Musical: Reasons to be Cheerful

Today, I was back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for another musical - Reasons to be Cheerful. It's also available on YouTube. Interestingly, for the talk after, we were supposed to be back on Jitsi again..! 

I was a little late starting, this time - stuff got on top of me, and I joined as soon as I could. Now, I don't know much about Ian Dury and the Blockheads, on whose music this is based - for a start, the title is taken from one of their hits. As the show progressed, though, I did recognise some. The performance was given at the Theatre Royal, Stratford, by Graeae, an acting group with disabilities - some missing limbs, or deaf. Interestingly, the name comes from Greek mythological sisters, who share one eye and one tooth among the three of them..

Anyway, they do an excellent job in what's basically a jukebox musical. The story is simple but poignant - the main characters are massive fans, but haven't managed to get tickets to the band's sold-out gigs. But fate intervenes - and it looks like they can get enough tickets to take along the main character's dad, who's dying of cancer. Turns out to be a memorable night..

Protest music, this. A little before my time - but still highly relevant. I was also living in another country at the time, and didn't have the exposure - but hey, I did know some of the songs, and they're all well performed and catchy. With a decent storyline, this does make for an entertaining session.

The talk afterwards wasn't entirely successful - I'd thought we had a Jitsi link, then it turned out to be Zoom - and our host had audio problems. Ditto when we switched to Jitsi - as someone remarked, wasn't the quality better at the start of lockdown?! So, not ideal - but still, it was good to chat to people, and to hear that everyone enjoyed it. Showing till the 3rd of August. Includes subtitles.

Tomorrow, thinking of film - Mubi's highest rated offering is still I Vitelloni.

London Literary Walks' music quiz is still running..

And next Saturday, back with the same UITCS organiser for - ooh! Matthew Bourne's production of The Nutcracker! Wow, delighted - I love Matthew Bourne, and haven't seen this. And hopefully, the audio issues will be sorted! That doesn't usually happen.

Play: Sea Wall & Online Hangman

Early yesterday afternoon, Up in the Cheap Seats were seeing - ooh - Andrew Scott, in Sea Wall. Wouldn't you know it, this is the one - written specifically for him - that I missed, back in 2018! By minutes! Because of moving into my new flat, and I'd bought an expensive ticket 'n' all. Two minutes over, and they wouldn't let me into the Old Vic, and had nowhere for me to watch on screen. Tsk. Well, another I finally got to see.. and was really looking forward to. And I had just as good a view as I would have had on that occasion!

Started a little early, as usual - though apart from a couple of buffering issues at the start, it worked fine. It's a one-man show - in the film version, Andrew Scott starts the camera and starts chatting to you. Uneasily. The play is directed straight at the audience. And it meanders pleasantly, as you try to figure out what it's about.. he launches straight into a heap of anecdotes, without context or explanation.

You just know something is coming. So it's not entirely a surprise when it hits - what is surprising is the way it completely blindsides you. Make no mistake, the shortness of the play has no effect on the power of the message - and the aftereffects creep up on you so slowly that it's no wonder that several of us were crying on the call afterwards.

Beautifully written, beautifully acted. Natural speech, natural delivery - you have no warning of what's going to happen, or when - just as the narrator doesn't. Absolutely devastating. What a combo of things to watch this weekend.. although it was supposed to stop free streaming this evening, I think, it's now viewable until 9pm (BST) next Monday - because it's proved so popular. And for a review, check out the excellent Q+A with the playwright and Andrew Scott, which took place during its brief showing at the Old Vic. But make sure you've seen the play first, as - of course - there are spoilers. Seems to be based on the writer's personal experiences - intensely reworked. Fascinating to hear what Andrew Scott says about the connection between this and Hamlet. Also interesting to hear that this brief run was the longest it had anywhere..

See this. Oh, and you can pay $6 and download it..

The Jitsi call afterwards worked ok for me, although some had problems. And we were almost all blown away by the sheer power of the piece. As someone remarked, the silences spoke louder than the words..

