THE scene is set in the small studio space at the bottom of the stairs at Northern Stage in Newcastle.

There are giant cushions and duvets creating a soft area for the very young children to watch the show. Mums, dads, grandmothers and carers sit in a tight semi-circle behind the youngsters making the whole show an intimate affair.

While the audience gets comfortable, John (Jon Beney) sits among toys strewn on the floor, surrounded by huge packing boxes. He’s barefooted, cross-legged and reading his favourite comic book.

As the music begins, John tells the children it is moving day and asks for help to pack all the toys away in boxes. As the other characters appear from inside the boxes, John discovers a hole in the bottom of one of them and disappears, only to re-appear from another box, to tell us, rather unconvincingly, that he’s now under the floorboards.

He was following a beautiful Faun (Gwen Berwick), a very cleverly created creature with ballet shoes on her hands and toes. Two other characters appear, Gruffy (Gavin Coward), a dusty old rag doll who sneezes repeatedly, and Mimic (Phillippa White), who interacts with the audience and copies their mannerisms.

With a very slim storyline and choreography cramped into a small space, BalletLorent lean heavily on the fabulous costumes designed by Paul Shriek.

Original songs by Kit Haigh are pretty good too, along with innovative lighting design by Matt Britten, but I was disappointed in all of the dance moves, which were slow and laboured and the production lacked humour. The only laughter to emerge from the children was when the dancers negotiated hot pipes on the cellar floor.

* Extra shows at Gateshead Town Hall on February 27 and 28 are already sold out.

Check box office for returns 0191-433-6965.

Helen Brown