Urgent appeal over missing carrots ahead of The Velveteen Rabbit show in Washington

Dancers have issued an urgent appeal over missing carrots ahead of their rabbit-themed show in Sunderland.

Dance company balletLORENT is due to perform The Velveteen Rabbit in the city next week.

The North East-based dancers are busy touring the show, but disaster struck when large sack of knitted carrots went missing after being left on a train.

The LNER train departed Darlington at 3.23pm on Tuesday 26 March, heading for Edinburgh.

Despite putting in many calls to lost property offices along the route, there have been no sightings of the crafted bright orange root vegetables.

The carrots, around 35 in total, were handknitted by a group of older women who attend the Knitters, Movers and Shakers group at the John Marley Centre in Newcastle's West End.

The women are now knitting round the clock in an attempt to replace the missing tubers, but also hope their original handicrafts will be found in time for balletLORENT's next show, which is at Washington Arts Centre on April 18.

Kylie Lloyd, executive director, ballet LORENT, said: "Children love to feed our knitted carrots to the rabbits at the end of the show.

“Our dedicated knitting team is pulling out all the stops to ensure the rabbits don't go hungry.

"But if anyone has been offered a sack of knitted carrots on the black market or has heard whispers of their whereabouts, any information that could help to track them down would be appreciated".

Pat Cant, 77, is a member of Knitters, Shakers and Movers. She said: "I took my grandchildren, who are seven and four, to see The Velveteen Rabbit in Newcastle.

"At the end of the show, they got to feed knitted carrots to the rabbits, which they loved.

“I don't want other children to miss out on this, so we are knitting as fast as we can. But if anyone has the original carrots, we would love them back."

The production of balletLORENT's The Velveteen Rabbit is based on a century-old children's tale, and has been specially created to appeal to children from birth.

In the show, six contemporary dancers, all trained in working with the youngest of children, bring a nursery full of toys to life through the magic of storytelling, music and dance. 

As shared adventures lead a toy rabbit to grow closer to the young boy who sleeps and plays in the nursery, the pair discover the transformative power of love.Other lovable characters featured in the production include a horse, a tin robot, a monkey with cymbals, a rag doll and an astronaut.

Visit https://sunderlandculture.org.uk/events/the-velveteen-rabbit/ for more information about the show.