Play: 'Tis Pity She's a Whore

'Tis Pity She's a Whore came up in the Time Out listings, and sounded like fun, so I had a look at how it was booking. I was impressed to see it had sold out for last night, and tomorrow night - but there was exactly one ticket left for tonight! So I booked it.

I love the Barbican really - it's such a varied venue, and shows such a range of stuff - but it's such a trial to get to. I set off in decent time, but still just missed the Tube I should have got, to go my regular way - Edgeware Road, then change trains for Barbican. (I blame the woman in front of me, at the only entrance gate, whose card didn't work, but who kept trying it rather than let me through. Grrr!) Anyway, watching my train pull away as I headed towards the platform, and figuring that if I waited for the next one to Edgeware Road I'd be late, I made a quick decision that the fastest was probably to take the next train, change to the Piccadilly Line at Earl's Court and take that to Kings Cross / St Pancras, then switch to a train that passed through Barbican. And that is what I did.

I arrived at Barbican Tube station at about 7.15 (the show was at 7.30), crossed the road, headed down the tunnel, turned right at the end. I knew from the helpful website that the show was in the Silk Street Theatre, whose entrance is via the main Barbican entrance on Silk Street if you're going to a Barbican show. Interestingly, it's actually adjacent to the Barbican proper, in the Guildhall School, through which you're supposed to enter if it's a Guildhall School production. This being a Barbican production, I was to enter through the Barbican - so, although it was my first time at this theatre, at least I was familiar with the entrance!

And once I had passed through the entrance, I immediately got lost. Well, the Barbican does that to you! and I don't get here often enough. Anyway, I knew I should roughly be heading left, so I meandered into the lobby, and finally saw the sign for the Silk Street Theatre ahead of me. Pointing left, as it should. Good stuff! So I got there in the end. And joined the queue to collect my ticket.

And waited, and waited. The other ticket desks in the Barbican are much more efficient - there were only three people in front of me, there's no way I should have been kept waiting five minutes! The bell went twice for us to take our seats, and I was still queueing. But you see, there was only one person behind the desk, which was very remiss. And everyone ahead of me seemed to have some special request, for goodness' sake! When I finally got to the desk, my business was concluded in 10 seconds.. I took my seat, which was fine and comfortable, and then we must have waited another ten minutes for the performance to start. Despite having sold out, there were still some empty seats - possibly people who just hadn't been able to make the trek here. And it is a trek, for most.

This is a modern staging of a 17th Century play, set in Bologna. Ah yes, all things of this nature seem to be set in Italy! Anyway, the plot concerns a brother and sister who fall in love with each other. As you can imagine, it does not end well. But, if you don't know the play, I doubt you can imagine the scope of events in it! It's got blood and gore, nudity, murder, mutilation, and the fires of hell. Just as well they decide to play it with a great deal of imagination and a terrific sense of humour! It's full of dance numbers, there are a couple of stripteases, and most of the actors are very nice to look at. Just as well the performance was captioned, though - they've kept the original script, of course, and some of the actors were hard to follow.

It's great fun, but quite visceral, and maybe not for those of a delicate disposition. Anyway, the run, which finishes on Saturday, is now sold out completely, but keep an eye out for returns if you're interested, or for another run of it. It sold out its last run as well, two years ago. Runs for two hours, without an interval - but you don't feel the time passing.

And tomorrow is Hard Façade, playing in Club 229. I got a deal by also buying a ticket for their next gig, on the 30th May, in The Pavilion, Brick Lane. Great to see them getting regular gigs now.. Hopefully there will be a better attendance from the office at these than at the last gig I was at, a bit out of town, where I was the only one from the office that showed up!!