Beatrix Potter ballet

Press, 22 July 1980, Page 14

Beatrix Potter ballet

Rarely do we see the lovable animal characters from the world of Beatrix Potter outside the covers of the little books she wrote for little hands to hold. But this year is an exception.

The main part of the Southern Ballet Theatre’s programme for schools revolves round four wellknown characters from Beatrix Potter’s stories — Jemima Puddleduck, the fox, Pigling Bland, and Pig Wig. The little animal characters of Beatrix Potter’s books were the companions of her early life. Partly they existed in her imagination, but not altogether. A keen naturalist, she collected and studied wild creatures — bats,

rats, mice, rabbits, hares, lizards, frogs, and other living things she happened to find. Beatrix Potter’s first stories were" ’written as picture Jetters to the children of a former governess. Later, she thought of having her stories published. It was a happy decision. The stories were an immediate success with children, although ' the publishers were not enthusiastic at first.

Over, a period .of 13 years Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated about 20 stories for children. They are more widely read today than they were 80 years ago when “Peter Rabbit” was first published, because many of them have been translated into different languages.

Early in the 1970 s the stories were filmed in a charming ballet, “Tales of Beatrix Potter,” created by Sir Frederick Ashton, a former director of the Royal Ballet. In a setting of fields and farmlands the animals came to life looking and performing just as you would expect them to — flighty Jemima Puddleduck being wooed into a pan of boiling water by the cunning fox, agile Jeremy: Fisher performing animated frog leaps, courtly Pigling Bland, mysterious Mrs Tiggy-Winkle the washerwoman, Squirrel Nutkin tormenting the brown owl, and no gathering of Beatrix Pottery characters would be complete without Peter Rabbit.