Carol Ann Duffy to write ballet based on Rapunzel

The poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, is to write her very first ballet, which will be based on the Grimm Brothers' classic fairytale Rapunzel.

It has been commissioned by Sadler's Wells in London and will be choreographed by the acclaimed Liv Lorent, who has revealed that the production will more closely resemble 'dance theatre' than traditional ballet.

Duffy said that the retelling and reinterpretation of fairytales is part of 'the lifeblood of literature' and she will be drawing on the darkest and most fascinating aspects of the Rapunzel story.

'Fairytales are strange and familiar, frightening and reassuring, and provide a map of childhood which we can use as adults to remember who we are,' she added.

Emma Gladstone, artistic programmer and producer at Sadler's Wells, said that the combination of the poet laureate and Liv Lorent is a 'dream team'.

'Liv has been thinking about this project for some time and when we first talked about it these are the people she really wanted - and amazingly, we've got them all,' she noted.

Rapunzel is set to open at the Durham Book Festival in October, before embarking on a nationwide tour that will end at Sadler's Wells in March 2013.