Another event with Let's Do London - for less! I freely admit it - I'll always try to go to these (assuming I don't think it's something I'll actually hate). The most fun Meetups around, the most diverse and interesting groups, the best value, and generally terrific shows too.. Cyrano de Bergerac it was then, in Southwark Playhouse - one of their regular haunts.
I hadn't planned to be in Guildford today, and then I was.. with great trepidation, considering the bad luck I've had with traffic lately! I was so afraid I wouldn't make it back in time. But, as before, the traffic gods were with me - I flew back, and had plenty of time to get to the theatre. Decided on the train to Waterloo, and a bus.. bravely, considering this was a new bus stop to me (Stop E, this time). Streetview was invaluable - from it, I recognised the bridges that told me I should come out by the exit for Stop C, across the road.. easy-peasy, after that.
So, at Waterloo I headed straight for - the Jubilee Line. Naturally, that's the way to bus stop C - just don't actually enter the Underground. Exit the station there instead. Stop E is just across the road, on the left - in front of The Wellington pub. I was looking for bus #1 - so naturally, it came as I was waiting to cross the road. Waiting at the stop, I did wonder whether I wouldn't just be faster walking - stayed standing there instead. When the #188 was sighted, stuck in traffic just down the road, I checked - yes, it went there too! So I caught that.
We spent so long in traffic that I probably would've been faster walking. Especially just at Elephant & Castle. Never mind - I knew I was in plenty of time, and which way to go, and didn't hurry on my way to the theatre. And I knew where to find the Man with the Hat - just keep walking till you come across the Hat, complete with Man, somewhere in the bar just to the right of the entrance to the theatres proper. This occasion saw him perched in a chair, absorbed in his phone - to be fair, I can only imagine the logistics of shepherding a group of around 30 people, most arriving at different times, some unfamiliar with the venue - or him.. and all to collect tickets that he was in possession of..
So he presented me with a ticket, and shepherded me to the back. Right to a back room I'd never seen before, in fact, which we seemed to have colonised already. Where I deposited my coat, returning to the bar for a glass of their quite good and very reasonably priced wine. When I returned to the back, it was to a group of people of whom I knew an uncommonly large number! Basically, I've been coming with this group for ages, and met quite a lot of people.. and lots were there tonight.
After a bit, we decided we might as well head in. Unassigned seating here, as ever, and by the time we trooped in, the section directly facing the stage was pretty full. Some of us headed to the side instead. A small group of us sat in the second and third rows from the stage - but there were so many of us altogether, we spread out over quite a bit of the theatre. And as we settled ourselves, the actors appeared.. with.. trays of madeleines?! Yes please - and many of us had one. This is a new one, the cast feeding the audience..
The play opens in a convent, with the (all-female) cast, dressed as nuns - scarves acting as veils - singing for us, most beautifully: fine voices, these ladies. And one or two are upset that they've missed the old storyteller - so the others conspire to act out his story. Which is, of course, the one we've come to see..
A pared-down production, it uses only four crates, which provide something to sit or lie on, as well as storage for the costumes. Sticks for guns, a ladder at the side. Not much else on stage, really - a construction at the back doubles as Roxane's house, and later as a fort. We are swiftly introduced to the main characters.. and this is a fun production throughout - plenty of jokes, plenty of banter. Beware, ye who choose to sit in the front row for this production; prepare to be.. interacted with!
But oh my, there's no disputing who the star of the show is. Kathryn Hunter completely owns the stage from the moment she steps on it. Cyrano, the poet, of course gets the best lines - but she is so completely believable in the role that I can understand why one critic called her a shape-shifter. She leaps about the stage, playing the fighter that she's meant to be, and all the time wearing this ridiculous fake nose strapped to her face (must be uncomfortable!). And aside from that, pretty much all you can see of her face are the most expressive eyes..
A short interval means a reasonable finishing time for what is a long play, and we were soon ushered back in. (You can take drinks in here, don't panic.) In the second part, the jollity of the first part gives way to the hardship and uncertainty of the battlefield, and the tale turns tragic. Which is, of course, where I lost it - I'm a complete softie, I dissolve at a sad story, and I've always found Cyrano's so hopelessly sad.. just about managed to compose myself by the time they were taking their bows.
Stunning. Kathryn Hunter's is, as I've said, the stand-out performance, but the whole production draws you in, turning from fun to unexpectedly moving. And I always do love a production that uses fewer props and more imagination. It's absolutely disgraceful that more people aren't seeing this - there were plenty of empty seats tonight, while they pack the seats of mediocre, but more famous, shows in more famous venues. Go, go, go.. only runs until Saturday. And tomorrow night, they have a Q+A, with the writer, and Kathryn Hunter! Jeez, I'm nearly tempted to go again, just for that..
Some of us returned to the back room, after, and stayed until we could stay no more. As we left, someone had the idea, seconded by some more, of congratulating the cast, some of whom were at a table very near us. So we did. And I thought they looked pleased. And I know they deserved it.
I ended up walking back to Waterloo, with another who lives near me. Trains were a bit less frequent than during the day, but we did get home eventually. And I should've been in bed ages ago! Just as well I'm not in Guildford tomorrow, at least - also because what I'm going to starts so early. I got a cheap ticket to a concert by the Coppell High School Band, at the Central Hall, Westminster. A new venue for me! Cool, I do like to keep discovering them. And it starts at 5:30.
On Thursday, Kensington Classical Music is off to a concert by the Trio Isimsiz - you had to get your own ticket, though, then pay extra to join the group at the concert. Huh. I'll avoid them, and the extra charge - have to be discreet though, I believe it's a small room! It's at the 1901 Arts Club - another first for me.
On Friday, I was supposed to join Spooky London for their monthly spooky pub night - but the venue was never announced, and now it's been cancelled.. Instead, I'm off with the London European Club, to an excellent-sounding event, entitled French Chanson and Swing, at Jamboree. Third new place in a row.. And on Saturday, I'm back with the Crick Crack Club, for an event entitled Seven Princesses - at Rich Mix, which will be my first event there with them. (Oh, and their next event has now appeared on Meetup.. and I booked it! but that's for next month..)
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