Only so many nuts to crack.....

[cavycapers]

Oo, i know, let's have a trip to London to see a ballet between Christmas and New Year.  Oo, yes, we could see the Royal Ballet at the ROH, they're doing Nutcracker, or we could see the ENB at the Coliseum, they're doing...Nutcracker, or we could see the BRB at the Royal Albert Hall, they're doing....Nutcracker. 

I know Nutcracker is the great cash cow for companies, but with the BRB also in town, surely London only has so many nuts that need cracking, and some of us are over 12....

[alison]

Go for BRB's, for rarity value?  (Assuming you can afford it.  I don't think I can, unless they make gallery standing available).

 

I've complained about this numerous times before.  Maybe the RB should fit in a "grown up" mixed bill or something to give the corps a bit of a break.

[Ian Macmillan]

Each year the Links team eagerly awaits and seeks out the first North American Nutcracker review that promises, like the first swallow of summer, a cornucopia of goodies for weeks thereafter.

 

And so saying, I still fondly remember NY Times critic Alastair Macaulay going on an odyssey lasting some weeks around and across the USA about 5/6 years ago, seeing Nuts in all shapes and sizes, in theatres grand and not-so-grand.  Dedication to his craft, say I - so let there be no complaints about a metropolis like London harbouring a mere 3 productions simultaneously. 

[Nicola H]

how many   theatres outside the west end will be running anything other than panto or kiddies stuff  in the 2 weeks  before and 2 weeks  after  christmas ? 

 

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Birmingham has Jersey Boys & Manchester has  Beautiful. 

[cavycapers]

13 hours ago, alison said:

Go for BRB's, for rarity value?  (Assuming you can afford it.  I don't think I can, unless they make gallery standing available).

 

 

I think i might, Alison!  Although I approach Nutcracker with about as much enthusiasm as last year's unopened panettone, I am very intrigued by the idea of 60 snowflakes twirling round the Albert Hall!

 

.Looking at the bookings between Christmas and New Year, only the ROH seems to be selling at a reasonable rate.  There are so many performances by each company, I am not surprised.  I imagine that the majority of children might only get taken once in their lifetime, unless their parents are real balletomanes.  It's not really like pantomime, as even if you get taken every year, at least it will be Alladin one year, and Cinderella the next.

[YorkshirePudding]

Come to Leeds. We have Northern Ballets Little Mermaid and West Yorkshire Playhouse doing the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Not a nut  to be cracked at all round here!

[Jan McNulty]

46 minutes ago, YorkshirePudding said:

Come to Leeds. We have Northern Ballets Little Mermaid and West Yorkshire Playhouse doing the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Not a nut  to be cracked at all round here!

 

And if you book an advance train fare, the fare plus ticket for a day trip can be less than the cost of a ticket in London!  Plus Leeds has got a fabulous shopping centre and some great restaurants and museums!

 

In respect of Nutcracker I don't like the RB production and I don't like the current ENB production so I would definitely go for BRB's magnificent production!

Edited October 10, 2017 by Jan McNulty
To add final sentence

[penelopesimpson]

I suppose the trouble is they are such good bankers.  I can't stand Nutcracker, but noticed it sold really quickly on the RB website.  I do wish they would do something else, though.

[Colman]

18 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

I suppose the trouble is they are such good bankers.  I can't stand Nutcracker, but noticed it sold really quickly on the RB website.  I do wish they would do something else, though.

Yup, Nutcracker season will pay for a couple of things you do want to see.

[cavycapers]

The RB is selling quickly, but the ENB and the BRB aren't selling nearly so well.  However, as the RB sell out pretty much whatever they do, if they were brave enough to break with tradition, they could maybe leave Nutcracker for the other companies.  I can't believe that if they put on a crowd pleaser, such as Swan Lake, they wouldn't sell that out also.  Looking at what other companies around the World are putting on over Christmas, there is generally much more adult fayre.  Whilst christmas is indeed a time for children, there are many adults who don't have children, or whose children have left home, who would enjoy some ballet in that long break over Christmas and New Year.  I am seriously considering having getting on a plane to go somewhere to see something other than NC!

[bangorballetboy]

20 minutes ago, cavycapers said:

 Looking at what other companies around the World are putting on over Christmas, there is generally much more adult fayre.  

 

I looked into spending Christmas this year in NYC, Chicago, Miami or San Francisco.  The only ballet I could find in any of those places was the Nutcracker (though admittedly in Sarasota, it's a circus Nutcracker).

[cavycapers]

Yeah, the Americans seem as obsessed with NC at Christmas as we are!  Looks like it will have to be Europe, not a single Caisse-Noisette to be found in Paris ('Play' and 'Don Quixote'), 'Sleeping Beauty' in Amsterdam, 'Alice in Wonderland' in Stockholm,  'La Dame aux Camelias' at La Scala.  Or I could just crawl under the duvet and wait for January and dream of Giselle, Song of the Earth and La Sylphide!

 

[ninamargaret]

Think the answer is to forget about ballet going,be careful of theatre, forget concerts - mostly carols and 'festive' music and stay at home with favourite Dvds, cds, and a few good bottles of wine!