Review: The Nutcracker at The O2

Picture: Nigel Norrington

December has been a month of variety at The O2. Megastar Rihanna entertained thousands earlier this month, but the venue is currently playing host to a rather quieter show - and one that involves its stars wearing a lot more clothing.

Following the success earlier this year of The Royal Ballet's Romeo and Juliet, The O2 is having a second go at ballet by hosting the Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.

Telling the story of Clara, who dreams a Nutcracker doll she has been given is brought to life, the ballet is full of gorgeous dance sequences, stunning costumes and scenery, and the magic that makes many a little girl want to be a ballerina.

Seeing a ballet in an arena is, I imagine, very different to seeing it in a smaller theatre, but having never seen a ballet before it's all a new experience. What strikes me first is the diverse crowd, from older couples to ballet aficionados to cute little girls dressed in their pink tutus.

The large venue barely distracts from what is happening on stage. The sound of the fantastic orchestra carries throughout the arena, and despite the crowd of people surrounding me I feel like I'm the only one in the room, caught up in the world of Clara, the Nutcracker doll, the King of the rats, the magician Drosselmeyer and a host of dancers.

The set changes are brilliant, as the scene goes from Clara's living room to a battleground where the rats fight the toy soldiers. It all seems so smoothly and easily done, you can forget there's probably a dozen people backstage and months of work that have gone into it all. The highlight of act one is the closing sequence, after the Nutcracker has come back to life as the handsome Prince and leads Clara into the land of snow. With snow falling from the rafters the scene is set perfectly for a magical second act.

When the ballet reopens Clara, and the audience, are transported to a fantastic world conjured up by Drosselmeyer, who shows off dancers from different lands before turning Clara into the Sugar Plum Fairy. Barely has one round of applause finished before another starts, letting the dancers know their (jawdropping) talents are appreciated. When Clara wakes up by the fire, her dream ended, it's hard not to let out a sigh of disappointment that it's all over.

Although this is a brilliant production, it does have one major flaw - the depth of the stage. With The O2 arena being such a large venue, it comes with a huge stage, the front quarter of which is ignored for 98 per cent of the production. The vast amount of space between the dancers and the orchestra distracts me, and I spend a lot of time wishing the action would move to the front. The Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of The Nutcracker played to audiences in its home city before coming to The O2, and perhaps the stage there was not so deep. Here, I didn't see the point in having such a large space if it wasn't going to be used used properly. The wasted depth at the front also meant that I was forced to watch some of the action at the back of the stage on the large video screen, which I would have preferred not to do.

Despite its flaws overall this was a great introduction to ballet, and it made me want to see more productions, albeit next time in a more intimate venue.


The Nutcracker is at The O2 until December 30. For more information and to buy tickets click here.

Baking with Sarah(!): Chocolate biscuits, fudge and cupcakes

Yes, I know not all the things I've spent today making are baked, but just go with the title. Here are the recipes I used.

Fudge
This is, hands down, the easiest sweet dish I've ever made (excluding scooping ice cream out of a tub etc).
1. Put 400g of chocolate (milk or dark) in a non-stick pan with a 397g of condensed milk (a normal sized can) and 25g of butter. Melt over a gentle heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is completely smooth. 
2. Sift in 100g of icing sugar. My tip is to sift a little of the icing sugar at a time, then mix, then sift some more, then mix etc. 
3. Once the mixture is completely smooth again pour out into a tin (I found something that was about an inch thick) lined with greaseproof paper, leave to cool then stick in the fridge for an hour or so. Once it's set you can chop it up and tuck in. 

Mini cupcakes
1. Cream 100g of butter with 100g of sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. 
2. Mix in two eggs, one at a time, making sure the first egg is completely incorporated before you add the next. 
3. Sift in 100g of flour and fold. Make sure to fold, not mix, as this will keep the mixture light. It may look like the flour won't mix if you fold, but it will, don't worry. 
4. Separate mixture into cupcake cases. This recipe makes 12 regular sized cupcakes, but I used tiny cupcake cases around the width of a 50p piece, and made around 30 cupcakes.
5. Bake at 190C for 10 minutes (mini cupcakes) or 15 minutes (larger). Check they're cooked by putting a toothpick in, if it comes out clean you're fine, otherwise give it a few more minutes. 

