Musical: War of the Worlds

With nothing on Meetup for last night, I turned to Time Out.. near the top of their list was War of the Worlds. Hmm, ok.. heard the music, never seen the show - I decided I'd book. Plenty of ticket offers available - I got a nice, cheap ticket with Time Out. Restricted view, it said, but I checked out the seat plan for the Dominion Theatre, and decided the view from Row H of the Circle seemed ok.

With a start time of 7:45, I should've been ok, even coming from Guildford. Heh. That was until an accident on the A3 slowed us down.. and one of my passengers asked me, pretty please could I take him to yoga? which otherwise he'd be late for, and which was (fairly) local, in Clapham Common. I'm too soft, me. He got us there without getting lost (much) but I wasn't as optimistic about the route home - well, he showed me on his maps app and off he trotted. And my phone, when I dug it out to consult my own maps app, promptly died. Of course (really must get a new one). Well, I remembered the map route, and it was well signposted to the other side of the common.. at which the signposts disappeared, and I just kept going till I saw something I recognised. Which meant I overshot quite a bit, but what the hey, I got home.

Now, the Dominion Theatre is in the centre, and there ain't no way I was taking the car in there. Which meant train to Waterloo, Northern Line to Tottenham Court Road, and it's right across the road. Time was a-ticking, but that's a fast Underground line, and we flew through the four stops. And indeed, the theatre is visible when you leave the station (Oxford Street side) - after a delay in crossing the road, I scurried in the door.

I hadn't been in here before, and was immediately impressed with the grand entranceway and the decor (red, appropriately for this show). The box office is strangely discreet, tucked away at the back of the lobby on the left, but I found it, got my ticket, and charged upstairs to the Circle (again, noting the unnerving lack of people). As I did so, there was a five-minute warning - well, that's better than I normally manage! In glorious solitude, I passed the under-employed ushers and got to my seat - tucked into the centre edge of the front row at the rear of the Circle. So, quite central - decent legroom, nice n comfy, and the "restricted view" consisted of a low safety rail that usually wasn't a problem at all, and when it was, all you had to do was lean forward a bit. Otherwise, a great, central view - I was delighted with this seat.

The red decor continued in the auditorium - and from what I could see, the Circle was half empty (I couldn't see the Stalls). Pity really - but this show has been around for a while, and it was a Monday! Well, after a bit we were into it.. now, this show is based on the album, and almost the whole stage is taken up with the band: violins on one side, electric guitar and drums on the other. Conducted, from the middle, by Jeff Wayne - the composer - himself.

If you don't know the story, it's based on the HG Wells novel about a Martian invasion, around which Jeff Wayne composed a concept album - and then an updated version, in 2012. Hence the large musical presence - but he also incorporates elements of the novel, so we have Liam Neeson on a screen to narrate those, and we have people in front to depict the story: some singing, quite a bit of choreography. Michael Praed sings the role of the narrator, David Essex is his fiancee's father, Daniel Bedingfield the soldier he meets on the way, who has a vision of how society can adapt to the invasion. Jimmy Nail is the parson.

And..? Aw jeez, it's terrific! It's marvellously OTT, with fantastic visuals, (plenty of) strobe lighting, and the music throughout - it even plays at the interval. Oh, and they even have a huge Martian killing machine on stage, firing death rays.. gee, anyone who ever liked the music will love it, kids will probably love it too. Bit scary for the littlest ones, perhaps. There's been some criticism of the acting - sod it, this is terrific fun, who cares? If you think you'll like it, doubtless you will. Runs until the 30th.

Tonight, I got a cheap ticket to Orpheus Sonfonia Principals - a concert at Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair. And gee, it seems I have been here before! A carol concert, over a year ago. Might try driving again - it's not too central and should be ok in the evening.

Tomorrow, I'm back with the World Music Meetup - another concert at Sands Film Studios. Great venue, diverse artists - this time, it's a Zambian performer called Namvula. Great, too, that it's so much handier to get there from where I am now!

On Thursday, my second film of the week is gonna be 10 Cloverfield Lane - in my local Cineworld, so already booked, 'coz that's cheaper. Sounds interesting - SciFi thriller, in which a woman wakes from a car crash to find herself in an underground bunker, with two men (one being John Goodman) who say they can't leave, because there's been some kind of apocalypse. Produced by JJ Abrams, so bound to be entertaining - and, of course, highly rated to come at the top of my film list. I booked the later showing, for the free car parking (after 7) - which is just as well, as it turns out I have to stay late in Guildford that day.

I can afford to be out a bit later than usual, since I'll be working from home on Friday - flying back to Ireland for a long weekend, actually: for cheaper flights, again. On Saturday, my mother and I are off to see the Three Tenors, at the University Concert Hall - she's a big fan. Not flying back until Monday - which is a bummer, because (forgetting my travel dates) I'd booked a ticket for the Crick Crack Club. And now it turns out the London European Club are going as well - so that'd have been a good night. Can't be helped - I'd never be back in time.

I am with the London European Club on the next day, though, for a talk on Theatre and Language: Samuel Beckett "Waiting for Godot". Taking place at the Museum of London, it's a talk about the play, rather than a performance of the play itself. But I love Beckett, so that should be interesting.