I headed out in unusually good time, for me, and arrived at Mansion House just after 7. It's weird how the sign for the Globe tells you to turn left out of the station - I find it much quicker to turn right and cross Southwark Bridge. And what a joy it was, to cross at a leisurely pace and enjoy the view of the Globe as I approached. As I walked along the South bank to the Globe, I passed The Real Greek - which, unfortunately, had something like a wok of hot food outside to entice customers. And I hadn't had time to eat much, and was hungry..
Anyway, I survived as far as the Globe, and picked up my ticket - another handy thing about LoveTheatre, I just had to give my name, and my ticket was waiting at the box office in an envelope. I had 10 minutes to go, and just made my way straight in - and up all the stairs to the top. The flights are short, though, and it's quite doable - it's not a very tall building. My bay was just at the top of the stairs - with just a slightly off-centre view of the stage - and my seat was in the very front row. Thanks, LoveTheatre! as usual. I had free seats on either side, too, which was handy for leaving my stuff.
I snapped an illicit photo..
(You're not supposed to take photos until the performance is over, but no-one was policing the Upper Gallery.) And shortly, the performance began. As ever with the Globe, music featured prominently, with musicians on both sides of the stage - and from my bird's-eye view, I could see all the comings and goings of the actors, who come in by outside doors and make their way past the crowds in the pit, to climb steps to the stage.
I love the Globe. There's a terrific atmosphere - they always have music, they always have comedy, and they always have a bit of crowd interaction. And you don't feel out of it at all, even up where I was - well, certainly not in the front row. One act had one of the actors delivering his lines from the Middle Gallery, one level down from me and slightly over.
The play itself - which I'd never even heard of, never mind seen - deals with the reign of King John. I'm familiar with the history, so was ok with the plot, which pretty much covers his entire reign. Mind you, the American couple behind me were remarking to each other, at the interval - "Did they just run through Acts I, II and III?" So I think it may have been slightly abridged.
It had a bit of everything - pomp and ceremony, sweeping costumes, dramatic speeches, a risible rendition of the King himself. The music adapted to ominous tones during the scary bits. And I loved it all. The odd bird that flew in through the open roof did give me pause as it swooped past me.. and as time passed, it got colder and colder. This was perhaps the only disadvantage of the Upper Gallery - we were the first to get those icy breezes.
At the interval, I spied some members of the group, pretty much right below me in the pit. I'd eaten a snack I'd brought in my bag - they don't mind you eating in this theatre. So I wasn't that hungry any more. But for the second half, I regretted not doing as some around me did, and hiring one of the available blankets. Next time, I'll know better..
At the end, I met up with the group outside, and we had a cold, cold wait to see whether anyone else was joining us for the pub. Some left - probably because we hadn't moved yet - and in the end, out of 40 that booked, apparently, only five of us went. And I wasn't even officially attending as part of this group! Well, probably had a lot to do with the weather.
We trotted off down the road - it was much warmer, walking - to the Founder's Arms, right in front of the Tate Modern. Got a table - it wasn't that busy, being midweek - and had a lovely chat amongst ourselves. I'd asked for a white wine, and she'd asked whether I wanted Rioja. For future reference, don't get it! It was the most insipid wine I've had in a long time - more so than the one I normally get in Tesco, a bottle of which costs less than that glass. But at least, unlike the last place we were, a bell was actually rung at 10.45 for last orders, before they stopped serving at 11!
Too late home to blog, of course. And finally, finally, I get it done! Turns out today that a couple of ex-colleagues were also there last night - pity I didn't know. Anyway. Now, as it happens, that same London for Less group is going to something interesting tonight - a show called Beta Testing, by the Circus Geeks, at the Udderbelly festival. Not that I'm stalking them or anything, but I do love my circus. Again, London for Less was sold out, so I booked my own (and now I see they're available really cheap on lastminute.com! Ah well). So again, I contacted the organiser, and he explained that they haven't made a decision on where to go tonight - we'll decide on the spot. And he's added me to the list. :-)
For tomorrow night, surprisingly, I'm not going with London for Less - another group, which I'm not interested in joining, was headed to a performance of Sibelius by the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall. So again, I booked my own ticket for that - a cheap-as-chips one up the back of the stalls; I know the view is fine from there. And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
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