Chocolate biscuits
1. Put 100g butter, 175g soft brown sugar and 75g golden syrup in a non-stick pan and heat, stirring gently, until all the sugar is completely dissolved. 
2. Take off the heat and mix in 1tsp of bicarbonate of soda. 
3. In a separate bowl mix 350g of plain flour and 2tbsp of cocoa powder. Put half this mix in the sugar mixture, along with one lightly beaten egg, and stir in. Then add the rest of the flour and stir until a soft dough is made. Spread onto a foil-lined baking sheet and put in the fridge for a few hours, until it's firm. 
4. Roll out the dough (you may have to split it up) until it's 4-5mm thick, then use a cookie cutter (whatever shape you want) to cut the dough. 
5. Place on a baking sheet and cook at 190C for around 10 minutes if you want crunchy biscuits, and maybe 8-9minutes if you want them slightly softer. 
6. Cool and eat.

Your guide to the best of this year's Christmas television

The festive television schedules are full of repeats, Christmas specials, soaps and films that are seen year in, year out. But in amongst all the stuff you could quote in your sleep are some real gems. To save you from missing anything, and searching fruitlessly through the listings - here's a guide to the televisual highlights between Christmas and the new year. All you have to do decide is what to watch. 

Doctor Who 
Christmas Day wouldn't be Christmas Day without an adventure with the Doctor. This episode - The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe - is set in England in the 1940s, where the Doctor links up with a recently widowed woman and her two young children as they are evacuated to Dorset. The Arwell family soon find themselves transported to a Narnia-like snowy land through a big blue parcel. Only the foe they're battling is much more scary than the White Witch...
BBC One, Christmas Day, 7pm 

Downton Abbey 
For fans of period drama Downtown Abbey is back for a two-hour Christmas special. It's 1919 and Lord Grantham is hosting a lavish party. Despite appearances, all is not likely to go smoothly and there's plenty of tension, what with Bates's arrest for the murder of his wife, Mary's rocky relationship with Sir Richard Carlisle and a new suitor with a past for Rosamund.
ITV1, Christmas Day, 9pm

Absolutely Fabulous 
Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley return for two episodes (the first on Christmas Day) as Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone. All the original cast are back for the return of Ab Fab, and it's sure to be exactly the latter.
BBC One, Christmas Day, 10pm

The Borrowers 
I have fond memories of an adaptation of Mary Norton's The Borrowers from the early 1990s, starring Ian Holm (who went on to play another very famous small person). I loved the idea that there were tiny people living under the floorboards, making their furniture and other items from everyday human belongings. No matter how hard I tried, I could never create anything as brilliant out of old toilet rolls, matchboxes and bits of string as the Borrowers did. Starring Stephen Fry, Victoria Wood, Christopher Ecclestone and the fabulous Robert Sheehan as Spiller, this adaptation has the feel and magic of the one I watched as a child.
BBC One, Boxing Day, 7.30pm 

The Royal Bodyguard
Sir David Jason heads back to the BBC in a new comedy role as Captain Guy Hubble, an ex-guardsman who is head of security at Buckingham Palace. After saving the Queen's life in an act of bravery he is appointed as Royal Bodyguard. Hilarious escapades follow.
BBC One, starts Boxing Day, 9.30pm 

Great Expectations 
Granted, it's not the first story that springs to mind when you think about Charles Dickens and Christmas, but Great Expectations is one of those great winter tales, something you can curl up with on the sofa when it's cold outside. For those who don't want to work their way through the novel, this new adaptation has a stellar cast, which includes Ray Winstone, Gillian Anderson and David Suchet, and is suitably haunting.
BBC One, December 27, 28 and 29 at 9pm 

Fast Freddie, the Widow and Me
A proper cheesy Christmas story starring Laurence Fox as a wealthy narrow-minded luxury-car dealer who has to spend the run-up to Christmas helping troubled young adults after being found guilty of drink-driving. He meets recently widowed Laura, and 18-year-old Freddie, who has only months to live. Even though you'll see what's coming miles off, you should keep the tissues handy.
ITV1, December 27, 9pm

Sherlock Holmes
Forget Robert Downey Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch is back as the detective in the first of three episodes. Sherlock and John Watson (Martin Freeman) face a secret conspiracy involving the British government in A Scandal in Belgravia. And THE woman in Sherlock's life is introduced, the ruthless and brilliant Irene Adler.
BBC One, New Year's Day, time TBC

The best of the rest

The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff
Featuring an impressive cast including Robert Webb, Katherine Parkinson, Stephen Fry and David Mitchell, The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff is a great spoof, sure to entertain those who love period dramas, and those who loathe them.
BBC Two, starts December 19, 8.30pm

