An evening at the ballet. Up the road in Newcastle. Courtesy of lovely friends.
So, Matthew Bourne's take on an old favourite.
This is far removed from a traditional tutu and pointe offering. For starters, the well-known fairy story has been tinkered with. Carabosse snuffs it early on and it's her son who is hell-bent on wreaking revenge on her behalf. Unsurprisingly, Aurora first appears as a baby, but in this version she's a brilliantly manoeuvred, curtain climbing, show stealing puppet. Celebrating her 21st birthday, the Beauty still pricks her finger and sleeps for 100 years. But our hero and her rescuer is a gamekeeper. And a vampire.
We begin in 1890, progress to 1911, 2011 and 'Last night'. There are bare feet, bare chests, conveyer belts, Helena Bonham-Carter lookalikes, wings and heavily kohled eyes aplenty. It's at times dark, at others funny, occasionally Downtonesque with a dash of panto, sometimes intimate, always visually stunning and thoroughly entertaining. All in all, a sharp contrast to that first experience.
Yet I did find myself a tad wistful for that unmistakeable clattering of block ballet shoes across the stage.
And wishing for a more palatable Pinot Grigio in the interval.