Welcome to the Cheap Seats

Way up in the Gods at the Theatre Royal for the Northern Ballet's production of 'Madame Butterfly'. An excellent production more than made up for the cramp-inducing discomfort of the surroundings. Plus it was pretty concise for ballet! It reminded us both of a lush, colour-saturated old Minelli film musical. Butterfly's final dance - in a circle of red light, to a quavering Japanese folk song and then some real grand guignol gothic orchestration - was particularly stunning.