Michael McIntyre's Christmas Comedy Roadshow
The comedian is joined is joined by a host of famous, funny friends to help you end Christmas Day with a laugh, no matter what dramas have taken place during the day.
BBC One, Christmas Day, 10.30pm

Strictly Come Dancing 
Five celebrities and their professional partners battle it out to be crowned champion.
BBC One, Christmas Day, 8pm 

Christmas Day films
Kung Fu Panda, BBC One, 12.35pm
Monsters vs Aliens, BBC One, 3.10pm
Ratatouille, BBC One, 4.50pm
Aladdin, ITV1, 1.15pm
Happy Feet, ITV1, 3.10pm
Big, Channel 4, 5.20pm
Ice Age 3, Channel 4, 7.15pm

Why the Military Wives Choir deserve to be Christmas Number One

So, you might have heard a song called Cannonball, a cover of Damian Rice's song by Little Mix, the winners of this year's X Factor.

In any other year, it might automatically get to number one. After all, winning the X Factor almost entitles you to having a number one single. 

Almost, because this year there's a viable alternative to the X Factor - the Military Wives Choir.

If you listen to Radio 2 in the mornings you can't have missed the fact that Chris Evans is pushing for this song to get to number one, and I can't help but be behind him.

Working with the very talented Gareth Malone, the choir put together the gorgeous Wherever You Are, a song full of some of the most important emotions we as humans can feel - love, fear, longing.

Three bars of Wherever You Are contain more feeling than three minutes of any song by any X Factor winner ever (however talented they are).

I've met and spent time with many servicemen through the course of my work, and I've met their friends and family who are left behind each time they're sent overseas. They are the bravest people I have ever encountered, regardless of whether their battlefield is a forward operating base or an empty house.

The hardest stories I've ever worked on are tributes to soldiers who have died in the line of duty. There is one in particular I will always remember, a bomb disposal expert, who died doing what he loved and wanted to do - protecting others. Every time I spoke to his family, all they felt was love and pride for him, and their strength at losing him in such difficult circumstances left me speechless.

Whatever you think of the current conflicts Britain is involved in, whatever your stance on war in general, the women who make up the Military Wives Choir face the very real possibility that their partners may get injured, or worse, while just doing their jobs. Usually, the families of servicemen away in conflict areas can do nothing but wait and hope and pray. 

But the Military Wives Choir is a group of women who decided to show the world just how it feels to wait and hope and pray, and in doing so are doing more than those three things. Wherever You Are is not just a song, it's a tribute, and one whose sales are going to raise money for some great charities which help servicemen and their families.

The women in this choir have produced something amazing in difficult circumstances. The hard work is being done by them and their partners - all the public has to do it is buy the track, and help get the song that really means something to number one on Christmas Day.

*Wherever You Are is released tomorrow.

Glee: Extraodinary Merry Christmas recap/review

So, this episode of Glee was weird, wasn't it?

And by weird I mean, not that great. I'm no grinch, but to me nearly everything about this episode was contrived (more than a television programme usually is). 

I found it preachy, and it seemed more like a placeholder than an actual part of this series. Nothing happened, no stories were moved forward, it was just an indulgent episode that gave the cast the chance to sing lots of Christmas songs and talk about the true meaning of Christmas.

That's what this episode was all about - the fact that Christmas should be about love and kindness and family and friends over presents. You couldn't go 20 seconds without banging your head against the fact that Glee was trying to teach us about how we should all stop being so commercial. I find that a bit rich, considering Glee once released an album containing just a handful of songs (the Madonna ones) to make as much cash as possible. 

I don't watch Glee so I can be preached at, and I consider myself intelligent enough to not have to be smacked round the head to understand what Christmas is all about, and I don't even celebrate it.

Two other people who don't celebrate it are Rachel and Puck, who completely forgot this episode that they are in fact Jewish. I don't even know what to say about this.

Another thing I found weird was the television programme within the television programme. It wasn't the device itself that was strange, just the creepy 1950s style holiday special. Did television really used to be like that? The thought is quite disturbing.

It was, however, quite funny. I liked Kurt and Blaine's description of what they were to each other (best friends and holiday roommates), and the cutesy, slightly risque jokes and the cheesy delivery of lines really did make me chuckle. This sequence was the best part of the episode, even though I found it weird. I may have mentioned that already.

