Play: Moments

Nothing I fancied on Meetup tonight.. so I had a hunt elsewhere, and of the list I saw, nothing jumped out at me, so I chose the nearest one, and got a cheap ticket to Moments, playing at the Drayton Arms.

Now, it claims to be in South Kensington, which is close enough - however, when I looked at the address, I realised I'd been here before, and it's actually just 15 minutes walk from my house! (Well, my current one - I'll be moving come the end of the year.) Straight down Old Brompton Road. So, naturally, I was overconfident, and left it pretty tight - but I set a fair pace, and got there just before 8.

I knew it's the first door you come to (coming from the west), and straight up the stairs. So I hurried up there.. to discover a closed door and a couple standing by the table with the fliers. I figured they were waiting, so I waited too. After a couple of minutes, I did start to wonder - just as I tried the door, it opened, and a fellow appeared apologetically, carrying a basket that seemed to contain the necessaries to take admission. Good job I had my confirmation, because he had no record of me - but upon seeing it, he waved me in, and as it happened, I got in first.

I took a seat in the second row, towards the far end. It wasn't completely full, and I had space to spread out on the bench seating. I needn't have worried about being late - the door creaked open several times during the performance to admit people. Eventually, the guy who'd been late out front appeared back inside, to tell us that this was the VERY first performance, i.e. the first preview, and that it was a Nordic company - as I'd read in the free (and quite professionally printed) programme - whose principle was to hire Nordic people. And so the actors and writer were Icelandic, and the director Swedish.

It lasted just under 90 minutes, no interval. And started with projections - video projections on screens at the back, meant to represent the character's childhood, in what was probably Icelandic, and with a projected translation overhead. Which was all actually really effective! It's the story of a down-and-out guy, losing control over his life and his relationships. And acted primarily by two very hunky, bearded Icelandic blokes (speaking in English). Lovely.

The lack of experience showed, in the actor who forgot some of his lines - but covered most professionally. The writing was also immature in parts at the early stages. However, there are a couple of excellent twists, and overall I found it most enjoyable. Recommended, if you like things Nordic. Runs until the end of the month.

Tomorrow, it's back to Meetup - I'm back with Let's Do London - for less! again: this time for Carmen, at the Opera House. Goodness, twice in one week..!