Frederick Ashton‘s La Fille mal gardée returns to The Royal Ballet for the first time since 2016. Francesca Hayward and Marcelino Sambé are in the lead roles for the cinema relay on 5 November, roles that they first danced nine years ago when Hayward had just been promoted to principal dancer, and Sambé was still a soloist.
They received rave reviews. Mark Monahan in The Telegraph wrote that their “dynamite” pairing “was an irresistible sparking of two gloriously similar, marvellously musical dancers”.
La Fille mal gardée premiered in Covent Garden on 28 January 1960 and instantly became a popular staple of The Royal Ballet repertoire. Inspired by Jean Dauberval’s French ballet, Ashton’s version captures the essence of the English countryside, with comic capers, exuberant energy and a love story to melt your heart. Lise, the only daughter of Widow Simone, is in love with the young farmer Colas, but her mother has far more ambitious plans for her.
The ‘for all the family’ ballet can be seen in person at the Royal Ballet & Opera from 18 October until 13 November 2025, and again from 23 May – 9 June 2026.
The Royal Ballet
LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE
Live Cinema Relay 5 November, encore screenings 9 November
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.