet with Carlos Acosta easily justifies her rising profile.
In rep until 18 November (020 7304 4000, www.roh.org.uk).