Later that afternoon, London Social Detours (LSD) had an online game of hangman! Well-known play or book titles, which we had to suggest. So we learned to use Zoom's whiteboard feature - we'll all be tech wizards after this. And although we could all have annotated, the host did it all herself - entering the spaces for letters, with instruction from us, and drawing the hangman. I only got two, but hey. And I provided the only unguessable  book title of the day - after which we ended the call - with Wolf Hall! which, you see, lacks many common letters..

Had to be up early this morning for a meeting - the week is chock-full of them. And what with watching supplementary videos about the play, it's taken forever to do this blog.

We've been given another round of the London Literary Walks quiz - well actually, its companion quiz. Which I've about half answered - will take another look when I get a chance.

And on Saturday, back with LSD for an NPG talk on Richard III.. specifically, on what a famous portrait of him can tell us about his true character..

Musical: Cats

Today, I was supposed to be back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for The Midnight Gang Musical, from Chichester Festival Theatre. But isn't it a good job it was free.. because another UITCS group was meeting at the same time to see this week's Andrew Lloyd Webber offering. Which is.. Cats! Starring Elaine Paige and Sir John Mills. I've always, always wanted to see this show, so cancelled the other. Available from yesterday evening for 24 hours in the UK - 48 hours everywhere else, interestingly!

I started watching a little early - always advisable, as someone with buffering issues discovered. Ah, what a difference from By Jeeves, last week! (Seems that Andrew Lloyd Webber has given a shout-out to anyone who lasted through it!). His material is just better suited to flamboyant productions, I think, and big ideas - the niceties of an English drawing room don't bring out his greatest talents.

This, however, is a delight.. I think we all felt the same. The costumes are great - the dancing is good, although personally I was enjoying the music, and just wished they'd get back to it. And oh, the music.. it turns out, however, that mostly it's taken from the poetry collection on which the show is based, T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. (Cat lovers take note, you're bound to find familiar felines here.) Expect some clever quips.

So, I had a ball. But what elevates it beyond a whimsical way to spend a couple of hours is that one song that Lloyd Webber apparently dashed off quickly, upon hearing that Elaine Paige had been cast. This version of Memory is absolutely devastating - as someone remarked, she's ruined the role for everyone else. I swear, one moment in this song provides enough justification for the existence of musical theatre. And the closeups that you get in this online version.. I just melted. I don't often give my laptop a round of applause - this, I gave two. For goodness' sake, check it out.. I'm curious as to why the film version is panned - but having seen Jennifer Hudson sing a snatch of Memory in the trailer, I think I'll skip it - not a patch on this.

For the videoconferencing afterwards, Jitsi was fine on my phone, although the smaller screen proved awkward for seeing everyone, once more people joined. But reception was good, and I'll be using my phone for Jitsi in future.

Early tomorrow afternoon, UITCS are seeing - ooh - Andrew Scott, in Sea Wall. Wouldn't you know it, this is the one - written specifically for him - that I missed, back in 2018! By minutes! Because of moving into my new flat, and I'd bought an expensive ticket 'n' all. Two minutes over, and they wouldn't let me into the Old Vic, and had nowhere for me to watch on screen. Tsk. Well, another I finally get to see.. and am really looking forward to.

Later that afternoon, London Social Detours (LSD) has an online game of hangman! Well-known play or book titles, which we have to suggest.. I'll have to get thinking!

Monday, of course, sees another round of the London Literary Walks quiz.

And next Saturday, back with LSD for an NPG talk on Richard III.. specifically, on what a famous portrait of him can tell us about his true character..

Musical: By Jeeves

Today, I was back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - conveniently, an afternoon Meetup, where we were back watching an Andrew Lloyd Webber offering. This time, it was By Jeeves. The discussion afterwards was be on Jitsi, though - so I decided to position myself closer to the router, as I had terrible trouble with this before.

