by Bex
Last Saturday, Roz and I and some other Scottish Bloggers were treated to a fantastic day out by the Scottish Ballet. We were invited along to Blythswood Square Hotel for afternoon tea, a wee pamper, a cocktail and a screening of the making of Hansel & Gretel followed by a Q&A session with two of the stars topped off with the matinee performance at the Theatre Royal!
On arrival at the hotel (a favourite of mine - I spent my hen weekend here) we were greeted with a delicious themed Woodcutter's Wife gin cocktail with lemon & ginger flavours and a mini candy cane! Getting a glimpse behind the scenes was amazing as we watched videos of the cast rehearsing and saw the intricate miniature model sets followed by the trailer. I was so excited to see the show!
Afternoon tea was also themed with gingerbread men and lots of delicious sweet treats, scones and sandwiches.
We were able to see some of the costumes up close, the dew drop fairy and the sandman which was super sparkly on stage under all the lights, my photo below really doesn't do it justice!
We were all treated to hand & arm massages by the lovely spa staff before we got organised to head round to the theatre for the matinee. We were even provided with a wee bag of sweeties to enjoy during the performance, in keeping with the Hansel & Gretel theme! :)
Everyone had made a great effort to get dressed up for the ballet in pretty frocks, I decided to wear my Phase Eight red dress with a wide back patent belt accessorized with Christmas jewellery - my Cachet snowflake necklace and Christmas bow ring from the V&A - and sparkly cardigan I received last year for Blogmanay. I also wore my new coat from Oxfam styled with another wide black belt and black fringe bag from H&M and Office boots as it was horrible weather outside!
When we arrived at the theatre, Roz and I were seated in the Upper Circle and initially had seats right at the side (where we could see all the other bloggers in the centre of the Dress Circle) but due to our height, we were very uncomfortable as our knees were pressed right up against the wall. Luckily they managed to find us some other empty seats which also had a better view and were much more comfortable :) I would definitely recommend checking out the seats before booking if you can, especially if you're tall, we were amazed at the difference in leg room between different areas!
As for the ballet - it was absolutely amazing! This was Roz's first time seeing a ballet and I had only seen one years ago. Seeing how the dancers manage to embody the characters they are portraying, especially the children, to tell the story while also being so graceful is just magical. The orchestra was brilliant and the whole experience with the score, costumes, set and dancing really got us in a Festive mood! We weren't able to take photos during the performance, as I expected, but we were provided with photos and videos to share here :)
My favourite scene was one with the ravens, they start off as a biker gang before turning more bird-like in the forest with really creepy movements and when the witch joins them, followed by the sandman, the whole dance is just mesmerising with absolutely stunning costumes.
I think I preferred the story and dancing from the 1st half but I absolutely loved the set design in the 2nd half.
The whole production was stunning and we would highly recommend it for a festive afternoon or evening out, especially in conjunction with afternoon tea at the Blythswood! We had such a brilliant day followed by a spot of shopping and dinner at Silverburn as we didn't want the fun to end :)
Hansel & Gretel UK Tour Dates:
Last Saturday, Roz and I and some other Scottish Bloggers were treated to a fantastic day out by the Scottish Ballet. We were invited along to Blythswood Square Hotel for afternoon tea, a wee pamper, a cocktail and a screening of the making of Hansel & Gretel followed by a Q&A session with two of the stars topped off with the matinee performance at the Theatre Royal!
On arrival at the hotel (a favourite of mine - I spent my hen weekend here) we were greeted with a delicious themed Woodcutter's Wife gin cocktail with lemon & ginger flavours and a mini candy cane! Getting a glimpse behind the scenes was amazing as we watched videos of the cast rehearsing and saw the intricate miniature model sets followed by the trailer. I was so excited to see the show!
Afternoon tea was also themed with gingerbread men and lots of delicious sweet treats, scones and sandwiches.
We were able to see some of the costumes up close, the dew drop fairy and the sandman which was super sparkly on stage under all the lights, my photo below really doesn't do it justice!
When we arrived at the theatre, Roz and I were seated in the Upper Circle and initially had seats right at the side (where we could see all the other bloggers in the centre of the Dress Circle) but due to our height, we were very uncomfortable as our knees were pressed right up against the wall. Luckily they managed to find us some other empty seats which also had a better view and were much more comfortable :) I would definitely recommend checking out the seats before booking if you can, especially if you're tall, we were amazed at the difference in leg room between different areas!
As for the ballet - it was absolutely amazing! This was Roz's first time seeing a ballet and I had only seen one years ago. Seeing how the dancers manage to embody the characters they are portraying, especially the children, to tell the story while also being so graceful is just magical. The orchestra was brilliant and the whole experience with the score, costumes, set and dancing really got us in a Festive mood! We weren't able to take photos during the performance, as I expected, but we were provided with photos and videos to share here :)
My favourite scene was one with the ravens, they start off as a biker gang before turning more bird-like in the forest with really creepy movements and when the witch joins them, followed by the sandman, the whole dance is just mesmerising with absolutely stunning costumes.
I think I preferred the story and dancing from the 1st half but I absolutely loved the set design in the 2nd half.
The whole production was stunning and we would highly recommend it for a festive afternoon or evening out, especially in conjunction with afternoon tea at the Blythswood! We had such a brilliant day followed by a spot of shopping and dinner at Silverburn as we didn't want the fun to end :)
Hansel & Gretel UK Tour Dates:
GLASGOW
10 - 28 December 2013
Theatre Royal
Box Office 0844 871 7673
EDINBURGH
8 - 11 January 2014
Festival Theatre
Box Office 0131 529 6000
ABERDEEN
15 - 18 January 2014
His Majesty's Theatre
Box Office 01224 641122
INVERNESS
22 - 25 January 2014
Eden Court
Box Office 01463 234 234
NEWCASTLE
29 January - 1 February 2014
Theatre Royal
Box Office 08448 11 21 21
BELFAST
5 - 8 February 2014
Grand Opera House
Box Office 028 9024 1919
1 comment:
I'm so jealous, I'd love to see ballet I've never been.
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