A century-old children's tale is bring brought to life this Easter at the Hullabaloo Theatre in Darlington.
The Velveteen Rabbit has been specially created to appeal to children and toddlers.
Six contemporary dancers will bring the nursery tale to life through music and dance.
The adventure sees a toy rabbit grow closer to the young boy who sleeps and plays in the nursery and together they discover the power of love.
Children will be encouraged to get hands-on and explore the set which was hand-knitted from hundreds of balls of wool.
There will be opportunities to interact with the cast, including feeding brightly coloured carrots to the rabbits.
Liv Lorent, artistic director of balletLORENT, said: "I chose to bring the century old story of The Velveteen Rabbit to life as it works on two levels, speaking to both children and adults.
"Ahead of its time, it has strong messages of accepting differences and not getting hung up on a quest for physical perfection.
"As a Newcastle company, we are very excited to be heading back up to Darlington after our London shows."
The play is balletLORENT's modern retelling of the 102-year-old classic children's story by Margery Williams.
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It was first printed in the American Harper's Bazaar magazine in 1921 before being published as a full book the next year.
The tour stops off for six performances at Theatre Hullabaloo in Darlington during the Easter holidays, after a short run in London.
The Velveteen Rabbit experience for under-3s lasts for 35 minutes, followed by an opportunity to meet and take pictures with the costumed cast. There is a second, longer version of the show, more suitable for children aged 4-10.
The Velveteen Rabbit (How Toys Become Real) is at Hullabaloo Darlington on Thurs 11, Fri 12 and Sat 13 April at 11am for ages 0-3 and 1.30pm for ages 4-10. Tickets are £7 each, or £12 for one adult and one child.
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