Started a bit early, as usual - which was just as well, with the odd need to leave the computer, and given that I needed to finish in time for the post-show chat. It starts well - you're positioned right in the thick of things, as an audience member for a church hall show, starring Bertie Wooster. As usual, he's ably assisted by his man, Jeeves. The show starts in a surprisingly (for Andrew Lloyd Webber) non-musical way, in slapstick fashion, and when his initial plan of playing the banjo falls through, we're instead taken through an extended anecdote from Wooster's memoirs - which comprises most of the rest of the show. They have to send for another banjo, you see - which arrives in time for the finale.

Ah lordy. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeeves & Wooster do not mix. Don't get me wrong - I love both of them, separately. I used to love the tv show. Someone in the post-show chat remarked that she roared with laughter at the books. We pretty much all agreed that this show, however, just isn't funny. I wondered at the fact that Lloyd Webber was involved in something with so little music - in the beginning, at least. He couldn't find a way to work Jeeves into the music, I think - so when Jeeves features, there is no music.

Soon, we're into a madcap romantic adventure in a country house. Mistaken identities, lots of different pairings - and the songs arrive. I did like one in the middle, about love being like a maze - but overall, this was underwhelming. Also too long - the tv series struck it right, at an hour per episode; this version, at over two hours, is just too much, and I lost interest. Was glad when it was over. Not recommended, and it's unsurprising that I hadn't heard of it before.

For the post-show chat, I didn't find that my change of location did much good - had a thought, and switched to my phone, which was much better. I'll use that for Jitsi in future. But it was great to see, and chat to, everyone!

Tomorrow sees London Literary Walks' next quiz.

And on Saturday, I'm back with UITCS for The Midnight Gang Musical, from Chichester Festival Theatre. And hopefully, Jitsi will work - third time lucky..?

Concert: Tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber

Today - middle of the day, for once - Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) was watching this weekend's offering by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This time, it's his 50th birthday concert, featuring a famous cast singing his most famous numbers at the Albert Hall. And I was delighted to be able to join them, for once!

I started early, to give myself a little break before the chat afterwards - I'd never used Jitsi before, which they use for chats, and thought it might be good to give myself some leeway. You can watch through Andrew Lloyd Webber's own website - or through his The Shows Must Go On channel, on YouTube, as I did.

And goodness, I was in seventh heaven with this concert - it's glorious! It was filmed in 1998, mind, which explains why you see some oddly young-looking famous faces. Donny Osmond reprising Joseph and the Amazing Techicolor Dreamcoat, anyone? Or Sarah Brightman! (I agreed with comments afterwards about how artificial she looks - in comparison with other female singers in the show.) It was fun, guessing what would come up next - and most of the big numbers are there. And there are some real surprises - Antonio Banderas, Glenn Close - and what on earth were Boyzone doing, plonked in the middle? Ronan Keating gives Michael Ball a cheeky wink for the finale. My personal favourite - probably Elaine Paige, singing Memory to end the show.. she smashed it. Available for a few more hours at time of writing, and highly recommended.

Sadly, the Jitsi call afterwards was underwhelming - it just couldn't cope with my internet connection, even with my video turned off. Others had trouble too. I've never had these problems with Zoom - it's a pity this group always uses Jitsi. Ah well, who knows when I'll next be able to join them for a chat? It was good to see them, anyway.

This evening, they're back with Hampstead Theatre for The Arrest of Ai Weiwei. I was thinking of watching it too - but it didn't take me long to realise I'd seen it before! Seven years ago.. my first time ever there, in fact! I think this is the last of their online broadcasts, sadly - available until 10pm. I guess they expected to be open again, after that.

And damnation, I keep forgetting to mention that I'm attending storytelling on Wednesday! Yes, I intend to skive off for an hour - one of my favourite storytellers, Nick Hennessey, is hanging out for an hour on Facebook.

Now, Friday is a bank holiday (VE Day) - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow UITCS' lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..

..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..