Play: Macbeth

There's a new artistic director in the Globe this year, it seems. Well, it's one of my favourite venues, so it doesn't take much to persuade me there, and I've been a few times this year. And it was last month that I went to see Macbeth (click here to read that review).

That was with the Man with the Hat, who's developed a habit (long may it continue) of booking two outings to all his Globe shows this year. It says much for what I thought of the production that when I got home that night, before writing the blog post, I booked for his second outing to Macbeth. And today, it finally rolled around - and I wasn't at all perturbed that I was missing the annual company barbeque to go see this for the second time. No contest.

I took the bus, as usual - and true to form, it arrived just as I did. Mind you, I had to dart through some traffic to catch it before it pulled away. Pretty hot, on this rather sweltering day, but at least I managed to get a seat downstairs. Still, it was a relief to hop off at Southwark Bridge, where there was a light breeze - more so than in Clapham Junction, for sure.

He'd been at the meeting point (carefully described, with a photo, on the Meetup page) for a while, and only a small crowd surrounded him when I arrived. Got my ticket (seating for me, with Let's Do London - for less!, rather than standing with London for Less Than a Tenner - I didn't envy them either, in this heat). Made my way in - annoyingly, I was out of cash again, and didn't fancy the palaver of reaching a minimum amount so I could pay by card. But I wasn't in desperate need of anything.

I couldn't wait for the show to start. I hadn't re-read my blog post since, and just remembered certain elements of the production - but mainly the amazing soundtrack. The same composer, Jocelyn Pook, wrote the original music for the film Eyes Wide Shut - and in lieu of a cd or dvd of this production (or sneakily recording it yourself), the closest you can get to the music is to check that out on YouTube. Here, for instance.

Sometimes, in seeing a show more than once, you worry that it won't be as fresh on a repeat viewing. No such problems here. In fact, straight away I noticed one difference - I believe the witches were more prominent on my second trip than they had been on my first. Guess they proved popular, and rightly so. The music was still as chilling as before. Lady Macbeth (Tara Fitzgerald) and Macduff still impressed. And I'd forgotten how spectacular the visual effects are, particularly in the first scene after the interval.

But what was really, noticeably different for me between the two productions was the performance given by Ray Fearon as Macbeth. The first time I saw him, I thought his transition from loyal subject to murderer was too abrupt - by the time I saw him again, it had evened out, I think, and I thought he played the part terrifically. His rendition of the famous "Tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy was breathtaking.

Not to everyone's taste - quite a few people near me didn't seem too impressed, as they didn't return after the interval. Well, it did give the rest of us some breathing space - the place was packed, and on this stuffy evening, every breeze that we caught was very welcome. I, of course, absolutely loved it. Still playing on specified days up to the 1st October. Highly recommended.

Afterwards, we travelled the short distance to The Swan, where, for once, we got seating outside, on the terrace. And what a fantastic evening for it, so warm, and with the view across the river. A very good time was had until we eventually got chucked out, just before midnight.

'Bye for now, Man with Hat - 'bye, Globe, 'bye, London - I'm back to Ireland tomorrow for the bank holiday weekend. Back in action in London on Tuesday. Guess what with? Yup, the various groups are advertising free comedy in Hammersmith again! So let's see, I'm signed up with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon & Farringdon: London Live Comedy: and London for a Tenner or Less. The latter is, of course, not to be confused with the previously mentioned Man with the Hat's group - no, this latter group is the one that deletes its Meetup listing once the event is underway. Very cloak and dagger. Anyway, these comedy nights are free, and tend to have a good atmosphere.

On Wednesday, I'm on another London Literary Walk - in Bloomsbury, this time. These are very entertaining (and free), and I'd go on more if they didn't clash with so many other things.

And on Thursday, we're going underground with the Man with the Hat - to the Vaults, for a Pop-Up Opera production of The Barber of Seville. Great, it's been a while..