Dinner and a tragedy.

August 21

Thursday during the day was fairly uneventful. But Thursday evening brought with it the excitement of getting dressed up and going to a show.

Myself, Jen, Una and Denise met up around 5:30, dressed in our best and ready to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s production of “Romeo and Juliet” at the St. James Theater. We decided to go out to dinner beforehand, simply because dinner and a show sounded very fitting.

We roamed our way down Cuba Street, trying to make a decision on a place to eat. I finally suggested the Matterhorn, both because we’d just seen on TV the night before that it had been named the best restaurant in New Zealand by Cuisine magazine, and because we were basically standing right in front of it. Plus, the hobbits named it as one of their favorite spots in Wellington. And, since all of us are Lord of the Rings fans, that was just icing on the cake.

It’s a very “flash” restaurant inside, but not necessarily as expensive as we were fearing. The main dishes were, on average, about $30. Una got a main of lamb, while Jen, Denise and I opted for a mix of entrees and side dishes. I got twice-baked gorgonzola cheese (which was good if you really like cheese), and a side order of green beans in a buttery sauce with roasted almonds. The green beans were amaaaaazing! I would go back there just for the beans! The atmosphere of the place was also nice, and we all felt very sophisticated eating there. Plus, we can now say we’ve eaten at the best place in the country!

After dinner, we hurried down to the St. James to find our seats. The St. James is a quaint little theater that looks very Victorian inside. The best part is the fact that you can see the stage no matter how high up you’re sitting.

The ballet itself was pretty amazing. I think it helped that I was familiar with the story, too. Because, even though there were no words (just dancing, and music by the Wellington Vector Symphony Orchestra), you always knew what was going on and who was who. The costuming and characterization helped here, too, partly a credit to the dancers. The dancers who played Juliet and Mercutio in particular were very good at expressing their characters. Juliet was a very talented dancer, and also a good actress. I actually believed she was a young girl falling in love.


The dancing in general was impressive, and I even liked to modern, simplistic set and costume design. It was just enough to set the scene, while still putting the main focus on the dancing.

I think my favorite scenes were the Masquerade scene, where Romeo and Juliet meet; the death scene at the end; and, my favorite, a pas de deux between Romeo and Juliet soon after they first meet leading up to their first kiss. It was so… perfect! There’s no other way to describe it. It made me smile.

I wish I had more opportunities to see shows like that. It was a lot of fun, and I really like ballet, I’ve decided. (Even my experiences with L. Bell can’t change that.)