Musical: The Pajama Game

Well, it wasn't as though I couldn't have gone to the cinema yesterday evening - I only stayed for one post-work drink. But Godzilla had slipped in ratings again, and the highest rated film now (according to IMDB) was The Voysey Inheritance, an Edwardian tv drama with Jeremy Irons. Now, had that been showing locally, I'd have loved to see it - but as it was, I'd have had to go by Tube to the BFI, and it was far too nice an evening for that. So I just bought something to eat and went home.

Tonight though, I'd already booked a ticket for The Pajama Game, showing in the Shaftesbury Theatre. So, despite another beautiful day, that was where I was headed - it was ironic that it was also the evening I got stuck into something at work, and stayed there so long that I had to rush straight from the office into town. As I was finishing up, I hurriedly checked where exactly this theatre is - I don't get there very often - and discovered that the nearest Tube stop was Covent Garden. Holborn was about as close, but one stop further on the line - so I quickly memorised the walk from Covent Garden, and made a dash for it.

Sadly, I didn't get a seat until two stops before Covent Garden, but at any rate I spent the journey worrying that I wouldn't get there in time. I gratefully disembarked at Covent Garden, only to discover a huge crush of people at the lifts - this is one of the stations where you're better off taking the lift; the alternative is the staircase, which, as they tell you on the sign, is the equivalent of 15 storeys. Unfortunately, two of the four lifts were out of order - hence the crush. And when our lift did come, we crammed into it like sardines.

Street level came as a relief. Then I had to dodge a whole crowd of rickshaws, which are popular around here. It was only afterwards that it occurred to me I could have hired one to take me to the theatre - never mind. The way, after checking on Google Maps Streetview, was easy to find, if not actually easy to walk, with huge crowds of people spilling out of the pubs and hogging the pavements. And by now I was slightly late. Still, I made it to the theatre under five minutes late - they quickly found my ticket and hurriedly scanned it, then led me through a warren of passageways, downstairs to the stalls. The usher explained that she couldn't lead me to my seat, in Row E, now that the performance had started, because the actors come in through a door there! So I took an aisle seat further back. Might have stayed there too - it was fine, except for the large head in front of me - the rake in the stalls isn't very steep.

The show had just started - I missed just a couple of lines, I think. It's a simple story - set in a pyjama factory in the 1950s, where the workers are dissatisfied with their pay. Others in the industry are getting a 7.5c an hour pay rise, and these workers want the same, but the boss isn't budging. Romance blossoms between the female head of the grievance committee - played by Doris Day in the film - and the new factory superintendent.

Well, it's your classic, feelgood, escapist, Broadway musical. There are plenty of musical numbers, the production values are excellent. The singing and dancing is top-notch, and the fact that the actors come and go through a door to the side is a nice touch, especially as they sometimes hang around there, bringing the play up close and personal. I cannot fault it - the only thing that jarred a little was that the lead actress was a bit older than you might expect. But she was terrific.

I moved at the interval. My new seat seemed to have more legroom, seemed to be more comfortable, and certainly had a better view - five rows from the front, more central to the row, and with a much better view of what is a very ornate theatre:

I was hungry, having come straight from work, and thought to buy an ice cream from the chap selling them. I was browsing the flavours when the woman beside me, who had just chosen two, was told that they would cost £7.20! These are typically small tubs, but most places only have the cheek to charge £2 for them, not £3.60. I decided against it, and reflected, as I returned to my seat, what an expensive venue this could be - aside from the ice cream, the ticket prices through their more modern website - the one linked to from Time Out - are terrible value. Shop around - it's hard not to find them for less, and 3rd party ticket vendors are very popular for London shows.

Well, but I enjoyed the night. I had a much more immersive experience in Row E, and was glad to be there for the showy numbers of the second half. Coming home, I went a different way - I had remembered, on the way in, that Covent Garden is exit only for several months because of engineering works, so I couldn't go back that way. Holborn it was, which I remembered was straight up High Holborn. I passed a Nando's on the way, but wasn't hungry enough for a big meal - instead, I discovered a Sainsbury's across the road from the station, where I bought something to eat at home. I needed wine, but thought I wouldn't be able to get it, it being after 10. I had forgotten that the cut-off time here for selling alcohol isn't until 11 (whee!). My, dragging the shopping across the city was a pain, though - although I had a stroke of luck in Earl's Court, where the train to take me one stop closer was at the platform when I got there, thus saving me five minutes' more walk.

Tomorrow looks like a film again, but it's too late, and I'm too tired, to go through them. I've done the As.. I'll continue tomorrow.