La fille mal gardée
By the 1970s the combination of Helpmann and Ashton in comic drag as the Ugly Sisters in Ashton's "Cinderella" had become a much-loved institution at Covent Garden in various revivals since its 1948 premiere. In 1972 Helpmann succeeded in getting Ashton to join him for a production by the Australian Ballet, but despite Helpmann's urging, Ashton never created a new work for the company, although he restaged his "La fille mal gardée" for them.