ENGLISH National Ballet brings Lewis Carroll's masterpiece brilliantly to life with a staging that's both charming and fun.

As the adventure unfolds, and dancing lobsters and swimming badgers are conjured up so vividly, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd inhaled some of the caterpillar's wacky baccy.

Tiny ballerina Venus Villa was the audience's guide as Alice, her wide-eyed curiosity soon progressing to amazement at the world she has entered.

The beautiful sets and marvellous costumes and masks were a definite hit with the audience, especially the younger members.

Thanks to Sue Blane's designs, the absurd and colourful characters really leapt out at you (my personal favourites were the cheerful, pot-bellied toad and the noble griffin, but not the Cheshire Cat, which was decidedly mangy-looking).

This was key to choreographer Derek Deane's aim of creating an animated storybook for families to enjoy.

The ballet was fluent, although the pace, especially in the first half, sometimes slackened - for example, the pansies' dance in the Garden of Living Flowers.

Meanwhile the live orchestra performed Tchaikovsky's moving score with aplomb.

Those discovering ballet for the first time could do worse than to give this entertaining production, which runs until Saturday, a whirl.