Lunch for her, brunch for me, beckoned - we ended in up in Cucina, an Italian restaurant just down from the station. On what was quite a muggy day, pretty much the entire front of the restaurant was open - there was more space inside than on the terrace, so we sat there. With reddish-brown walls covered in Godfather-esque photographs and wine racks, it presents a cosy appearance, with a distinctly Italian feel:
Service was with a (cheeky) smile, and decently quick - we did note how many of the dishes on the menu were marked as "new". Indeed, it was mostly "new" dishes we went for - goat's cheese starter for Helen, Mediterranean marinated chicken for us both. I had garlic bread to start - and it was yummy. The top I was wearing evidently thought so too, attracting a great big splash of garlic butter. The chicken was simple, but delicious, accompanied by a small salad and some nicely crispy fries - well that's the secret, isn't it? Simple food, well done.
When the waiter was asking what we wanted for dessert, he suggested we might like to have him.. tempting as it was, instead I had the "death by chocolate", Helen a selection of ice cream. The menu didn't specify what kind of "death" the chocolate entailed, but sure enough it was a cake, covered in those dark chocolate flakes I love so dearly. Had I looked to my left, I could have gotten a preview - the desserts live in a glass fridge near the door. And I'll say this for the cake - it was gorgeously light, unlike some I've had: perfect for a warm day. Only quibble about this restaurant - there's only one toilet cubicle, so beware long queues..
Next on the itinerary was retail therapy on Oxford Street. A very breezy walk across Westminster Bridge, and we got the Tube to Bond Street. Our first stop was Victoria's Secret - deserves a mention for the sheer audacity of the décor. A pair of helpful shop assistants stand just inside the main entrance - believe me, you need their help. Even if you don't need measurement (for which purpose they wear measuring tape around their necks), you will probably need guidance - the place is an absolute maze, with no clear way to know which room you want. We were directed up the most fantastical staircase, all black with glittering, crystal railings - upstairs, all the lingerie drawers have crystal knobs. Wall upon wall of bras, drawer upon drawer of them - and do you know, they still didn't have what was wanted!
A few more shops were visited, and those with good air conditioning were most highly appreciated. Our final stop was the dependable M&S, where the desired lingerie was purchased, and also a top to replace the one I'd decided to feed over lunch - which I duly changed into, in the toilet. A quick pitstop for cold drinks, and we headed back to Waterloo in time for Helen to catch a train home - she'd had a long week and didn't fancy joining me at the theatre.
It's not far to the National from Waterloo (well, if you're not late for something), and I was there in plenty of time. Managed to make my way in through a side bar, for once - those doors never normally seem to be open, perhaps it just happens at weekends. Anyway, I grabbed a seat by the wall, and eventually got myself a drink at the bar, just before the group was supposed to meet. The performance was in the Lyttelton, and the bar is in the lobby - for once, easy to find in this horrible maze of a building:
Of course, as it's this group, at the appointed time there was no sign of anyone. Anyway, when I'd arrived I'd posted on the Meetup event page where I was, and when the organiser did eventually rock up, with her husband, they knew roughly where to find me. We took a more central seat, and eventually accumulated all those attending - a small group. When we were given our tickets, I noticed that face value was less than what we'd paid - but what we'd paid was still the cheapest I'd found. So that's fair enough.
Our seats were in the second row of the stalls - and as we sat, the fellow beside me remarked to the lady on the other side, who had a programme, that he'd always bought them, until they got so expensive. Ditto for me. One of the ushers passed along the front row, to warn the audience members sitting there not to leave their seats while the scenes were changing, because the stage revolved. And then the stage was revealed, and our production of The Plough and the Stars was off.
It's a large stage, and as well as revolving, shows an impressive amount of detail. The tenement building in which most of the play is set has cut-away sections, like a dolls' house, to reveal a hallway, and as the back of the stage is revealed, there is space to show the revolutionary parade alluded to in the first act. We have scenes in a bar, and outside the front - and in the attic - of the tenement.. and a cast that, at the end, taking their bows, seems much larger than it did during the play.
What I couldn't help but notice during the first act was the slowness of the dialogue. It's as though they're speaking - very - deliberately, so that the audience is sure to understand. This is probably an excellent idea - even at that, the organiser remarked, at the interval, that it took her ear a while to adjust, because the accents and slang are Dublin. Indeed, when I heard it at proper speed - some years ago now - it took me a while to adjust, myself.
Otherwise, the production is excellent. Acting, costumes.. I haven't seen a better production. In the second half, with more action, the dialogue speed is less noticeable, and for all I know they may have sped up. Certainly, while the first act introduces us to the characters and has a good deal of humour, the second half grows progressively darker, as the Easter Rising takes hold. The play's title refers to the flag of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), one of many armed groups in Ireland at the time, which took part in the rising, and was formed of trade unionists - a response to the lockout of 1913, when demonstrations for the right to unionise were attacked by police.
O' Casey, who wrote the play, was a socialist, and more concerned with the plight of the poor than with the competing ideologies - although he did make one of the characters a socialist, who spends much of his time spouting socialist theories. So, while great events develop around them, the characters are more concerned with their day-to-day lives: even when things turn violent. Until they can ignore what's going on no longer. The play ends with a depiction of how completely the inhabitants of this slum have been destroyed, with a particularly moving scene - and after our hearts have been wrenched, and with a dead body lying under a sheet on the floor, two Tommies share a cup of tea and sing about home, in what you might take as the final insult..
"Harrowing" they described it as, afterwards. There was a variety of knowledge in the group about the history behind the play - some knew lots, some literally knew nothing. I spent the interval explaining it to them - now, isn't it a pity that the organiser has banned me from linking to my blog on her site? She might otherwise have learned something. Anyway, nobody felt like a drink after - she was too tired, and had a babysitter to get home to, another couple needed to get home to their dogs, one had a train to catch. Me, I headed for my bus - although had I but known it, I'd reached my maximum fare for the day, which seems to have been reduced, and I travelled for free! So I could have come home faster by train, for no extra cost..
Never mind. Tomorrow, there's a lot in Meetup I'm not interested in- a couple of concerts I wouldn't enjoy, and some walks that I definitely won't be up in time for! However, Ken's Events have a circular walk around Canary Wharf, before going to the concert there - and since I have no intention of paying to join them, I could head along at my leisure to do that on my own. We'll see how I feel.
On Monday, I found something very interesting indeed - it seems that Godiva Films have a Meetup group, and on Monday they're hosting a short film crewing event in Hammersmith! Gee, film editing is something I've been thinking about for a while - and I could drive there, and park in Hammersmith Grove, which I've done before. It is on quite early though, and I'll be in Guildford - again, we'll see.
Tuesday has a couple of comedy events - I had signed up for the usual free one in Hammersmith, then saw one advertised for The Bedford, with London Live Comedy - half the distance, so I've booked for that instead.
On Wednesday, I'm back with LDAM, who again had the cheapest tickets for something, would you believe! Also at the National, this time it's Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, a riotous schoolgirl comedy set during a choral competition.
On Thursday, the Man with the Hat makes an appearance - his second outing to Macbeth, at the Globe, in fact; I loved it so much the first time that I'm going again. The music is by the same composer who wrote the soundtrack for Eyes Wide Shut, and I adored it - I'm a sucker for a good soundtrack.
And on Friday, I'm back to Ireland again, for a long weekend - it's a bank holiday here the following Monday.
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