Eeny-meeny-miny-mo. What was I going to tonight? Depended how I got on today, given that I was risking the drive to the Guildford office for the first time. Not hard, once you get out of London - but London would tax the most experienced driver. Well, neither on the outbound nor the return journey did I get lost, so I felt like going out after. But I'd had enough driving for the day, really - and Give Me Your Love therefore appealed, showing in the Battersea Arts Centre as it is. Walking distance, a cheap ticket, and it sounded good. I booked.
I left early, and took my time strolling there. I arrived about 10 minutes early and collected my ticket - even then, they weren't letting people in, and I moseyed off to the bar and got myself a wine - in a plastic container, so I could take it in. Mind you, when they finally let us in - just after the show's scheduled start time - I saw some people apparently heading in with glasses - not sure what happened there.
It's an old council building, with some fine features - it seems that much of it was destroyed in a fire last year, and they're collecting for renovations. We ascended the fine marble staircase I remembered from the one time I was here before, and were shown into the council chamber - once ornate, now much dilapidated. Tiered seating had been installed - I was to find that my seat was about halfway up, on the aisle. Which was a perfectly decent seat. Thing is, the place was only about half full - so I was effectively at the back.
The play itself centres on a war veteran with PTSD. Who prefers to live in a cardboard box. Which makes it very surreal. This is actually a very clever device, as the play deals with really dark and disturbing subjects, while the talking box brings a degree of levity - less so as the play continues. In summary, it's a very interesting piece, dealing with dark topics. And it only runs for an hour, without interval - and it's always nice to get back some of your evening. Runs until Saturday.
The rest of the week is booked up - tomorrow, I'm headed to a play called Jane Wenham: the Witch of Walkern, at the Arcola. Long time since I was there - well, it's awkward to get to. Might be easier from Clapham Junction. Wednesday is my only Meetup of the week - I'm off to a Farsa Moneda concert at Sands Film Studios, with the London European Club. Really looking forward to that - both the music, and the fantastic, quirky venue. Thursday, I got a cheap ticket to Laugh Train Home - I've been to that once before, but this one is in Acton. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.. and on Saturday, we're off to A Night at the Musicals, presented by a local school, Coláiste Chiaráin, at the Limetree Theatre.
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