Well, I sauntered off in plenty of time this evening (unusually). Despite the unpredictability of my Debenhams trousers, which, equally unpredictably, popped their last button just as I was due to leave - it was sew it back on, or make a quick change. A change was made. Interestingly, my top - also from Debenhams - has also lost a button. But not all of them, so not such an issue!
I arrived just as a train into town was pulling in. Of course, the platform indicator got it wrong again, but both where it thought, and where the train thought, that the train was going, would've got me where I wanted to go. So that was fine. In fact, I was so early that when we arrived at Earl's Court, and the driver told us the other train would be leaving first, I didn't even bother going over to it. The train stopped and started so many times, mind you, that I actually got nauseous. Typical District Line.. I was glad to arrive at Victoria, across from which I see they still have the giant photo of a pussycat:
And then it's a short trot, straight ahead, until you get to the Buckingham Palace gift shop, hang a right, and it's just past the hoarding. Awful lot of construction going on around Victoria just now.
I was one of the first into the theatre. Aisle seat as usual here, although for this production the front row is good, as the stage is at floor level, so as much legroom as you could want, as long as the actors don't trip over you. And all the seats are at the same price. I still cannot believe, though, how - snug - the legroom is in general.
So, this is a comedy about the NHS. Don't go expecting some mindless slapstick though - this is clever, and surprisingly political. The first character to appear is Clement Attlee, who founded the NHS in 1949. The second is Winston Churchill, for goodness' sake! Throughout the first half, we're exposed to facts, figures, stereotypes. What you learn is actually frightening - and I don't know that much about the NHS. Oh, and Maggie, who did so much to destroy the NHS, appears at stages throughout, like a bad smell. She appears as a budgie in the second act. :-) The second act itself is much more humorous, following a family's journey through the NHS, and featuring a star turn from the Grim Reaper!
Oh yes, this comes highly recommended. Some people in it that I vaguely recognised, too. Runs until the 21st. If you have any interest in the NHS, this is a show you should see. It was pretty packed tonight, but not completely, so tickets shouldn't be a problem.
Tomorrow, quite unexpectedly, Bakersfield Mist came up, and I just booked it. Playing at the Duchess Theatre, it stars Kathleen Turner as someone trying to get a good price for what she believes to be a valuable antique painting that she owns. I hear mixed reviews of the play, good reviews of her. Hard Façade is playing on Friday, at the Vibe on Brick Lane. And I'm very excited about Saturday - managed to score a ticket for the matinee of Wolf Hall, by the Royal Shakespeare Company, with Jeremy Irons, at the Aldwych Theatre. This is based on a Booker Prize-winning book by Hilary Mantel, about Thomas Cromwell. I tried the book, but honestly found it rather impenetrable - too many Thomases. I fancy the stage version will be easier to follow! and I do love my history. Tickets are pretty hard to get - I paid not that much over the odds for a premium ticket, with key2theatre.co.uk. That was the only site with availability this week - generally, they don't have anything before August.
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