A few weeks ago, Ingrid and I went to see The Threepenny Opera at the National Theatre. The Threepenny Opera was written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, based on Elisabeth Hauptmann’s German translation of John Gay’s “A Beggar’s Opera”. It was first performed in Weimar Berlin in 1928 and has evolved over time through many adaptations, including several film and off-Broadway versions. It’s a work with very powerful musical overtones and, despite avowals otherwise throughout by the narrator, it has a powerful moral message.

For Ingrid’s birthday, we went to see The Nutcracker performed by the Moscow City Ballet at The King’s Theatre in Southsea. The original conversation went something along the lines of “Matt, please come and see some ballet with me on my birthday! It might not be your thing but I’d love someone to come and see it with me”. As I’ve always loved a bit of Tchaikovsky, I said yes.