Puss in Boots a ballet for children, Northern Ballet, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre - review

Puss in Boots, a ballet for children, is a lovely short and sweet production that is a great way of engaging youngsters in theatre and ballet.

The laid back show by the Northern Ballet had two airings during its one day at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, one at 2.15pm and another at 4.15pm.

And whilst it may be aimed mainly at pre-school children - free colouring sheets and puzzles were handed out - our primary school aged girls still really enjoyed it making it a lovely way to pirouette into the the weekend.

The small, young cast really were . . . ahem . . . the cat's whiskers, perfecting the feline characteristics of the characters through dance. Puss in Boots himself would have been proud.

It is no surprise to learn the 50-year-old Northern Ballet is the group behind many of the recent CBeebies ballets that I am sure many parents have seen a few times over, proving this art form is as transfixing as ever for young and old alike.

My eldest declared "the cats felt so real to watch - the costumes were amazing."

They even managed to cram a couple of set changes into this compact 40-45 minute production led by artistic director David Nixon OBE. The waterfall setting gets a special mention. The live mini orchestra also helped to bring the classic story to life of Jack and the lucky cat that brings him good fortune in the shape of a royal Princess.

For children it's a fantastic introduction for them to come to understand stories told through ballet rather than through the spoken word and also to sample the inside of a fine historic theatre like Wolverhampton Grand Theatre - 125 years old this year don't you know!

We will definitely be looking out for the next time Northern Ballet are in town.