So, given that I was planning to go to Southwark Playhouse yesterday, and what with a Tube strike in effect as of last night - but with some services running - I had the idea to walk to Waterloo and get the Tube from there, the closer Tube stations being closed. (This was just relevant for the return journey - the strike hadn't started by the time I left.) But then I noticed that services are only running until 11pm, and with the plays not finishing until about 10.30, there was no way I could make it home in time.
Plan B: buses. Now, Google Maps, sadly, has been letting me down, unusually, with no strike information included. And on Monday, TFL hadn't updated its journey planner to take account of said strike. But, thankfully, it was working yesterday, and upon excluding Tube from my travel preferences, as you can do (which wasn't working on Monday either), I discovered that their simplest suggestion involved taking a direct bus to Shepherd's Bush, where I could, of course, take the Overground - or whatever southbound train happened to be passing. After careful research of the frequency of buses, and times of last buses and, particularly, Overgrounds - they have an irregular timetable - that's the way I decided to go.
The outbound Tube journey was peppered with warning announcements about the strike, and what time the stations would close at. I walked from Elephant and Castle - which turned out to be a shorter walk than anticipated, just a minute or so, turning left from the station. And yes, do cross the road at the pedestrian crossing - it's a busy road, and the theatre is on the other side, just past the bridge. I hadn't booked - didn't see the need, and neither was there one - and unfortunately, left my Evening Standard, which I'd picked up on the Tube, on the box office counter. Bah humbug!
When I got into the theatre, several actors on stage were having a singsong around a piano. Not to worry, this wasn't even part of the show! just an added extra. And quite appropriate for the time - this collection of plays, titled What the Women Did, is set during the first world war. Seating is unassigned, and is on (v comfy) folding chairs, arranged in an L-shape in tiers. Legroom is excellent. The singsong is composed of songs of the period (and they sing quite well), and afterwards the actors made their way offstage, after which there was a short pause before the first of the evening's three plays.
They all deal with the war, wiith the ideas of soldiers going off to war and the effect of that on those they leave behind. They're terrific pieces - rarely seen, the last is by JM Barrie. And they are terrific, with good staging and excellent acting. Also great fun - the last, in particular, is hilarious! All involve soldiers visiting unexpectedly. In the first, a woman's husband has gone missing, presumed dead, and she has remarried. In the second, a group of girls who work in a munitions factory cluster around a tearoom and entertain us with giggling and gossip - but there's a twist in the tale, later that night. And in the last, a group of old ladies gather for a gossip about what their sons are doing in the war. But - who's that at the door? And why is our hostess so startled to greet her mystery caller?
Sadly, only running until the 15th. And equally sadly, it was only half-full last night. Get out there and see it, people! It's more entertaining than most. Oh, and the stated 150 minute running time is really 140, including two intervals.
Sadder was the fact that it was lashing rain when I ventured outside. But anyway, I made my way to where Google Maps Streetview had told me there was a stop for the bus I was to catch, just across from the station I arrived at. The roundabout there is huge, with many exits, and I had worried about finding it - but it was easy, in the end, being right beside the London College of Communication. The stop, mercifully, was covered, with an lcd display that reassured us of when our buses were to arrive.
Now, this was the longest bus journey I've ever taken in London (the 148), and I was boarding at nearly the beginning of the route, so it was quite empty. Just as well - it filled to bursting later on. It would've been a nice trip if you could have seen more from the windows, which were fogged up and rain-spattered. But leaving Southwark, you could see Big Ben - I checked the time on my watch by it - and the lights of the City. We crossed Westminster Bridge, with a good view of the London Eye on the right, then up past Westminster Cathedral, and past the Hilton, Dorchester, and Marriott, through Notting Hill. Not a bad tourist bus..
Half the bus must have got off at Shepherd's Bush, where I was just in time to miss a southbound train. The second-last Overground of the night was delayed, and I finally arrived home at about 11.50 - too late to blog.
So. Tonight, I've booked Happy Days at the Young Vic. More Beckett! And more Tube disruption. However, with limited services running until 11, and this play on earlier, and not so far out, I should be able to get the Tube most of the way. TFL advises taking the Tube to Embankment and walking - which walk would take 18 minutes, according to Google. Great - except for the way the weather just turned. I think I may take their other suggestion, walk up the road from Embankment to Charing Cross, take a train from there to Waterloo, and walk from there, which would save a lot of time in the open!
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