I was walking my dog and I overheard a bizarre conversation coming from inside a house in my village. The windows were wide open as it was warm. None of my business, of course, but it's been bugging me to try to work out what's going on. It was between an adult woman (mum) and what sounded like a teenager. It went (roughly!) like this: Mum: "I know where you were last night." Teen: "I was in the city centre." Mum: "Yeah you told me you were just going to hang out with your mates and buy a few cans, but I found a theatre ticket in your shirt pocket" . Teen: "Oh. OK. We went to see Coppelia". Mum: "Who's Coppelia?" Teen: "It's a ballet." Mum: "Ballet???? Who went with you?" Teen: "Ryan. Daz. Jack Lawrence... (I can't remember the other names). Why?" Mum: "What do you think your dad would say if I told him you went to see a ballet?" No answer. "Have you been before?" Teen: "Not really." Mum: "What do you mean not really?" Teen: "Well last month we went to see Rigoletto." Mum: "What's that?" Teen: "An opera by Verdi". Mum: "Oh my God. What have you got yourself into? Your dad will do his nut!" Then I continued my walk. I would LOVE to know the full context. My guess - Dad is either hyper-masculine and would be horrified at his lad going to a ballet; OR his dad has some extreme left-wing politics and sees these art forms as being instruments of the capitalist state - or something. I would also like to know how the idea of going to see a ballet actually cropped up among a bunch of lads. Something like: "Shall we go and watch the footie?" "Nah, let's go to the ballet instead."