Public Enemy (aka Enemy of the People)

Went to Public Enemy (originally titled An Enemy of the People) by Ibsen, in the Young Vic tonight. (Yes, as opposed to the Old Vic!)

'Tis but a short walk from Southwark Station. I've been in the bar here before, but not the theatre. The cheap seats are upstairs, and to the side, and I do like as straight a view as possible, so I went for the next price bracket up (£19). This gets you either a straight-on view from the balcony, or a seat in one of the rows close to the stage. And thus I came to be seated very close indeed to the action - although not as close as those in the seats in front of me, who found themselves seated beside the actors in the public speech scene. What was interesting was the little boy who played the main character's younger son, who was on his character's mother's lap while the pontificating was going on elsewhere, and, a number of times, whispered to his "mother" to ask her what daddy was doing. Couldn't have been heard by anyone more than a few seats away. Now, that's what I call staying in character!

Seats not terribly comfortable. The set was inventive, although I did feel a bit close - I was in row B. The play itself is an attack on the power of public opinion over matters of conscience, on politics and how it plays to the masses. The main character states that "the strongest man in the world is the man who stands most alone," - he incurs the town's wrath by pointing out that their new, lucrative baths are actually a health hazard. Interesting piece.

A German opera, Wozzeck, tomorrow night at the Coliseum, which is the home of the English National Opera, rather than the Opera House - which, ironically, is the home of the Royal Ballet. Go figure. Anyway, the Coliseum, largest theatre in London, is a spectacular building, but as usual I'm in the cheap seats in the balcony, and in the Coliseum that's a very long climb.. ah well, good exercise. I'd better arrive early though, give myself time to creep down to my seat - they don't have the handrails they do in the opera house, and it's quite steep.. need to take that nice and slowly! Again, they don't have the most comfortable seats, but this isn't supposed to be a very long opera. Interestingly, I browsed ticket agencies for this, and not only were they all more expensive than the official box office, but some even had the wrong start time..