I’m pretty much a novice when it comes to watching ballet.

I did take ballet classes for several years and actually got to the stage of dancing on pointes, but when it comes to watching it - not so much.

Infact, both myself and my 10-year-old daughter were so new to it, that she turned to me 10 minutes into Wuthering Heights by the Northern Ballet at the Marlowe Theatre and said “Aren’t they going to talk then?” (I realise that to those in the know, that would probably seem ridiculous.)

So it’s all the more of an achievement then that by the end, it wouldn’t be an understatement to say we were completely enthralled.

It was hard to decide which couple’s dancing was the more captivating to watch: the young Cathy and Heathcliff (Rachael Gillespie and Jeremy Curnier) or the grown-up pair (Martha Leebolt and Tobias Batley).

The scene where the older Cathy and Heathcliff danced after her wedding was so emotionally-charged it felt like the audience was being carried along with them.

The calibre of the dancing was first rate with no-one putting a foot wrong, from particularly smiley Hironao Takahashi as Edgar Linton and Hannah Bateman as Isabella Linton to the other dancers who played maids with humorous moments, to wedding couples, perfectly in time with eachother.

The setting was appropriately low-key, although atmospheric, and the production overall was an interesting mix of modern and period.

Its final scene, complete with incredibly lighting and beautiful but poignant choreography, was just breathtaking.

DETAILS

Northern Ballet’s Wuthering Heights can be seen at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, until Saturday, October 10. Tickets cost from £17.

To book, call 01227 787787 or visit www.marlowetheatre.com

For more on the show click here