Play: Lemons Lemons Lemons

This week is mostly Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS). Tonight, back with them for Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, at the Harold Pinter Theatre. This is a rom-com about a couple living in a dystopian state, which limits the number of characters they can speak. Lots of body language then, I guessed! Frankly, I was delighted to see that, by the time I booked, the Balcony was sold out - the legroom there is woeful, and good luck to those who'd booked up there. The cheapest price bracket left when I booked included some in the Dress Circle - and thanks to Seatplan, I thought I'd identified a decent seat among them. Cheapest tickets from the official site, but I booked with From the Box Office, which had tickets at the same price, but without the booking fee.

Looking for eateries nearby, I settled on Spaghetti House again - not the branch I ate at before, but I had a good experience then, so I said I'd try it. Also said I'd better book - and I was right to do so, it was quite full when I got there, at 6pm! They stuck me in a corner - my place had already been laid out, and I was miffed to realise they had me facing the wall - until I figured out that, had I sat on the other side, I'd have impeded what is a useful passage for them to the back. I was wary of being sat with my back to the waiters, but actually, service was fine - until, of course, I wanted the bill.

I dunno why I didn't try the garlic bread before - I did this time, and it was very moreish! Had the carbonara again, as it was so good last time - and here, they had sauvignon blanc. I was well fed, again - considered having a second wine, but at £12.50 a glass, I thought I'd see what the theatre was selling it for. Didn't really have much time to spare, anyway, if I were going to meet the group - and although I was left for a few minutes at the end, I've definitely been kept waiting longer to pay elsewhere.

And so to the theatre, where, joy, the Dress Circle is on ground level. Mind you, I had to climb to the bar where they were meeting - not that far, though. A large group, they were easy to spot tonight - and lo, the wine here is the same price as at the restaurant. Well, nothing lost either way then - happily, you can take it in. As someone said though, pity we didn't wait until tonight to get tickets - quite a few people cancelled last minute, and we might have got one for free..

Wow, was I impressed with the legroom on this row - no comparison with the Balcony! Back row too, so I could happily lean if I wanted. I was right over by the wall, but the two seats beside me were free, so I moved over one for a slightly better view. Not that I'd have missed much - the only action consists of the two actors, circling each other, and none of it takes place very far to the side.

90 minutes or so, straight through - and yes, by and large we thought it could have been shorter. It's well acted, and the characters are personable - in fact, the conversations they have are very interesting. The pre-quietude ones, that is. (I think that's what it's called, the Quietude Act. Something like that.) You see, after this law is passed, it becomes illegal to speak more than 140 words per day, so the conversations become necessarily stilted.

I couldn't help comparing it to Brexit - the passing of an inane law that does no-one any good, but is inexplicably voted for, to the bafflement of those who are against it. And just like the Covid restrictions, what do we find during the play but politicians making exceptions for themselves - the word limit doesn't apply in Parliament. Or in its restaurants, etc. 

Of course, what it really (to use an example of one of the words that one of the characters thinks could happily be dropped) is getting at, is a dig at Twitter, which used to have a 140-character message limit. And in particular, I guess the play's message is how much communication is lost in that - yes, you can get the basic meaning across; but how much richness do you lose, how much depth of feeling, how much context? How much less do you know about the person? Hey, even Twitter doubled their limit in the end.. Particularly disquieting is when, at the end of the day - when they use their remaining words for a conversation - on one occasion, they start to sing an old song (Total Eclipse of the Heart, as it happens). But then they have to stop, because they've used up their word quota.

It's an interesting concept - for instance, they briefly consider the effect on babies - but it did drag a bit. And the constant back-and-forth between pre-Quietude, when they could let loose volleys of words, and post-Quietude, where they're constantly counting them and inventing abbreviations to save words, is a little confusing. None of the concepts they could have explored really were dealt with - which is why it dragged, I think. Anyway, if you're interested, it runs until the 18th.

Afterwards, we met at the Tom Cribb pub - outside the pub, I should mention. Where we shivered as we discussed the play - could have done with being inside, but never mind. It's bitter out there.. Got one of those weird bus drivers on the way home, who wouldn't stop when I pressed the bell - happily, it wasn't too long before he did, and my way home from there took me past the shop anyway. And I did need some shopping.

Tomorrow, my one non-UITCS day this week - back with Over 40 Living the Life, for a dinner at Greenwich Yacht Club. Ooh la la.. The organiser has provided quite complicated meeting instructions - it'll be interesting to see how useful they prove!

On Wednesday, back with UITCS at the Arcola for Afghanistan is Not Funny, the true story of a British comedian and photographer in war-torn Afghanistan.

On Thursday, with them again at the Peacock (think I can walk to that!) for Bat Out of Hell, a musical based on the music of Meat Loaf. Awesome - just a pity it isn't one of the singalong nights..

On Friday, ending a run of UITCS with Lucrezia Borgia, by the English Touring Opera Company, at the Hackney Empire.

On Saturday, back cat-herding - Ivan suggested that whole day for, well, a lot of drinking. And food - he wanted to go back to O' Neill's. Well, he got in touch. To say that, unfortunately, he can't now make it. My other coworker from that company still can, though - as they've both said, it's been so long since they actually met each other! They can never seem to coordinate.. Still have to hear from my other ex-coworker with whom I'm in contact, as to whether he can make it himself.

On Sunday, back with Discover London at last - she does excellent walks, but sometimes they clash, and sometimes they sell out before I get to them! This one is Discover Historic Chelsea: From Quaint to Quant - 1660s to 1960s.

Next Monday, back with - you guessed it - UITCS, for Romeo and Julie, at the Dorfman.

On the 7th - not so much appeals on Meetup. Free Stuff and Free Events does have Free Community Singing with Ros Hone and the Global Fusion Sound Singers, which you can attend on Zoom, or in person at Fossdene School Community Hall. Which sounds just fine - except that this is the sort of thing I keep cancelling! So I'm not confirming until nearer the time.

On the 8th - back with the Crick Crack Club, woohoo! for Goddesses in the Garden, at the Chelsea Physic Garden. Features my favourite, Clare Murphy, along with Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, Laura Sampson, and Xanthe Gresham.

On the 9th, my final booking - for now - with UITCS, for Brilliant Jerks at Southwark Playhouse. And wouldn't you know it, I still had credit on my Pay as you Go subscription, so got it for free! And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.