Nutcracker at Blackpool

[Johnno]

Went to Blackpool Opera House last night to see St Petersburg Ballet in The Nutcracker. At the end of the prologue the lights went down, the dancers went off and various bits of scenery started to fly. Then stopped. Then came down again. Panicky voices could be heard shouting backstage as bits of scenery bobbed about, or not. The dancers ran on for Act 1, milled about in the dark, and then ran off. The orchestra stopped. Curtain down. Great cheer from us plebs :D . Five minute delay and then off we went to the kingdom of the sweets.

 

For the rest of the show they seemed to be having trouble with a gauze near the front which wouldn't come down cleanly in one go. Finally, in the epilogue as Drosselmeyer crosses the stage with the tiara for Clara, the gauze was down while the house scene is reset behind it and Clara resumes her sleeping position. Or it should have been - a bit of it was about six feet off the stage giving a very ragged look to it.

 

An enjoyable show otherwise, 'though the costumes were a bit bland and the Opera House is rather drab and drafty and has some very ugly holes in the proscenium. Stalls about half full.

[Mikey]

Possibly some sort of misunderstanding between the touring crew and local staff if they only speak Russian and have only one interpretor with them. The St. Petersburg lot that is, I guess the Blackpool guys don't speak much Russian.

 

The holes in the prosc are from years of having the big musicals in there, loads of truss and stuff FoH with holes punched through the plasterwork for motors. Even where the proper point holes are the plaster has been torn away with use over the years.

 

You're right about it being a bit drab & drafy, the auditorium is a barn of a place.

 

Mikey.