Afraid of the Dark

So, Laura and I went to see Afraid of the Dark tonight, at the Charing Cross Theatre on Villiers Street. Villiers Street, of course, has a couple of advantages over some other venues. It's handy for getting home - on the District Line, convenient for both of us, and also has plenty of eateries. We decided to eat in Café Rouge, at the top of the street, where we've both eaten before.

It was busy, but they managed to seat us, and service was friendly throughout. If rather slow, which I guess was a consequence of how busy they were. The last couple of times I ate here, I went for beef bourguignon, so I decided on a modification tonight and went for steak. Laura had mussels, which arrived (eventually) in a rather enormous and roasting hot pot. My steak, for some reason, was less hot, as though it had been left sitting. Still, it was very tasty, with a lovely pepper sauce. With the combination of a short amount of time and very slow service, we didn't have time for starter or dessert, sadly - this is the place I remember that does the dessert that tastes exactly like a Penguin chocolate biscuit.

Anyway, we headed for the theatre, whose location I vaguely remembered as being in the passageway under the railway arches with other businesses. I was right. We had booked cheap tickets through Living Social, separately, and been allocated separate seats. We asked whether we could sit together, and were told that Row M was, at that stage, completely empty, and we should go there - we could move if necessary. It turned out not to be necessary, and thus we ended up several rows further forward than we should've been. Nice one..

This play came with a lot of hype - always a bad sign. So I wasn't expecting much. Having said that, the opening half, in particular, was promising, with some classic horror touches, excellent lighting and sound effects, and, eh, audience participation. The main problem was that the story fell completely apart as the play wore on, and fizzled out towards the end. I do wonder whether this (anonymous) playwright just couldn't think of a decent ending. Can happen to the best of us, y'know. All in all, enjoyable, watchable, but not unmissable. And I think those with heart conditions can, by and large, feel safe in watching this. Contrary to what the advertising says. Runs until October 26.

I'm thinking of films for the next while. For tomorrow, it's looking like Winter of Discontent, a political thriller set in Cairo and showing in the Institute for Contemporary Arts. For Saturday, I've booked a ticket for Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, showing at the British Film Institute, because it was already half sold out, and for Monday, I've booked an Indian film called Jadoo, because it's showing in Cineworld, and, having registered on the site, I get a discount for booking. Honestly, I can't remember when so many new films were released in one week..