Play: The Curing Room

Today was freezing cold, and with rain in the morning, it definitely wasn't a day conducive to fireworks shows. Instead, I found a curious show called The Curing Room, running in the Pleasance Theatre in Islington. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of seven Soviet soldiers, captured by the Nazis in Poland in 1944 and left behind, imprisoned in a cellar, when the Nazis retreat in the face of oncoming forces. Naked, without food or water, we learn what they had to do to survive.

Well, this charming show is running in a place I'd never been before, but it turned out to be quite easy to get to - Piccadilly Line to Caledonian Road, and a five-minute walk, left out of the station, left at the junction, and it's on your left. Couldn't be easier, really. No problems getting a Tube from West Brompton today, unlike yesterday, and no problems with engineering works on this line. Caledonian Road, it turns out, is one of those stations with lifts, and stairs only for emergencies.

It's not the most scenic of neighbourhoods, quite bleak really, but the walk is short. The Pleasance is well signposted - just turn in the gateway beside the sign, and climb the stairs. It's above Shillibeer's Bar & Grill, and they have a promotion where, when you book a ticket to the theatre, you can have dinner in the pub for £10 extra - but you had to phone to reserve, and it seemed too much hassle for me - I ate at home.

Upstairs, the box office is to your left, and I got a ticket without trouble. Mind you, I arrived 20 minutes early - I think the house was completely full by showtime. A small bar leads off the box office - there's a piano, but hardly room to pull out the stool if you wanted to play it! Two upper floors are visible, and were roped off - a nerdy looking guy near me turned out to be over-enthusiastic, and when it was announced that the house was open, he bounded upstairs! only to discover that the theatre was over the side, actually, just off the bar.

Seating is unassigned, and I got a decent spot, middle of the third row (there are five). It's bench seating, and unfortunately the back was a bit uncomfortable - my back was giving me trouble long before the end of this 90 minute play with no interval. The stage, as you might expect, is small and sparse. And once we were seated, the lights went down and the actors came on.

Yup, there are seven of them. Yup, they're all completely naked, and they stay that way. A light projection at the side explains that we're in Southern Poland, Spring 1944. To denote the passage of days, the lights go down again, and when they come up, the projection at the side tells us how many days into their incarceration we are, and the actors have formed a tableau that leads us into that days' story. Some of these stories are quite short - mercifully.

I couldn't believe how long their incarceration went on for. How these men survived in a bare room, no food or water, no clothes, for 39 days.. well, I don't have to go into too much detail for you to guess how horrible it became. It starts out jolly enough, and there is some humour. That doesn't last. Last night, I came across a horror story that speculated on the nature of hell. Tonight, I saw it embodied.

The nudity is by far not the most shocking thing in this play, and there were several bits I decided I'd rather not watch, as I kept my eyes on the ceiling. The least disturbing of the unpleasant aspects was the sheer filth - they started off dirty, and got more so, smeared with blood as well. And by the end, you could hear their bare feet sticking to the floor as they walked across it. Ick. Mind you, they were hard times - I just listened to a podcast with a cast member, who explained that cannibalism was quite common in Russia in those days..

Yes. Well, thought-provoking stuff. If you fancy having some thoughts provoked, it's running for another week, Tuesday to Sunday.

Tomorrow, I was intrigued to see yet another production of The Marriage of Figaro listed, running in the King's Head. Lordy, you don't see one for ages, and then they all come at once.. eh, no thanks, I only saw a production in the Coliseum last Tuesday! Mind you, you can get tickets a little cheaper in the King's Head - their more expensive tickets are the same price as the cheapest tickets in the Coliseum, their less expensive tickets are £2.50 cheaper. But then, I suspect the production in the Coliseum is more elaborate! No, instead, for tomorrow I'm looking at another play - hopefully lighter than tonight's! Listen, We're Family is showing in JW3 Jewish Cultural Centre. It apparently involves actors reciting the words of real life Jewish characters, as they listen to them through headphones.

On Tuesday, I got another free ShowFilmFirst ticket. This time, they're taking me to the opening night of the Buta festival of Azerbaijani culture! What's nice is that it's in the Albert Hall, and it's nearly two years since I was there. Then on Wednesday, I'm flying back to Ireland, where I'm going to see Dara O' Briain in the University Concert Hall on Thursday - and I'll be there for the weekend.