La Fille mal gardee

Frederick Ashton's celebrated ballet

The final work of Frederick Ashton, The Wayward Daughter as is its English translation is a pastoral celebration of the English countryside, and makes a great use of country traditions such as maypole dancing and clogs in order to paint a gorgeous picture of times gone by. Transplanting the original 1828 French ballet across the Channel, this revival of Ashton's 1960 bucolic work makes this love story a truly universal one.

Our story follows Lise, the naive and spirited only daughter of the prosperous Simone, a widow and now owner of the family farm. Deeply in love with a young farmer called Colas, the couple make plans to marry; however Simone is determined that Lise makes a more prosperous match to secure both their futures, and forces Lise to marry Alain, the slow-witted son of a wealthy landowner. However, even locking her daughter in a room with her wedding dress does nothing to cool the young couple's ardour, and a very awkward confrontation between all the parties leads to a happy ending for all, including Alain!