A Night at the Ballet.

Star was worried because I was spending my birthday in town, in the Green Room, doing much of nothing but I actually had a really, really nice day.

Firstly, on the way in, we detoured.  Star likes to take cookies or something else backstage to allieviate the boredom ~ & the terrible hunger pains half the kids seem to suffer.  Certainly no cookies ever come out again no matter how large the packet!  Then Star announced she was buying me shoes for my birthday.  My mother can tell tales about buying me shoes, most of which ended with both of us in tears & near hysteria & no shoes in sight so I rather looked askance at this one.  

Given the odd shape of my feet I scanned the rows & rows of shoes quickly.  Whatever I chose had to be flat ~ no heels for me ~ & really soft.  Voila! A sandle~y pair met the critea.  It took all of 5 minutes.  My mother will never believe this though I was certainly wearing the shoes when she saw me.  Star also added a large butterfly scarf in blue shades before I could convince her to leave the shop.

Then into town.  We were hours early so we could meet ma's train & be taken out to lunch before the matinee performance.  I have decided meals in town are dodgy as.  Firstly ma & I chose things that were apparently off the breakfast menu & no longer available so we had to scramble to make a second choice. Star & I went with the antipasto plate.  It arrived with some poor small slivered fish centre stage!!!!  I hurridly hid that somewhere I couldn't see it.  Disgusting.  Everything else was lovely, though far too much of it.  The olives where the size of small honeyeater eggs. 

Just as we were finishing up Dan Crestani wandered past.  Star, already mad & giddy, promptly waved like a lunatic with the big cheesy grin she usually saves for coppers.  Dan hesitated, did a double take, looked from Star to me & back again then wandered over looking puzzled.

Do I know you?

No, Star said cheerfully. I'm with the choir.

Ah!  Light broke.  Dan said he'd been hoping to meet everyone involved in the production so actually chatted with my lunatic child for 5 minutes.  So lovely of him as I'm sure he didn't need to be bothered right then & was probably on his way to warm up.  My mother said he didn't look big enough to play Merlin but I told her I'd thought he was very good though I'd only seen him in rehersals still with script to hand & on the monitors ~ but then my idea of Merlin is probably a little different to most people's & has far less to do with the Arthurian story than what druids actually did.  I hope it made ma's day as she's just had a cornea graft & her eye was still a little sore.

We walked Star round to the stage door & I collected my pass before walking ma round to the Playhouse.  I saw her in then returned to the Green Room for my nap!  Just as well as there is a lot of waiting time with these things & by the time the matinee was over we really just had time to see ma onto her train home & 3 hours to fill.  I took Star down to Max Brenner's for a snack.

After our huge lunch neither of us was particularly hungry but I knew it was Star's last chance for anything so we did the fondue ~ which was at least healthy in parts.  We got there before the crowds too & wandered along Southbank before I abandoned Star at the stage door & went to wait for our friend, who was terrific about arriving right on time.

And finally, I actually got to see this production!  I loved the set design, which was simple but hugely effective.  Modern technology is a wonderful thing as they just used lighting & projection for most of it.  Supurb!  The dancing was very physical ~ which I was aware of, but much more sensual than it seemed on the monitors & certainly not PG rated.  A good thing that Star never actaully saw this! lol  Dan, as Merlin was brilliant.  He did a wonderful job of conveying the magic, the mystery, the naunces of mythos. Rachel Walsh danced Gueinevere; Keian Langdon danced Arthur & Hao Bin danced Lancelot.  Of course, having seen this in rehearsal & on the monitors I knew lots of it & already had my favourite bits I eagerly anticipated:  Star in her monk's robe ~ because she was so far over on the extended stage the monitos don't actually cover that area & so, though I'd heard her, I hadn't ever seen her; the entrapment of Merlin by Morgaine;  The joust ~ which was quirky & fun & excellently done!; the Pavane ~ which is just an exquisite piece of music & so lovely!

Ma left me my present ~ all 3 seasons of the brilliant BBC comedy To The Manor Born starring Penelope Keith.  If you've never seen this you don't know what a treasure you're missing!  Brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant.