Northern Ballet’s Pinocchio
Northern Ballet’s major national tour of a new ballet for children will be Pinocchio, which will tour nationally throughout the UK from February – April 2022. This will be following its world première, which took place in Leeds last month. The production will be visiting more than 20 theatres, delighting audiences everywhere.
Image credit: Photo by Drew Forsyth
Initially intended to première in 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic, it is an original retelling of the Italian story by Carlo Collodi, a lonely carpenter wishing for their puppet Pinocchio to come to life. After their dream comes true by the magic of a wishing well, Pinocchio sets out to prove himself worthy of becoming a real boy. This child friendly 40 minute ballet has been created especially for children and their families to experience and enjoy live dance, music and theatre together.
The new ballet is choreographed and directed by Northern Ballet’s Junior Soloist Gavin McCaig. It will be performed to music by Ian Stephens, played live by members of Northern Ballet Sinfonia. Sets are designed by Frankie Bradshaw, lighting by Abbi Fearnley, and costumes designed by Kim Brassley and Carley Marsh.
Having proposed Pinocchio back in 2019, the production by McCaig is well overdue and will soon be bringing the characters and story to life with the Company’s world-class dance-actors, from the studio to the stage. In what will be Northern Ballet’s eighth ballet created specifically for young children, it is a building block creation for the next generation of audiences and dance artists.