Time was when theatres closed on Good Friday, but no longer; and this year I took my small granddaughter to her first ballet as an Easter treat. Northern Ballet have since mid February been touring their ballet made specially for children Tortoise and the Hare, with a full schedule of performances up and down the country till the end of May.

The show choreographed by Dreda Blow and Sebastian Loe tells the classic fable of the Tortoise and the Hare, where slow and steady wins the race over fast and flashy. Set in a picture book colourful forest of lush green vegetation we see the hare waking in bed, donning his running kit and warming up, confident of victory. We meet the bumbling tortoise and his enthusiastic friend the mole; two cheerleading bunnies publicise the forthcoming contest. When a fellow competitor injures himself the tortoise volunteers to race, to the mirth and scorn of his rival the hare.

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