341. Nederlands Dans Theater 2 – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 31^st May 1997

Passing over a jolly visit to the Moscow State Circus at the Battersea Big Top, our next show was a tour from NDT2, whom the programme refers to as “Europe’s Foremost Contemporary Dance Company”, and they were certainly a contender for that title. The Youth Department of the Netherlands’ NDT1 main company, this was the first time we had seen them and we were bowled over by their skill and artistry. The programme was Jiri Kylian’s Songs of a Wayfarer, Hans van Manen’s Solo, Johan Inger’s Mellantid, and finally, Nacho Duato’s Jardi Tancat. All the members of this amazing company have gone on to have rich and varied careers in the world of dance.

342. The Return of Sherlock Holmes – Middle Ground Theatre Company at the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 10^th June 1997

Middle Ground returned to the Wycombe Swan with Ernest Dudley’s adaptation of Conan Doyle’s collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, directed by Harry Landis. Leading the cast as Holmes was Michael Cashman, now a Life Peer in the House of Lords. It also featured Frederick Pyne and Nicholas Smith who had appeared in Middle Ground’s previous production at the Wycombe Swan. I can’t fully remember, but I think this had a very poor audience and as a result the atmosphere was a bit lacking. Great cast though.

343. Mrs Warren’s Profession – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 23^rd June 1997

Safe pair of hands Alan Strachan directed this touring production of Shaw’s third play, one of his Plays Unpleasant, largely a vehicle for another safe pair of hands, Penelope Keith, to be versatile on stage. I think we all know what Mrs Warren did for a living. The excellent support cast included Charles Kay and Denis Lill. Very enjoyable.

344. Lettice and Lovage – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 30^th June 1997

We’d missed the West End production of Peter Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage and so I was keen to see this touring production, although I was uncertain of the casting of Hinge and Bracket in the two main roles – much as I loved them as an act. I needn’t have worried; they fitted in perfectly, and it was an excellent production, directed by Graham Watts.

345. Laughter on the 23^rd Floor – Oxford Playhouse, 28^th August 1997

Moving past that year’s Pendley Festival offering – Macbeth, our next show was a production of Neil Simon’s comedy Laughter on the 23^rd Floor, with a fantastic cast led by Frank Finlay, also featuring Sandra Dickinson, Peter Polycarpou and John Challis. It was Simon’s recreation of 1950s TV comedy, where he cut his writing teeth. I only wish I could remember more about it!

346. The Woman in Black – Fortune Theatre, London, 30^th August 1997

Only ten years after it opened in London, we finally got to see this extraordinary play – and have seen it three times since then. Perfectly located in the Fortune to accentuate the intimate, claustrophobic terror of the story, it boasted two excellent performances from Robert Demeger and David Pullan. Still going strong! Nothing’s going to stop this one.

347. Carmen – Czech National Ballet at the National Theatre, Prague, 30^th September 1997

We took the opportunity to discover some Czech ballet whilst on holiday in Prague, and a visit to the National Theatre is a very rewarding experience if you should ever find yourself there. To say that it was avant garde is to underestimate its oddness. Any production of Carmen that starts with a naked dwarf jumping around isn’t going to lend itself too much to the original. Nevertheless, we kind of enjoyed it. Kind of.

348. Cinderella – Adventures in Motion Pictures at the Piccadilly Theatre, London, 11^th October 1997

As soon as Matthew Bourne’s follow up to his incredibly successful Swan Lake was announced, I snapped up tickets. Set in London during the Blitz, his Cinderella featured a dashing pilot and an angel – as well as some of the roles you might normally expect with this story! Nothing was ever going to beat Swan Lake and maybe I was slightly disappointed because of that – but this was a fine performance of an innovative new dance show, and the cast list was superb – Adam Cooper, Lynn Seymour, Sarah Wildor, Scott Ambler, William Kemp and many more great dancers from the Bourne stable!

349. Rambert Dance Company – 97/98 Season Programme at the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 18^th October 1997

Never missing up a chance to see Rambert, this programme started with Paul Taylor’s Airs, followed by Christopher Bruce’s Stream (which we had seen the previous February) and finally Didy Veldman’s Greymatter. The dancers included Paul Liburd, Vincent Redmon, Glenn Wilkinson, Hope Muir, Sheron Wray, Rafael Bonachela, Mattew Hart, Steven Brett, Didy Veldman, Laurent Cavanna, and my favourite from that era, Marie Laure Agrapart. Wonderful as always.

350. The Nutcracker – Vienna Festival Ballet at the Civic Centre, Aylesbury, 4^th December 1997

You don’t think of combining Vienna Ballet with Aylesbury, but they were there and it was a very enjoyable performance of this Christmas favourite; although I doubt whether many of the dancers had been any nearer to Vienna than Weston Turville. A crowd-pleaser though!