(If interested in any of the following shows or need more information then please contact Theatre Group Contact via this link.) For previous trips/reviews please scroll down.
Past Shows:
August 2022 – a visit to the Barbican
19th January 2020 – The Red Shoes
A recent Sunday saw members of the theatre visiting group joining together for another visit to Sadlers Wells for a performance of The Red Shoes. Once again we did this in style, our comfortable mini coach collecting from various points and driving us to the door of the theatre. No hassle with trains and tubes so a good start.
The area around the theatre offers many opportunities for food and drink and we took full advantage of this. Matthew Bourne is an icon to those who enjoy dance always guaranteeing something out of the ordinary in fact extraordinary. To a packed theatre the curtain opened and we were immediately transported into another world. Our excellent seats allowed full view of the complete stage so we could also appreciate the very clever set changes as well as all the dance.
Based loosely on the Hans Christian Anderson story and the later film starring Moira Shearer, this was a fast moving ballet with many changes in the tempo of music and styles of dance. As we moved through settings from early London to the 1940’s French Riviera, we experienced beautiful classic ballet with wonderful pas de deux swiftly changing through a series of different beautifully executed dance routines culminating in a lively dance routine owing more to hip hop than what we might consider ballet. Truly wonderful dancing. Costumes were colourful and the whole atmosphere was lively with a love story at the heart of it, then all change!
A setting depicting run down digs and a fourth rate music hall with acts as far removed from what our main characters, Victoria and Harrison had so far experienced, brought real pathos to this wonderful ballet. True to form Matthew Bourne delivered the unexpected in the grand finale in such spectacular fashion that our breath was taken away and no I won’t tell you what happened instead join our Theatre group and experience it for yourself.
As always with this lovely friendly group our journey home was full of discussion about the performance and suggestions for our next one! Why not join us!
Regards
Victoria

TOAST – 6th September 2019

A group of 21 theatre lovers went along to our local Palace Theatre to see “Toast“.
ROMEO & JULIET BALLET – 29th August 2019
A group of us left Leigh at 10:00am to see Matthew Bourne’s ballet version of Romeo & Juliet at Saddlers Wells London. If you have ever seen anything by Matthew, you will know to expect the unexpected and in this regard we were not disappointed. We were treated to his version of Shakespeare’s story all taking place within an asylum (but at least the asylum was in Verona). It was beautifully performed by some wonderfully talented young dancers to the live Prokofiev music. The story no longer involves warring families but brutal guards, oppressive rules and a system that is just bad. The two lead dancers manage to perform several minutes of ballet with lips locked in a lengthy snog whilst twisting, turning and rolling around the stage – incredible skill and agility. And again a Matthew Bourne twist in as much as it finishes exactly as it starts.