The Northern Ballet Theatre returned to The Grand’s stage today with a brand-new retelling of the children’s classic Goldilocks & the Three Bears and it offered great value on a wet Thursday afternoon.
It was lovely to see the theatre packed with toddlers and school children captivated by this much-loved and beautifully told tale. A simple and brightly coloured set, live musicians in full view and a company of highly accomplished dancers all helped to bring a sense of spectacle to this piece and managed to retain this hard-to-hold audience’s attention for the full 40-minutes duration. Well, as much as to be expected!
Alongside Goldilocks and the three bears, we were also introduced to some new characters; Goldilocks’ mum opened the show, we met a blue bird-man and a fox who arrives 10-minutes into the action. The accompanying score added a wonderful variety to the tempo. Characters participated in game-playing such as catch, hide-n-seek, piggy-in-the-middle, each featuring it’s own signature dance motif. The show’s undisputed favourite was openly declared as the youngest of the furry family’s entrance was greeted with adoring cries of “Baby Bear!”
I was intrigued to see how they would express the famous “too salty, too sweet, just right” through the medium of ballet and I wasn’t disappointed. Unique and beautiful ballet motifs expressed Goldilocks’ feelings at each moment in the journey. Personal favourites included; anticipation of Baby Bear’s porridge, Mummy Bear’s chair slide and Daddy Bear’s bed hardness.
The story unfolds as expected as naughty Goldilocks is discovered, and after some admonishment, forgiven. It was unlike some the original of the tale, where an old and ugly house invader wakes to see three bears and jumps out of the window, never to be seen again! The young audience was presented with a much happier final scene, with everyone back at Mother Locks’ house for a rousing country dance! Goldilocks & the Three Bears is great fun throughout for all ages!
If you missed out this time; the next ballet company to play at the Grand Theatre is Ballet Theatre UK’s Alice in Wonderland on Sunday 14 May. All tickets, as ever, can be booked by calling Box Office on 01253 290 190 or visiting the website.
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