Do you gag with distaste every time a footballer sets up a sneaky super-injunction?

Then perhaps it’s time to finish with footy and take up ballet, instead.

Coppelia will provide a fine starting point.

Like The Nutcracker, it’s a crowd pleaser and family favourite.

Though perhaps Coppelia isn’t so different from the Premier League, after all.

It’s also a story of deception and misplaced passion.

Dr Coppelius (David Morse) is an eccentric and secretive inventor who has built a mechanical doll he hopes to bring to life. (A sort of Frankenstein’s monster in ballet shoes.)

Meanwhile, the rather foolish Franz (Matthew Lawrence) and his girlfriend, Swanilda (Elisha Willis) believe the doll to be a genuine girl. Which poses a problem, as Franz has fallen for her, while Swanilda is jealous of her attractions.

When the couple decide, separately, to break into Dr Coppelius’s house they discover a world of mechanics, mystery and magic.

And, indeed, this is a magical production. The sets are like falling into an Arthur Rackham fairy tale book, the music is gorgeous and familiar, and the dancing, delightful and humorous.

There may be an absence of the passion and drama of other great ballets, but there’s fun in abundance.

Until Saturday

Rating * * * *