Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
I did get out of the house once to do something a bit cultural over the christmas break. I first saw Matthew Bourne's version of this ballet many years ago, although I can't remember when or who with, but I remembered loving it, so it was good to visit again this time on a family New Year outing. We were in the cheaper seats in the second circle so our view was a largely overhead one, and we couldn't see much of the orchestra, so that was a shame, but overall, Sadlers Wells tickets for £30 with a pretty clear view of the stage isn't a bad deal in my books. I have to say it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, with a ballet virgin and some confusion over storylines in our party, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Of course the most obvious difference from the original story and choreography is that the swans are male, powerful and a bit menacing but the story has had to go through quite a few revisions to make sense. In this version, there is clearly a tragic gay love s...