Who's more artful than the

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"Who put the 'jolly' in Jolly Roger?/ Who put the treasure in the chest?/ Who's more artful than the Artful Dodger?/ Who's more scary than the Marie Celeste?" ask the pirates in their sycophantic eulogy of Hook.The Lost Boys are also very charming – wild-haired would-be toughs who warn us that foolish opponents "soon find to their cost/ That there's been no fight that the Lost Boys lost" – later hilariously converting those rhetorical questions to silly statements in a rousing reprise. James Gillan is a personable, clear-voiced Peter, but neither the staging nor the songs allow him to communicate the full tragic ambivalence of this figure – debarred, in his wilfully arrested development, from the pleasures as well as the penalties of growing up and a spectre at the emotional feast when the Darling children return home. The deeper notes of Barrie's myth aren't heard hauntingly enough in a version which, in more ways than one, fails to achieve lift-off To 12 Jan (020-7960 4242). As a change from the Tchaikovsky ballets indefatigably trotted around by numerous small companies from Russia, the Russian National Ballet opened its Croydon season with Prokofiev's Cinderella before going on to the expected Nutrackers, Swans and Beautys.

This was a bold choice, since the company, founded in the late 1980s and directed by the former Bolshoi principal Sergei Radchenko, is on the small side for such an ambitious work, and so is its orchestra, under Vladimir Moiseyev. The show now comes in, with one intermission, at under two hours. Vetrov is also listed as choreographer, supposedly with the more famous Rostislav Zakharov, who created the original production at the Bolshoi in 1945, but I did not recognise any contribution by him.There is a peculiar new character, called the Time Lord, replacing all those midgets who used to represent the hours; and, to allow the Prince to try the lost slipper on several potential brides without needing scene-changes for his travels, the ladies are brought to him – a neat dodge, with the dancers who played the Fairies of the Seasons reappearing as Mauritian, Spanish, Chinese and Russian princesses. The young Olga Sizykh is outstanding among this quartet as Autumn Fairy and Spanish Princess.Radchenko and Vetrov were both character dancers, which makes it surprising that neither choreography nor performance reveals much characterisation. Valery Shumilov, the brusque, rather heavy Prince, does show an unexpectedly sour temper when searching for his lost love, but I'm not sure that's a great idea.Vetrov goes for the usual Russian idea of having the stepsisters played by women, rather than ugly, florid and bitchy transvestite termagants.

Anastasia Blokhina and Anna Nekhlyudova give these a deal of vivacity; the mother is played by a man, but Maxim Vasiliev does it pretty straight, not as a pantomime dame.Olga Grigorieva in the title role does what the choreographer has given her prettily enough, but doesn't show herself able to provide the personality and purposefulness that are missing from the dances. There is a jester, sparkily danced by Alexander Rupyshev, whose role is lively but without much depth, and whose dances become perhaps a little repetitious.The settings by Pyotr Williams were designed for the big Bolshoi stage and have been cut back for this use; they are handsome enough but don't particularly enhance the action. All in all, an interesting attempt at the ballet by a company that seems to be fighting above its weight The RNB season continues until 31 Dec (020-8688 9291). The January sales kick off today and those prepared to brave the mayhem are likely to be amply rewarded. These days, identifying the things you might like to buy when they first hit the rails then waiting until the sales is not likely to be anywhere near such a risky business.Only the most desirable labels – Marc Jacobs and Balenciaga being two of the more obvious – sell out the minute they reach the stores.But beware – those canny and fashion-frenzied enough to bother with this sort of stealth tactic will be up with the lark in order not to be disappointed.They will know exactly where to find their garment of choice and make a beeline straight for it. The truly fashion-obsessed may even have alerted a friendly shop assistant or two to their intentions – good customers in small boutiques may well be given the VIP treatment.Of course, the sales are never the best place to invest in trend-related shopping.It doesn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that buying something hyper-fashionable six months after it launched is not the most intelligent option.Instead go for classic pieces, or for less well-known labels that, by their nature, tend not to date so obviously.