Ballet: The Nutcracker

My, what a saga there was for this! At the end of November, the Man With a Hat sent an email advertising coming attractions for the Let's Do London - for less! group. And I had the time to look at what was coming up - so I started to plan ahead. Managed to get a ticket for their trip to see Eugene Onegin. Next was The Nutcracker, scheduled for last night.. I got right up to the night before, and by the time I was ready to book for last night? "This Meetup is full.." Aagh! (Predictably, mind.)

Well, the evening before the trip to The Nutcracker, I was writing the previous blog post, and mentioned the group, and how I hadn't managed to get a ticket for this. So I opened their page to link to them, as usual. What did I see? 1 ticket left! (Someone had cancelled, it transpired.) I snapped it up. And so I got to go to the ball(et) after all..

I arrived at Clapham Junction just in time to catch a delayed train - lovely, I'd been expecting to wait a bit longer. Now, I had terrible trouble getting to the Opera House the last time. Took ages to find the right bus stop outside the living nightmare that is Waterloo. So, after consultation with Helen, and with Google Maps, I decided to catch the RV1 at Stop V, which seemed more accessible.

I arrived at Waterloo at 7. I kid you not - I spent fully 20 minutes looking for that blasted stop. Those roads are tortuous - for future reference, if you're heading from the station towards the South Bank, and you pass Azzurro on your left, turn left at the (station-side) corner of it, under the bridge. It's down there, on the right. (Oh, and even the map on the Azzurro website has Azzurro in the wrong location! This area is like the Bermuda Triangle.) I finally found the route on Streetview just now - after getting lost on that too!

As I dashed back and forth across busy road crossings like a demented bat (I happened to be wearing a black cape), it occurred to me that, even if I found the stop, I wasn't going to make it on time. Taxi seemed the answer - except I was carrying a small evening bag, which wouldn't fit my wallet, and I hadn't brought much cash. Well, it was my only option, so I panted my way wearily back uphill to the taxi rank, and checked with the next driver in the queue how much it'd cost. I had £20, he said it'd only cost about £6. Perfect. He did say he also had a card machine, but the only card I had with me was my Oyster, which I didn't think was what he meant..

My knight in shining black cab was also good enough to provide me with a tissue for my sniffly nose, on request. Mine had fallen out of my sleeve - what an evening I was having! As we crawled through the traffic on the one-way system, I got a text from the Man With the Hat, to say he'd left my ticket at the box office, under my name. And that I'd probably miss the first half - they don't let you in once it's started, of course - but that they have a swanky viewing room. I agreed - I probably would miss it now. At least I'd get to see the viewing room! I resisted the urge to mention my hurry to the driver - I could see he couldn't go any faster, and there was no point in stressing him, too.

Again, it was a lovely drive through the West End. He knew his stuff, this driver, and let me off at the closest door to the box office, where I could still see people milling about. Could I still make it on time..? I made my way to the desk, causing some agitation when I said they had a ticket for me. They found it - and from there, some kind of early warning system operated. I love the olde-worlde service in this venue! The guy at the end of the hall knew, perhaps by hand signals, what level I was going to, and told me to hurry as fast as possible to the lifts at the other end of the lobby. The guy standing on my way, when he saw me galloping towards him, bellowed "LIFT!" and I soon saw someone standing in the lift door to hold it for me. She even pressed the button for me - not that the lift moved at all for a minute or so! When I did get to my level, someone was waiting for me, and hurried me along to the right door;  I was shown to my row (mine was the empty seat, surprise..) and congratulated by my fellow group members, seated around me. I just had time to turn off my phone before the lights went down..

Phew! I breathlessly applauded the orchestra, and we were off. I've seen The Nutcracker before, although not this production. So tell me, did you ever wish upon a star? Have you ever, as a child, curled up in the corner with a book and been absolutely transported? This evening took me right back to childhood. Even from my elevated perch in the auditorium, the stage looked massive. From the start, the staging was absolutely gorgeous - beautiful costumes, glittering lights, a Christmas tree at the back, for this most Christmassy of ballets.

It was fabulous. The magician, resplendent in a large blue cape, floated from the back in a shower of golden glitter, snow fell, and we were all transported in the magic of it. I love this ballet, but I swear I have never seen a more perfect production of it. This is how, as a child, you would dream it. Later, billowing curtains, and in the second act, billowing clouds of smoke from stage - spilling onto the poor musicians in the pit - only enhanced the dreamlike quality of the story. When the dream itself started, the Christmas tree at the end grew huge! and it was something you could really believe. It occurred to me that this was the perfect production for someone who'd never seen it before - which was the case for a number of our group. But even if you have, this is exactly how it SHOULD be done, obviously directed by someone who truly loves it. And it was lovely to see recognition from the first-timers, when they started to recognise the beautiful music of the second act. As I remarked afterwards, some things deserve their fame.

Last performance tonight, a few tickets apparently still available on the opera house website for £104. You're unlikely to see a better production. Highly recommended.

Afterwards, we headed to the Sun Tavern, which let us in this time, and where we occupied a large table upstairs. And I had some decent wine, and some varied conversation as usual, before their unusually prompt closing time..

Today, I'm in the office - which I normally wouldn't be on a Thursday - because I attended a product planning meeting, which didn't have remote access. Unfortunately, that means that, once again, I've had to cancel on the Central London Outdoor Group - that's happened a few times now, but I'd never make it in time. Instead, I got another of those cheap tickets - to Cirque Berserk, in Dartford. Long journey, but I know they're good too. Looks easier to get to from the station, although I doubt Google Map's walking directions. And I don't have to travel to work tomorrow! Later on tomorrow, of course, I fly back to Ireland for the weekend - that plan hasn't changed (yet)!