Like the Harry Potter stories, The Wind in the Willows is a classic children's story that is also read and enjoyed by adults.

A few years ago the National Theatre staged a spectacular version of the story. Now, the Royal Opera House is providing a words, music and dance version, at its Linbury studio theatre.

The production, which includes narration written by the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion and spoken by Anthony Dowell, the ex-Director of the Royal Ballet, also features dance superstars Adam Cooper and Will Kemp.

Both men have danced the role of the Swan in Matthew Bourne's stunning version of Swan Lake. Cooper proved a hit in a recent production of On Your Toes and clearly has a future in musical theatre as well as the ballet world, and Will Kemp co-starred in Bourne's Play Without Words at the National Theatre this summer.

The Linbury studio is a versatile space that enables the Royal Opera House to bridge the gap between dance and theatre and attract different audiences.

—By Theatrenow