If your experience of Snow White is the happy-go-lucky, sanitised Disney version, you may not want to expose yourself to balletLORENT's spellbinding performance.

Although you'd recognise many of the elements: the truth-telling mirror, the frolicking animals and the bright red poisoned apple, Carol Ann Duffy's setting of the story owes far more to the original Brothers Grimm story. The plot is all the more dark and vicious because it is Snow White's own mother, who has loved her throughout a brilliantly staged childhood, that orders the girl's death. It is the woman who taught her to value beauty above all else who is so consumed with jealousy that she eats what she believes is her daughter's heart.

There are no jolly dwarves (or even Grumpy, Dozey or Sneezy) to be found here. Rather, there are grotesquely-twisted miners, bent from years underground, seeking diamonds to satisfy the Queen's lust for beauty.

Duffy's brilliant re-telling is more than ably played out by the fantastic cast. Particular mentions go to Gwen Berwick as the Mirror, Natalie Trewinnard who played Snow White with vigour, passion and a big pinch of fun, and to the children of St Andrews School who brought an intoxicating sense of joy to the production.

The production is billed for all the family, with a suggested age of 7+. That feels about right: younger children would easily follow the story and probably enjoy it, but there are some distinctly nightmarish moments that may be hard to take. It would, of course, depend on the individual child.

It is, however, certainly not just for children. I found it hard to tear my eyes away from the production. It was visually compelling, with the choreography particularly brilliant in the interplay between the Queen and her mirror. The set design and direction at times bathed the action in shadows, giving physical shape to the darkness of the story. The personification of the forest increases the menace of the young girl told by the huntsman she has learned to trust that she must run from him. And, without giving too much away, this Snow White isn't rescued by a random prince who happens to be riding past. Her happily ever after is much less beautiful, yet much more so. And, with a final line that puts an unexpected twist on the whole story (no, I'm not going to tell you!), this production is one not to miss.

So I'll revise my earlier thought: if your only exposure to Snow White has been Disney's saccharine film, go and see the balletLORENT interpretation this minute. It's bloody brilliant.