Thursday proved a bit of a problem: hence the delay in advertising it. So, a couple of Meetup groups were headed to Beyond Bollywood, a dance show at the Peacock. And I decided that was what I'd like to do. Their event quotas were full - so I decided to book my own ticket, go on my own. But I have this theatre token from Seatplan, you see, and wanted to use that! Now, this is one of the venues that don't accept them online - so I had to ring the box office to book. Unfortunately, the box office has opening hours - and every time I thought to book, it was outside those hours. So I finally gave up, and booked one of the last two cheap tickets, without use of a token.
Happily, it's a theatre I can walk to from where I now live! the first West End theatre I've gone to since I moved here, of which that's true. I decided to eat in Gourmet Burger Kitchen on the way, where I had such a great meal before. Again, no problem getting a table - and sitting further towards the front of the restaurant this time, I got internet reception. Had the same as before, a classic chicken burger, with panko chicken, and onion rings - and a glass of sauvignon blanc. Sadly, although it was all right, it didn't reach the dizzy heights of that occasion - they skimped a bit on the sauce this time. Ah well, I got fed. Decided to try the ice cream, as I was early - I won't be bothering with that again, it wasn't particularly good.
And so to the theatre, where I started with a trip to the (very space-age) loo!
The usher told me I was in a box..!
Wow, it's years since I was in a box! which made a nice change, although, as clear from the photo, the view isn't spectacular - the near corner of the stage is cut off. Still, almost all the action takes place in centre stage, and with no-one behind you, you can lean at will. Plus, of course, being a box, the chairs are movable - so, although they weren't the most comfortable ever, legroom wasn't a problem!
Beyond Bollywood does have a skeleton plot - the daughter of a famous Indian dancer is now herself a choreographer, attempting to bring the artform forward. However, the manager of the theatre where her troupe is performing wants something a bit more authentic - so she takes herself off to India, to see the real thing for herself. And, of course, falls in love while she's out there - what would it be without a love story?
The main thing is the dance, though - this is a glittering spectacular, where (as a friend of mine remarked) the men's costumes outdo the women's for colour and sparkle! I can't vouch for its authenticity - but we are taken on a whistle-stop tour of different regions, with different amazing costumes and dance. And having so many Indians in the audience, there were several sections where the dancers interacted with the people in the stalls, dragging them out to dance, or just getting everyone to clap along. The second half, as you might expect, even outdoes the first for razmatazz! I hardly recognised anything - except the song "Jai ho", which she uses in her original choreography. But it's absolutely beautiful - a delight to be swept up in..
And it's over, sorry. Ended last night. But this wasn't the first production of it, and it probably won't be the last - keep an eye out for it! Highly recommended.
And I couldn't blog about it that night - because on Friday, I was back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners for a tour of Wild and Wondrous Wapping. Postponed due to one of the endless train strikes, so I was delighted to be able to make it now. But I had to be up early, of course - in fact, I ran into one of my flatmates on my way out, who remarked that it was unusual to see me up so early.. as I explained to her, if I am, it's probably for one of these walks. She thought they sounded interesting - sadly, I didn't have time to give her the link. Some other time, perhaps.
Bus again, a medium-length walk, and there they were, in a crowd, led by the man who, these days, wears a hat. Our first stop had a nice view of the Four Seasons hotel, which I'd passed on my way:
We were led down Wapping direction, which I'd never before visited - we kept being passed by the #100 bus, mind, which passed right outside my last accommodation! I've just never travelled this far on it.
We spent some time in the pleasant surrounds of St. Katharine Docks:
(the elephants reminiscent of the ivory trade that flourished through here). As we all filed in to the environs of the expensive flats, a lady who seemed to be a local, observing this rather large group, wondered out loud what she was missing! ;-) Mind you, not all the locals we passed were so impressed with us:
The whole area has strong maritime connections, being so close to what used to be working docks. And they have a lot of attractive pubs:
We visited St. Patrick's Catholic church, which has an interesting history:
Very Irish theme to the place - well, as Laurence pointed out, there'd have been a lot of Irish working on the docks!
(Interesting point to note: Catholic altars always used to have rails, which separated the clergy from the congregation. Most of these were removed after Vatican II - I see they kept the rail here! However, they brought the clergy closer to the congregation by having a second altar..) And yes, that bloke there is St. Patrick himself. Couldn't be anyone else.. him with a bishop's mitre, green chasuble and all. And he's forever carrying churches around..
Back to pubs - and we found Turner's Old Star, whose proprietor was keen to show us her gnomes!
Now, we'd had a lovely walk around what is (these days) a really pleasant area. But boy, were we ready for lunch - which was at the Prospect of Whitby. Now, I'd forgotten, because it was years ago - but I was actually here once before! with the now-online group, Spooky London. Man, I wish they'd revive their pub nights, they were excellent.. Anyway, visiting in daytime, of course I didn't remember.
