On Friday Little Owl and I went and did something really magical…we went to see the Scottish National Ballet perform a special children’s performance of their newest production of Hansel and Gretel. My scanner hasn’t done justice to the front cover of the programme. Those blue bits are actually shiny, silvery bits.
Scenes had been selected from the full performance to make the show just an hour long and in the middle a lady from the company’s education team interviewed two of the dancers and one of the musicians about their role in the production. The Festival Theatre in Edinburgh was jam-packed with children, their parents, and grandparents. Many of the children were dressed up as ballet dancers and were delighted to see two of the real dancers in full costume welcoming them into the performance.
The performance itself was very special, so full of atmosphere Little Owl peeked out from behind the programme for big chunks of it. The set was incredible, all over-sized furniture, tilting roofs and sparkly stars glimpsed through dark tree boughs. My favourite bit was a dance performed with handheld torches by Hansel and Gretel in the wood. Little Owl couldn’t get over the witch. “Why is the witch bad?” she asked on the way home. Answers on a postcard please. I suggested she’d had a troubled childhood!
