Despite my flatmate leaving the country yesterday without a by or leave, and without having paid a single bill since she arrived, I composed myself sufficiently yesterday evening to get out the door a whole five minutes earlier than last time. Ah, what a difference five minutes makes! The upshot was, I arrived 10 minutes earlier, ergo on time.
So last night was the second of four consecutive nights of contemporary dance I'm attending, at The Place, as part of the annual Resolution showcase of new contemporary dance. And last night, I managed to get out the door at 7.15. The Tube times were different from the night before, and I still had to change at Earl's Court, but I only had to wait two minutes for the first train, and a train into town pulled into Earl's Court simultaneously with us. And then we had to wait while the doors closed and opened fully five times. Obviously, someone was blocking them somewhere. Finally, the driver announced that the problem was at the rear of the train, and asked someone there to please give the doors a kick. They closed after that, and he announced, in a relieved manner, that we were underway!
I did have to stand from Earl's Court, but never mind. I arrived at Euston with 10 minutes to spare. After the previous night's experience of crossing a busy road with no crossing, I decided to cross at the first crossroads instead, where there is a crossing. No crossing on the road where The Place is, but it's a strangely quiet road in comparison, anyway. And as I say, I was on time last night - on time to join a long, long queue at the box office, and muse that they obviously aren't used to crowds here. Some were buying, most were collecting. But they weren't letting people in yet, judging by the crowd of people gathered in the teeny bar at the theatre entrance. So I didn't worry - I just about had my ticket by the time the doors opened.
This time, I was a few rows back - but the view is fine from all seats. Then I realised I hadn't come across any of the free programmes. Well, a couple of people near me had them, and I managed to read enough over their shoulders to ascertain that the first dance, Between, had as its theme the difference between Europe and North Africa, between urban and rural.. I might as well not have bothered, the entire piece consisted of a couple of dancers swinging their arms around in grand, sweeping gestures. Put me in mind of fishermen, or something. Probably was what was intended. But I was glad when the first interval came.
With no programme to read at the interval, I grabbed a sofa corner and read the paper I'd picked up en route. When we were finally let back in, I got a programme from the usher, and was able to read that the second piece, Major Changes, had classical music as its theme, and the Clair de Lune as its soundtrack. Lovely! Certainly, this was the highlight of the night for me. Two girls represented, I think, two hands, each initially in her own rectangle of white light on the black stage - representing black and white piano keys, methinks. Having learned to move in synchrony, they proceeded to dance in time to the Clair de Lune, as though playing it. Really, it was a clever piece, and lovely to watch.
During the second interval, I got a seat on a sofa near the bar, and mused that most of each night is being spent in an overcrowded and overheated bar, rather than watching the performances. At last, we were let in again, for A Chair is a Piece of Furniture. Naturally enough, there were chairs on stage, each with a dancer behind it - making this the only piece of the night with props. So, when we were finally seated, one of them proceeded to announce that "A chair is a piece of furniture.." and then continued to the dictionary definition of a chair. While she, and others behind her, involved themselves in practices for which the poor chairs were never intended. You could hear the cracks throughout the theatre. Pillows and a rubber mat were also involved, and eventually, they released a whole heap of squares of coloured paper, kind of like confetti but bigger, from the ceiling. They waited until it was all piled on the floor, and delighted in rolling around in it, pushing props around in it, generally making a mess. I was glad I wasn't in the front row, to get in the way.
Two nights down, two to go. It's nice to have some consistency, actually. And with all this variety, finding something you like is pretty guaranteed. Recommended, if you have any tolerance for contemporary dance - some don't. Discounts for booking three or four shows.
On Saturday, I'm crying off the last night of Resolution, and heading to the Boat Show. Which isn't a show of boats, it's a show on a boat! A weekly comedy show, in fact. Mind you, I had the devil of a time getting a ticket - the official website is sold out for that night, and had directed me on Tuesday to LastMinute.com. Which was sold out for that show as of yesterday - but I didn't notice, and ended up accidentally booking a ticket for the Saturday after, when I'm in Ireland. Anyway, I contacted them about cancelling, and meantime managed to get a ticket for next Saturday from WeGotTickets. Now LastMinute have contacted me to say they've contacted the venue and are waiting to hear back, and what alternative date do I want? I've reiterated that I want to cancel, but plan B is to change for the 11th April - the next date when there's a decent lineup and I can go!
On Sunday, I'm taking a break from comedy - I'm going to a concert at the Royal Festival Hall, where the Philharmonia is performing. I'm in the rear stalls, as usual. And on Monday, it's back to Old Rope. Booked, 'cause it's cheaper. Ah, there's that consistency again!
No comments:
Post a Comment