Duxford soars, Ballroom swirls between the poles of preference

There's heated debate these days over whether traditional "masculine" and "feminine" preferences are nature or nurture. Without cultural influences, would little boys dress up in spangles and feathers while little girls went for the toy armaments and beat each other up? In a week that saw a friend and me sharing two experiences at the opposite poles of the sexual stereotype spectrum, I'm leaning towards nature.

On Tuesday, we loved the stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann's gloriously camp Strictly Ballroom. If you had emptied the theatre of women and gay men, I doubt there would have been enough bodies to populate three rows. Too bad for them. It was the most joyous, morale-boosting, feel-good girls' night out I can remember. Four days later, with our men in tow, we had to consider what to do with a Saturday afternoon in East Anglia. I was pushing for Tudor architecture (Blickling Hall was just north of us), but only the Imperial War Museum at Duxford would tempt my husband from an afternoon with his laptop. And while I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the planes and tanks, there is simply no doubt that the Y chromosome holders bonded with the military technology in a primal way we girls couldn't approach.

STRICTLY BALLROOM
In a world where the stage show Mamma Mia! rolls towards its 20th anniversary with no loss of momentum, the only surprise about Strictly Ballroom is how long it took to get to London. The original 1992 romantic comedy is widely beloved and already has all the classic elements of a golden age musical, from the boy meets-gets-loses-regains girl arc, to the ingenue-to-star story, to the impressive dance numbers. Lurhman adapted his own work for a Sydney stage debut in 2011. It had run in Australia, Canada and the North of England before opening at London's Piccadilly Theatre, all to average reviews. But, frankly, this is the kind of thing where reviews don't really matter. The singing and dancing is up to West End standards. The sets and costumes look great. After that, it's a matter of personal taste. If you (a) already love the film, (b) have a deep affection for lightweight, innocent old musicals like Singing in the Rain, and (c) have a soft spot for '80s pop, you will have a magnificent evening. (Two out of three will do. None of my companions had seen the film; they all loved the show.)

Though it's remarkably similar, you're not just seeing the film on stage. There's a new soundtrack, adding to the show's existing classics (Time After Time; Love is in the Air; Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps) with favourites like George Michael's Freedom, Whitney Houston's I Want to Dance with Somebody and Billy Idol's Dancing With Myself. There's some interesting mashing and re-interpretation, but enough of the originals to have you tapping your feet throughout the evening. There's also a new character: a narrator who sometimes enters the plot as a dance contest emcee, but who is mostly just on stage to tell you the story. He's also doing almost all the singing, a big departure from the usual musical and giving the evening, at some points, the feeling of a concert with whoever is playing that role. I assume this was developed as a star vehicle for someone. In London, Will Young had debuted the role but it had recently switched to X-Factor winner Matt Cardle. (Who, paying some attention to the reviews, I suspect was more engaging and better suited to the music than Young.) The most notable thing about the rest of the cast is how exact their likeness is to the film characters. It is as much tribute act as independent work. And it's enormous fun, in the goofiest, girliest way imaginable.

DUXFORD

There is nothing goofy or girly about anything at Duxford, but there is plenty of emotion. Awe, pride, admiration and fascination come in waves. At first glance, it's a typical air and space museum. Big, multi-story buildings with lots of aircraft scattered across the floor and dangling from the ceiling at different levels. But there are depths of human interest here that I haven't picked up on visits to similar collections in Washington's Smithsonian or Munich's Deutsches Museum. Almost every exhibit has a personal story with it; the inside scoop from someone who flew, supported or designed the craft in front of you. You can get hands on by going inside several planes, including a legendary Concorde. (Yes, just as cramped as legend says.) Several military groups have regimental museums here, bringing more real people into the picture. And dogs. The para-dog in the Parachute Regiment's section was a highlight of my day. Need your tears jerked? Head over to the American hangar where a pile of twisted metal girders from the World Trade Centre reminds you of the protective duty the military aircraft here exist to fulfil.

American hangar? Oh, yes. During WW2 this airfield became station 357 of the US 8th Air Force, and 113 U.S. pilots lost their lives flying from here. The American museum covers their experience and shows a range of aircraft since that war, including a magnificently stealthy Blackbird and that F15 Eagle. The production line was one of the prides of St. Louis when I was a kid, and F15s performed at every 4th of July air show. My first job was at McDonnell Douglas, and the pride we had walking by those magnificent machines in various stage of production was palpable. Finding one here was like coming across an old friend.

There's a lot of beauty here, too. The exquisite craftsmanship of the wooden components in the WW1 fighters. Sleek, shining art deco lines of 1930s passenger craft. Cold War jets that look like they've come out of the era's cartoons or sci fi films. A Merlin engine, displayed on a plinth like a sculpture, is lovely enough to be art as well as breakthrough technology.

Duxford is huge. Don't attempt it without at least half a day to explore. There are five sizeable hangars of aircraft, covering everything from periods of history (Battle of Britain) to types of plane (land and sea, fold-up wings) to the restoration workshop. Even the buildings themselves are worthy of note: two hangars are charming WWI-era buildings, while the American hangar makes a striking modern statement. If the aircraft aren't enough for you, there's an additional building full of tanks and armoured vehicles with an atmospheric D-Day experience. All of the buildings are strung out along an airstrip which gives this museum its most unique aspect: some of the displays actually fly. You get to see and hear these beauties in action, including an iconic Spitfire. If you're well funded, you can even buy a ride in some of the aircraft.

All of these extra elements meant that Duxford massively exceeded my expectations. I thought I was sacrificing an afternoon to manly pursuits in order to make my husband happy. I ended up almost as engaged in the experience as him. Which just shows that, while we may default to "masculine" or "feminine" preferences, enjoyment of any activity can cross genders. At least, that's the theory. When it comes to garish, camp musicals however, I doubt my husband will buy my argument.