In step with super furry animals for Peter and the Wolf

10 April 2012

Only the flinty hearted could resist Frederick Ashton’s ballet version of the Tales of Beatrix Potter.

Admittedly, it does include pigs on pointe and it’s paired with Matthew Hart’s Peter and the Wolf, making this an evening of cute furry animals. But Christmas is the time to cast off your criticisms and enjoy the innocence and endless summers implicit in these two family ballets.

Ashton made Tales as a film in 1971. After his death, the Royal’s then director Anthony Dowell turned it into a stage ballet aimed at tots and their doting mamas and papas. The sets and costumes, and the lighting, are exceptional, as are the masks, which, as you would expect from Potter, have a friendly and innocent countenance.

The dancing is pure Ashton — gentle, light of touch, and with an aim to please in every step.
His trick is to take the creatures seriously — he doesn’t spoof them, or mock our attachment to these nursery stories, but sweetly reminds us of the joy of Peter Rabbit dancing with cabbages.

Matthew Hart choreographed Peter and the Wolf, when he was a fledgling 23-year-old, and the narrated ballet has both aged well and sits comfortably next to Ashton’s towering ingenuity.

Excepting the Wolf (Sergei Polunin having fun), it features young dancers from the Royal Ballet School, who showed great finesse.

What undermines this Wolf is the garish costumes and so-so set that looks like it’s been plonked on the stage rather than creating a world for the dancers to inhabit. Presumably, there was no budget to re-do Ian Spurling’s original costumes which now look dated.

In rep until Jan 10, 020 7304 4000, roh.org.uk

The Royal Ballet: Peter And The Wolf/Tales Of Beatrix Potter
Royal Opera House
Floral Street, WC2E 9DD

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