Wow, service was slow - you could say they were overwhelmed. The taking of orders was chaotic - but at least we had most of the upstairs dining area to ourselves, so seating was no problem. And although some of us were waiting quite a while, the food was generally thought to be excellent, so worth the wait. And it's been patronised by many famous folk:
where they might have had only one kind of white wine, but we could have it sat out the side, overlooking the river. And so a convivial hour was passed:
One of the group had a birthday, and after this pub they went in search of coffee - but sadly, I had to pass on this, having a flight to catch. And wouldn't you know it - by eschewing buses in favour of the Tube, catch it I did! Just.. almost the first time in history it wasn't delayed. Glad I got to squeeze in this trip with the group, though.
And so, back to Ireland again. Yesterday, I got my second booster - in Ireland; they aren't rolling them out to my age group in the UK until at least tomorrow, so I said I might as well. No availability in Ennis, which is my closest centre, so I said I'd try Limerick, and had no trouble getting a slot there. But I had to be up in good time, what with road works, so didn't have time to blog.
I had some conundrum trying to figure out how to get there too, it being just on the other side of the roadworks - in the event, managed to get there just a minute late. A small queue gave me time to dig out my NHS confirmation of my first booster, which I got in London - and wow, this was a much shorter queue than I had at Guy's! Anyway, I was out of there in just over half an hour. (The injection site is still a bit tender, but hey.)
So, of course, I had plans - thought, if I got out in time, I might make it to a film. The film in question - a few minutes' drive down the road, in the Omniplex - was Three Thousand Years of Longing. It's a fantasy in which Tilda Swinton is an academic, with no family, who heads to Istanbul on a conference. Where she buys a curious lamp as a souvenir. Which, of course, has a djinn (Idris Elba) in it, who grants her three wishes.. pretty classic story, I was interested to see what they'd do with it. And, with it being National Cinema Day (in both Ireland and the UK), with discounted tickets, it'd have been ironic if I hadn't got to the cinema!
Well, National Cinema Day seems to have worked - the cinema car park was packed, but I managed to get the last spot. And the cinema had about half a dozen other people in it - pretty good for the matinee of a niche film. And we were all sat there, waiting - no ads, no nothing. About 15 minutes after it was due to start, an usher came in and apologised, said the projector wasn't working, but they were doing their best, and hopefully it'd work - but if it didn't, we could get a ticket to another film. Or a refund. Happily, as soon as he left, the film started..
OMG, it's a storytelling film. Ooh.. Now, regular readers will know I have a passion for storytelling. And here we have the film! Ah, I'd have been so much more excited if I'd only known.. so, our academic's field is - narrative! She's a narratologist - a studier of stories. We meet her as she touches down in Istanbul for a conference - and we see her on stage during a talk, dissecting the reasons we tell stories. But she soon finds herself caught up in her very own fantasy..
As in all the best traditions, the number three features strongly - when she meets the djinn, she is immediately suspicious. She knows all the trickster tales, she knows that tales about wishes are always cautionary. She is determined not to fall foul of this trap. But then, he tells her that this is his third incarceration in a bottle.. and so, we get three stories. It all starts at the court of the Queen of Sheba - then turns very Arabian Nights, as we move to the Ottoman Empire. As one reviewer remarks, history and legend collide..
It's visually breathtaking. And I found it completely enthralling. Go, give yourself a treat. Tilda Swinton, as ever, is terrific at bringing herself from a cold academic to a warm-hearted woman, capable of surprising us, her djinn - and herself. And this, for once, deserves higher than its rating. So glad I got the chance to see it. But I was way too tired to blog last night.
And so back - finally, after a severly delayed flight. Tomorrow, I'm rather dubiously booked with a new group - 50-50 Trivia purports to run fortnightly Monday afternoon trivia quizzes, upstairs at The Rugby Tavern - which is just down the road from me. All good - except I then got a welcome email from the group organiser, saying the first quiz would be on the 12th.. well, maybe he just got the date wrong! We shall see.
On Tuesday, I've signed up for a walk called Papers, Palaces & Priories: a Guided Walk of Fleet Street and the Strand, by London Walks, Art & Culture Explorers. Hope the rain holds off - or I might be cancelling.
On Wednesday - speaking of storytelling, I'm back to storytelling proper! Oh joy.. the Crick Crack Club is back, with Strange Girls, Beautiful Monsters, as told by Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, at Rich Mix. Good to see them on the road again!
And on Thursday, back with Watch Improv & Chat Comedy for Avocado Presents: An Improvised Play, in Baron's Court Theatre. Easily known the main group is back from their holidays - you now have to pay for this! and the discount code advertised on the event page has expired, grr..
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