While most of the glee club represented the commercial side of Christmas, Sam and (of all people) Sue were busy representing what Christmas should truly be about. And in case you didn't hear them telling other characters (and by extension the viewers) multiple times, there was a lovely extended scene in a soup kitchen, with lots of homeless looking people and cute kids, just to make sure you really understood.

And of course, what would an episode about the true meaning of Christmas be without everyone coming to their senses and singing a song to make up for their earlier selfishness? That song was Do They Know It's Christmas? I didn't really like it, because it's a song with a lot of history behind it, and one that really needs the context of its time to be understood properly. Like when I heard it on the album, I felt the cast didn't really feel the song, and it felt, as I said at the beginning of this review, contrived.

So, to sum up, in case you didn't realise - and for that to have happened you'd have had to watch the episode with your closed and on mute - Christmas is about love, and happiness, and giving. GOT THAT?

So, that's what you missed on Glee. Nothing.

The music:
Lots and lots of Christmas songs, plus My Favourite Things from The Sound of Music.

I loved River, even though it's a bit depressing. It's a great song though. Rory doing Blue Christmas was also depressing but it was sweet too. 

Extraodinary Merry Christmas is no less annoying when you watch Blaine and Rachel act it out than when you hear it on the album. Also, extraordinary doesn't have that many syllables, otherwise you might as well separate it into two words and say you're having an extra ordinary Christmas.

Christmas Wrapping and Santa Claus is Coming to Town didn't have a point, but then, neither did the Christmas special. 

What Glee did well this week:
I'm loathe to put anything here, since I was overwhelmed by the message of the episode. But probably the show within a show, and particularly Let It Snow, which was cute. Also, even though he was only in it for a few seconds, Chewbacca rocked too.

One thing that wasn't so great wasn't actually in the episode, and that was a problem. There's been a still floating around of Blaine giving Kurt a little box as a Christmas present, and that scene was cut. Guess we'll have to wait for the DVD extras. 

Next week:
There's no Glee. We'll have to wait until January, when Sam joins the synchronised swimming team, Finn considers joining the army, and Mr Schue wants to join in holy matrimony with Miss Pillsbury. Plus, there's a Grease routine.

Review: Peter Pan at The Central Theatre - starring Vanilla Ice

Ice, Ice, Baby.

Yes, I am referring to Vanilla Ice's hit song. Because this year, the rapper is starring in pantomime at The Central Theatre in Chatham, playing Captain Hook in a production of Peter Pan.

And, of course, he gets to perform Ice, Ice, Baby. 

Fortunately, the eager audience doesn't have to wait until the very end, although you do have to suffer through an act and a half of hints before finally getting to see Vanilla perform every word of the song.

Unfortunately, it's probably the best bit of the production.

Sure, there's plenty of Vanilla on stage, and it's clear The Central Theatre is getting its money's worth out of him, as there are some pointless and overly long scenes featuring the rapper. It might have been better to have him on stage less, but performing Ice, Ice, Baby a second time, instead of just giving the audience what they wanted once.

The classic story of Peter Pan is brought to life in adequate fashion, complete with flying and a revolving set with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys' hideout on one side and Hook's ship on the other. However, the magic is lost with the sight of the ropes attached to Peter Pan's back, and the sight of the stagehands pushing the set round every time the scene changes.

The show is full of musical numbers, ranging from Queen (a lot of Queen), to Nirvana (as my friend said: "Kurt Cobain would be turning in his grave") to Lady Gaga. Again, they're done adequately, but it's nothing special. The only thing which peps the musical numbers up are the addition of some jugglers, who at one point just juggle balls, and at another use lit torches (leaving the theatre filled with the smell of petrol).

The youngsters watching the pantomime clearly enjoyed themselves, getting involved in shouting out the catchphrase (Smee: Hello! Audience: Is that you? Smee: No, it's me), booing Hook and clapping and shouting they believed in fairies.

For me though, Peter Pan has lost its allure, at least with this production. Wendy never got beyond her role as a "mother" to the Lost Boys, and the Native American Indians embodied every cliche in the book. As a result I found myself constantly looking below the surface of the play, finding a dated story full of unappetising steroetypes.

Peter Pan is put on by Evolution Productions, which has been doing The Central Theatre's pantos for a while now. The children in the audience clearly loved the show, but Evolution has definitely done better in the past (last year's production of Jack and the Beanstalk was ten times better).

Go if you've young children, go if you're a huge Vanilla Ice fan, but don't go expecting to see the magic of panto brought alive.

Peter Pan is on until December 31. Click here for more information.