Stories in the Dark

This afternoon, I finally caught up with an online video - I'd booked an online ticket for Nick Hennessy's performance of the Kalevala in the Story Museum, in Oxford. Courtesy of the Crick Crack Club. And the link expires on Monday. It's an hour and a half long, and apparently they had sound issues - which they seem to have fixed. Mostly, it's a little dark..

But oh my, it's special. He's all about the music, this one - and as well as the harp and bodhrán he has on stage, he has a synthesiser, which he uses to record, and then layer, his voice, to powerful effect. As he says in the beginning, the human voice was made to sing - all speech is really singing - and this epic is sung poetry. The tale itself? Mad as anything you'll hear. But add the musical undertones, and it becomes timeless, something you might have heard in the womb. Soul music. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Tonight, back at King's Place - this time it was also the Crick Crack Club, with Stories in the Dark. Told in darkness - sounded divine! Got a warning email a couple of days ago - they'd give each of us an LED candle on the way in, which we should turn on if we needed to leave for any reason (no readmittance, of course). An usher would show us in, and out if we needed to leave early. And yes, as they say - turn off your phone before you go in.. quite right, too.

No earthly point in trying O' Neill's for dinner - I hit The Lucas Arms, which was less busy than yesterday - good to know. Same dinner, but slightly different - they'd obviously banged the metal sauce pot under the heat, which was unfortunate, as the handle is metal too.. made it hard to hold. The sauce was a little lumpy, but fine. But my, the chips were divine! much crispier than usual. And whereas yesterday I got to listen to Spanish, this evening it was French..

I arrived early at King's Place, and went straight downstairs - where Ben Haggarty (looking incongruous in a beanie) and his wife, Kate Norgate, as well as Martin Shaw and I don't know who else, were directing proceedings. Now, I knew we couldn't take drinks in with us - probably for safety reasons - but when I saw the downstairs bar was closed, I headed straight back upstairs again, to brave the main bar. After all, I had time! I hate this bar though - it's such a palaver. I asked the doorman whether I could just get a drink at the bar, he replied, "Of course!" and insisted on showing me to a seat. Ridiculous - the place was mostly empty. And then the barman wouldn't just give me a drink - he took my order, then asked me to take a seat and it'd be brought to me. Which took five minutes. (I chose the chenin blanc, BTW - prices are a bit steep here. And it is lovely.) When I finished it, I lost no time in waving my card prominently and asking whether I could pay - they do take an absurdly long time to serve customers. Mercifully, I got back downstairs before the doors opened.

There were lots and lots of (black) signs around, reminding us of the rules, and what to do if we felt nervous. Well, in due course, the doors finally opened, and we were shown in - they were more concerned with making sure each of us had an LED light than that we had a ticket! Inside, the lights were already off - which was atmospheric, if impractical. I was actually first in - the ushers all had LED tealights, and one asked me whether I'd like him to show me to my seat. Which was ironic, considering none of us had any choice in where to sit.. as the lady who sat beside me, to whom I got chatting, opined, it was probably a good idea to know how many people were seated, and where, because - well, the ushers couldn't see anything! She also informed me that it had sold out - I hadn't realised. She was actually on a waiting list, got a last-minute ticket. Apparently, capacity for this show was only 90.

Instead of the stage (which I guess they might have been afraid of falling off of), the performance stage tonight was a mat on the floor. And yes, it was pretty damn dark, when they closed the door - a couple of spots of light was all. No introductions - but we recognised the first voice as that of Daniel Morden. Now, I'd told the lady beside me that I hoped for something scary - well, his was decently so, the tale of a young woman, left alone to tend the family business, and set upon by a group of ruffians. Told in his inimitable style, I think this was the best of the night.

Mind you, Ben's was suitably weird - although I'd heard it before, the tale of the prince who, when he becomes king, discovers he's supposed to marry the woman that a particular ring fits. Unfortunately, that's his sister.. who makes her escape right into the arms of Baba Yaga, for goodness' sake. Honestly, what an unlucky princess.. Final of the night was Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, who just doesn't do scary. So, she had a story of Merlin having a crush on a beautiful young huntress.. who, mind you, had a novel way of dealing with him!

