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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Sarah Frater's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Monica Mason.
Cast: The Royal Ballet
Description: Tchaikovsky's ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa, with additional production from Monica Mason and Christopher Newton.
Times: Nov 11 & 12, 16, 19, 24, Jan 18 & 19, 21, 7.30pm, Nov 14, 21, Jan 23, 7pm, mats Nov 14, 21, Jan 23, 1.30pm
Price: £5-£479.60
Trains: Tube: Covent Garden 
Phone: 0207304 4000
Website: www.roh.org.uk
Email: onlinebooking@roh.org.uk
Extra info: Air Conditioning, Food
Big old ballet with majestic sweep: Genesia Rosata as Carabosse
Given she’s been off injured for a year, Sarah Lamb understandably took things carefully.
Although she had a small part in the season-opening Mayerling, Sleeping Beauty is Lamb’s first three-act biggie since the injury (she broke three metatarsal bones in her left foot in Paris), and her performance deserved every one of the flowers the Opera House arranged for her curtain call.
The American-born Lamb is a slender, slightly reserved dancer, and her interpretation of Princess Aurora is as a refined, shy young girl.
It works well and gives Ivan Putrov’s Prince, a naturally more ardent performer, something to act against. The way the pair play it, he brings out Lamb’s delicate Princess and she responds to his softly amorous manners.
Putrov has been rather over-shadowed of late with the arrival of the super talented Sergei Polunin, a fellow Ukrainian who’s pretty much cleaned up in the good-looking, floppy-haired, young talent stakes. It’s a shame, as Putrov is an able performer and fine actor, and it would be good to see more of him.
Polunin himself disappointed nobody in the Act III Florestan pas de trois, while Steven McRae was pin-perfect in the Bluebird duet with the mistress of precision Laura Morera as Princess Florine. Marianela Nunez corralled the action with her clearly mimed and graciously mannered Lilac Fairy.
The Sleeping Beauty is a big, old ballet with a fairy tale plot that’s easy to mock. It is, of course, both a majestic sweep of culture and a steely reminder of the importance of good connections — Princess Aurora would be stumped without the Lilac Fairy’s address book. Beauty is also the toughest of tests for a ballet company.
It requires dancers with both tungsten technique and gentle manners. Few can sustain this for its three-hour duration, let alone bring a British identity to this most international of ballets.
With the Royal’s current Beauty, a restaging of its famous 1946 production, we can be optimistic.
In rep until 24 November (020 7304 4000. www.roh.org.uk).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
