Earlier in the day, I'd heard a clip-clop and looked out the window. Sure enough, two mounted police passed by - must be a match day, I mused (I live just up the road from Stamford Bridge). I'm on a side street, so we don't get much noise. Anyhoo, seems I was headed into town at about the time the match finished, because I ran into a swarm of Chelsea shirts. The Tube was predictably busy, but I adopted my usual practice of heading to the very end of the platform - the very front and back of the trains are the most likely places to squeeze on.
Despite the indicator board at West Brompton saying the train was headed into town, predictably, it turned out not to be. So I squeezed off at Earl's Court. The departure boards there said nothing about trains to town, and I began to worry. Took my phone out to check, and discovered a series of messages from our group's organiser, with details about a change of venue for meeting before and after. We were now to meet at the Strand Dining Rooms.. where?! Cue frantic internet searching, map searching..
As I was doing so, a train to town rather magically appeared beside me, and I'd just about figured out my route by the time it had pulled in and I'd positioned myself beside the front door. Another swarm of people pushed on, and I was quite roughly shoved forward by what turned out to be an extremely fat woman just behind me. "Careful!" I shouted. She seemed oblivious. Of course, from the conversation I overheard her having with someone, she was a tourist - even at rush hour, Londoners don't act like that!
So, crowded again, barely room to breathe until Victoria, where those of us who got off to let off others were left standing on the platform for some minutes until they'd all disembarked and we could get on again! Ah, the luxury of space.. when I got off at Embankment, it was raining, but I knew I didn't have far to go: up Villiers Street and turn left. I easily recognised the place, which has an outside terrace, segregated by partitions with the same logo I recognised from the website, when I did a search for it. I must have passed it so many times, but never went in..
It's quite lovely - lots of windows, mirrors, chandelier-effect lights. As someone remarked, it's not terribly crowded, even on this bank holiday weekend, probably because people assume it's too expensive! (what with the décor and the location). I had a quick look around, and spotted our organiser at a table to the side. Just as I'd seen her, the friendly staff asked whether they could help, and when I said I was joining people, waved me in.
We asked for a food menu - this was going to be a long play, and I hadn't eaten much before coming. And I asked for a glass of wine. I didn't want anything that would take too long to eat, so ordered a burger - well done. As the others arrived, one by one, and someone got her food, I continued to wait. When the guy who'd ordered after me got the fries he'd ordered, I started to worry, and enquired about my burger. The waiter assured me that it wouldn't be long, and made some daft excuse about it taking longer because it was well done. Yeah, really? For the size of burger I got, to have it well done must have taken - what - a minute longer.. Anyway, prices were decent - £9.50 for that (with fries), £6 for the glass of wine I'd had. I had time to bolt the burger and most of the fries, gulp down the wine (mostly in one go) and we were off.
Not far from there to the theatre, and we went straight in, our organiser hanging around in the lobby to make sure everyone had their ticket. Now, this group favours sitting as far front as possible, and tonight we were in the front two rows. I was in the very front row, to the side - terrific legroom, although it might have been nice to be seated more centrally. There were a couple of parts where my view was obscured.
Last night, I Googled Oresteia, so I was familiar with the plot, and curious to see what this revival would make of it. The stage is sparsely furnished in minimalistic black and white. A clock overhead marks the time..
They started a minute after 7, tut! They actually tack a prologue onto it - the whole first hour and 10 minutes, in fact.. in which we get the back story of what happened before Agamemnon went away to war. The rest of the evening, of course, details what happened when he got back, years later..
Modern clothing, mostly in monochrome. There aren't many characters - Agamemnon, his wife, Klytemnestra, their son Orestes and daughters, Electra and Iphigenia. Apart from these, the principal characters are black-suited men, officials who generally do Agamemnon's bidding. And there's a little old lady who skirts around the edge of proceedings.
I liked the prologue very much - it not only sets the scene for what follows, but also allows us to see the conflict in Agamemnon's mind as he contemplates what he must do - a more balanced portrayal than how he's usually depicted. I did find it a bit long-winded in parts - really, did we need to have every opinion we might have on the piece verbalised over and over? Mind you, the rest makes up for it - I don't believe I've ever seen a more dramatic play. Without giving away the plot, which loses none of the tragedy of the original but does have an interesting twist in the tail (no, I don't think you'll see it coming), there is plenty of blood, plenty of wine (Ribena, I could smell it), and quite a lot of screaming. Utterly compelling stuff, and I heartily recommend it! Why, even the pre-teen beside me, who was quite bored beforehand and whose mother had dragged her there, was enthralled once it started. Runs until 7th November.
Running time is 3 hours 40 minutes (hence the early start time), and there are several short intervals, each with a countdown clock. I recommend leaving any forays for the longest, 15-minute interval - I needed to go to the toilet, and by the time I'd made my way there, queued, been, and got back, it had taken me nearly 10. In the queue, I caught a glimpse of someone's programme, which left me wanting one; one of the facts quoted was that, before Aeschylus (the author of the original Oresteia), Greek plays were only performed once; after his death, however, it was decreed that plays could be performed as often as people liked - a measure of the popularity of his. I'd have bought a programme, but couldn't see anyone selling one..
Afterwards, I was the first to make my way back to the bar. I mentioned to the lady at the door that I was meeting friends, and she immediately realised whose group I was with, said our table was ready, and suggested I take a seat at the bar - a better choice than sitting on my own at a table. So I ordered another glass of wine, and moved to the table when the others arrived. Much conversation ensued - despite the kitchen being 10 minutes away from closing, the others, who ordered more food, were served. We remarked how nice it was that the music wasn't deafening and we could talk in comfort, and when the conversation swung around to the topic of U2 (I didn't force it there, promise!), there it stuck, and I was happy. Those concerts are coming up really soon, too.. of which, more anon.
On the way home, I shopped in a convenient 24-hour Tesco. I was pretty lucky with Tubes - had to wait for two minutes for a train to Earl's Court, then arrived there just at the same time as a train to West Brompton. And on my walk from the station, came across the curious sight of a discarded pair of ladies' shoes. Now, had they had high heels, I'd have understood, but these were flats. Curiouser and curiouser..
Tomorrow, I'm headed to the Scoop, for their free double bill of classical plays. Technically, I'm accompanying the Free London Events and Talks group, but with 148 of us going, I doubt I'll be much bothered with actually meeting anyone. Unless I see someone I know. Interesting procedure - this Meetup has no organiser; as the guy said, just go with your friends! So obviously, the point of having it as a Meetup at all isn't to meet, it's just to advertise that something is happening. Mind you, it's supposed to rain, and the Scoop is outdoor. Plan B is Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, which is showing at the HMV Curzon.
On Monday, I'm going to the Proms, and on Tuesday I'm going to What's It All About? Bacharach, at the Menier Chocolate Factory. I was thinking of a film for Wednesday - top of my list for Wednesday is The Look of Silence, which is finally showing at a time I can manage. The BFI is running it, and I've booked for the early showing that day, which was already mostly sold out. Gee, it's ages since I've been there!
For Thursday, I got a cheap ticket to a classical concert at Cadogan Hall - nice and close. Then I'm back to Ireland next weekend..
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