Matthew Bourne's Cinderella at Sadler's Wells was a great start to 2011. It was a characteristic Bourne's piece – lots of twists on the plot and fabulous decorations. Just a few examples of the plot twists – the action takes place in the London Blitz, Cinderella in addition to her sisters also has three brothers and her soldier finds her in hospital, not by trying the shoe on every girls' feet. The godmother became a shiny white haired mischievous man, who looked quite off-putting. There were a few fantastic dance movements and clever ideas. For instance, I didn't know there are so many ways to illustrate a clock with the human body. Unfortunately, there also were lots of miming. In fact, the third act was just that. When the lovers found each other, I was expecting a grand love dance, but we just got some flapping on the stage.
During the festive period we had a chance to experience some pop classical music. Critics might dismiss his productions but Raymond Gubbay is a brilliant impresario in bringing classical music to the masses . Crazy for Gershwin at his annual Christmas Festival at the Barbican was a prime example of his talent to please the people. The crowd was mainly the Daily Mail readers with the best of perm hair and fleece jumpers. On the stage a big band played while some second rate singers and dancers tried to impress the crowd. I do love Gershwin, but all this seemed over the top and spoiled the music. Credit is due to Mr Gubbay for getting the people to the concert halls, but for me this experience was enough and I will keep avoiding his productions.
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