It’s a scene familiar to most parents: Christmas morning, the deafening rasp of tiny claws, clouds of paper flung into the air as children race to uncover their gifts. But what about the wrapping that gets discarded? What possibilities for creation and invention lie in all those cardboard boxes, tubes, scrunched tissue and ribbons? These were the questions choreographer Natasha Gilmore began asking herself, after her three children were sent a bumper gift of second-hand toys, books and clothes from their babysitter during lockdown. ‘What was immediately clear,’ Gilmore says, ‘was that the most exciting element of this was the huge cardboard box the “gifts” had arrived in. This box was fiercely contested and had many iterations as a home, a vehicle, a canvas for art, a den, a chill-out zone, and the centre of many games.’

The experience of watching her children draw inspiration through the wrapping rather than the gifts, also sparked Gilmore’s imagination. She began thinking about creating a show that celebrated these tossed-aside materials. The result is The Gift, a dance duet for Barrowland Ballet that tells the story of a girl who tears open her presents on Christmas morning, only to discover the toys inside have no batteries. ‘What develops is a celebration of the power of the imagination,’ says Gilmore. The little girl realises she can create a whole world of characters and landscapes through the discarded paper. ‘I wanted to make a Christmas show that emphasises the importance of play and connecting with your children, over the need for the latest toys.’

The Gift, The Studio, Edinburgh, Saturday 14–Tuesday 31 December; main picture: Andrew Perry.