Storytelling in the dark has two aims, as I see it - either you want to scare people, or make them concentrate. If your aim is to scare them, darkness can work very well - it's easy to imagine things creeping around where you can't see them. Try hard enough, you can probably conjure up a vision of them! But as for focusing the attention - honestly, I find I do just fine with the lights on, and the performers to look at - they are very engaging, very good at what they do. I don't think the darkness helped at all in that respect. Still, it's great to see them innovating - roll on the next Crick Crack event!

Tomorrow, back with Cultureseekers for the Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt exhibition at the British Museum. Assuming it's not curtailed due to transport strikes - there is a warning on the museum website that galleries might have to close early!

On Monday, I've finally booked for Best of Enemies at the Noel Coward Theatre. This play concerns a series of debates on US television between liberal writer Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley in 1968 - the interesting twist here, given the time and place we're talking about, is to cast William Buckley as black! Had my own seat review on Seatplan to guide me in picking a seat - this is one of those restricted view/legroom theatres. And despite all the theatre offers flooding my inbox, I found the cheapest tickets for this on the official website! Mind you, what with See Tickets doing the selling, I found myself with a second, unexplained, booking fee..

For the next week or so, it's all Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS)! On Tuesday, for some reason, I hadn't seen their advertised event to see Orlando, based on the book by Virginia Woolf, and showing at the Garrick. For this, however, I found the cheapest tickets from Official London Theatre (OLT).

On Wednesday, we're off to see John Bishop at the Leicester Square Theatre. Love him, so I booked as soon as I saw this advertised - one of the few things for this month that I booked last month! Not that it seems to be selling out..

On Thursday, we're off to The Vaults Festival - specifically, The Welsh Lxdies, a bilingual show about the women of Wales. Then back to Ireland for the weekend again.

On the 30th, we're heading to Noises Off, starring Felicity Kendal, at the Phoenix. Again, cheapest tickets from OLT.

On the 31st, with a group I haven't joined in a Very Long Time - I'm back with London Dramatic Art, from whom I've got a front-row ticket for Sylvia, at The Old Vic; this is the story of Sylvia Pankhurst, and stars the excellent Beverley Knight. Completely sold out - this was my only way to get a ticket!

On the 1st, back with the Horror Book Club. This time, it's The Ballad of Black Tom, based on the Lovecraft story, The Horror at Red Hook, but told from the perspective of a black man. Last night, I managed to get through the club's book, and read the entirety of the story it's based on, which is much shorter - and less coherent. Again, the meeting is in the Prince of Wales, Covent Garden. Question is, will the kitchen be open..?

On the 2nd, I'm on my own for My Son's a Queer (but what can you do?), a musical at the Ambassadors Theatre.

On the 3rd, my first meeting of the year with London Classical Music and Theatre Group! We're off to Wigmore Hall, to listen to the Hagen Quartet play Mozart. They're Austrian, so that's appropriate.. I just need to remember not to drink the ultra-expensive sauvignon blanc!

On the 4th, well, Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners are back to Greenwich again. Now, I have been there with him before.. not sure how "new" this one will be, but hey, it was a great day last time!

On the 5th, nothing on Meetup appeals massively at the moment - I might go for a walk along the Ken's Events route, if I feel like it! (on my own). Or Over 40 Living the Life has advertised a walk along the New River.. I'll have to see, as I have to pay to sign up (refunds given to those who then come). And I might well change my mind..

On the 6th, my first actual event with that group. We're off to How Not to Drown at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East - the first event of theirs for which I couldn't get a cheaper ticket! So I decided, if I couldn't beat them, I might as well join them. True story of an unaccompanied, 11-year-old asylum seeker.

On the 7th, excited to be headed to see Derren Brown in Showman, at the Apollo Shaftesbury Avenue. Cheapest tickets with OLT again.

On the 8th, off to The Lehman Trilogy, at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. Based on the true story of the bank that collapsed. Got the last £39.50 ticket!

On the 9th, back with UITCS for Winner's Curse, at the Park Theatre - an interactive show about a peace negotiation. Turns out North London Friends are headed to it the same night - what, are they now copying this group, as another group did some time ago? (since closed down). And then I'm back to Ireland again.

And on the 13th, I'm headed to Allegiance, starring George Takei in a musical based on the true story of his time in an American internment camp during the Second World War. Showing at the Charing Cross Theatre.