A SUNNY classic ballet, La Fille mal gardée has arrived at the Bristol Hippodrome.

The sunny show from the Birmingham Royal Ballet, was created in 1960 by Frederick Ashton’s love of the English countryside, with a traditional and simple plot centring on the forbidden love between Colas a handsome young farmer and Lise, the only daughter of a prosperous farm owner whose hand is promised to another.

As with any traditional ballet, there are comedic aspects, which are in plentiful supply from Rory Mackay as Widow Simone and James Barton as Alain, the clumsy son of the rich landowner. Whether on stage individually or together, they regularly rouse a chuckle.

The music from Ferdinand Hérold is well performed by the Royal Ballet Sinfornia, a pleasure to the ears, with conductor Barry Wordsworth at the helm, but in all honesty, it felt downplayed and could have been projected louder into the theatre.

The show’s saving grace by far is Céline Gittens as Lise, whose delicate touch and fantastic point work make short work of convincing the audience why she is the leading lady. Tyrone Singleton’s Colas is also a strong presence

Full and fun performances come from the ensemble, whether it is the farm girls summoning Lise to play or the harvesters dancing in the summer sun and teasing Alain, but the show’s comedy element fell a little flat during the continual reappearances of the chickens and not-so-funny lapses in timing.

The need for a live miniature pony on stage is also debatable, when an ensemble cast member could have done the job more entertainingly.

While La Fille mal gardée has all the makings of an entertaining show for serious ballet fans, a number of slight fumbles and a clunky performance sadly highlight the fact the show’s tour is in its early stages.

The show is at the Bristol Hippodrome from Wednesday, July 4 to Saturday, July 7. For tickets, visit atgtickets.com/venues/bristol-hippodrome.