I was to take the 134 bus from just up Tottenham Court Road - a walk of a few minutes. Crossed the road where there happened to be a grille - as discovered with some horror by the young lady crossing beside me, wearing heels. Attagirl, she tiptoed across anyway. Knowing it'd be a long journey, I picked up a paper as I passed Tottenham Court Road Station, and for a long portion of this long journey, had an elderly gent sitting beside me who had Tourette's. Not an aggressive form, simply he had tics of his neck and one arm, and the movements were quite graceful, actually..
Handily enough, the bus stop was right outside the venue - a converted church - and I trotted in. Immediately clocked who must have been the group, occupying a set of sofas to the side - it was early, they were the only ones there; the organiser had said she'd be there by that time, and it seemed they had arrived promptly. I decided to observe them for a bit, so explored the lobby - not much evidence of it having been a church, there's a cafe to one side and a bar to the other. Unfortunately, the cafe only takes cash, and I didn't have much on me - I had better luck at the bar, where they take card payments for amounts over £5. So I had a wine, and a packet of Tyrell's crisps - bravely, the sweet chilli again, which I handled better this time. Maybe it varies from pack to pack. Glad to find them - the cafe only had Walker's! (Which I find very bland.)
Nowhere to sit, apart from with the group - people were dotted at each of the cafe tables - so I stood, wandered a bit. I quickly decided not to join the group.. of all of them that were there, a couple of pairs were engaged in intense conversation, one was asleep, and the rest were engrossed in their smartphones. Hem. Figured I was better off on my own. And so I mooched around until they opened the theatre and let us in. Unassigned seating, so I sat in front.
Right then! The Machine Stops is a play based on a short sci-fi story by E. M. Forster. In a dystopian future, humanity has retreated underground, the surface unliveable. The whole of civilisation is ruled by an omnipotent machine - people don't generally feel the need to leave their rooms any more, all that they need being provided for them. Travel is unnecessary, as they can learn everything about the world from their chair-side machine terminals, where they can watch films, look at pictures, listen to music. They hardly have human contact, as they can communicate on these devices too. (Prescient, for a story written in 1909, eh?)
They do reproduce - in a "Central Nursery", presumably by artificial insemination. Contact between mothers and children ceases after birth. And it is hilarious, therefore, when - after the central character's son asks her to visit him - she takes an airship, having to deal with such heinous problems as walking, interacting with an attendant and another passenger, and - horror of horrors - getting sunlight on her face because the window blind is stuck! The most hilarious bit of all is when her fellow passenger drops his book (they all just have one book left, a relic of olden times, the rules of their society). Darnit, there is no retrieval mechanism on this transport - with none of them physically able to bend to pick it up, they leave it there, and the attendant ultimately kicks it to the side.
Of course, the title gives a hint of the trouble to come - her son wants to see her to tell her he's snuck out to the surface, and lived to tell the tale! He has daft ideas about exercising, living in the air.. and a terrible time is coming; what will happen to the people underground when the machine stops?
Four people in this production: the central character, her son, and two others, who play the others on the airship, but mostly clamber around the metal frame that takes up most of the stage, representing the machine itself. I guess they're supposed to be microchips. The acrobatics give us something to watch - otherwise it'd be pretty static, our central character sat in her chair all the time, speaking into a panel beside her chair. But no, this turns out to be quite watchable. Runs until Saturday.
Afterwards, of course, I just left straight away, having to cross an extremely wide road with no crossing, for my bus. I was glad it came quickly - it was freezing. Pity, then, the homeless guy who got on with his bags, leaving them in the wheelchair area, neatly stuffed to the side, then sitting upstairs. I've seen him along this route before, but on a different bus. For my part, I was home early enough to eat, again - this is becoming a habit!
Tonight, I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend. And my first meeting with my birth mother. Interesting, given the topic of last night's play.
Monday, I'm with London Dramatic Arts at the Royal Court, for The Kid Stays in the Picture.
That rescheduled talk on Brexit Vs. Trump from a couple of weeks ago is on Tuesday. Or I might go to a film instead - being Funzing, I can get my money back if I cancel by Sunday. Top of the list is Rahm, a Pakistani film premiere, complete with reception and Q+A, based on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure: a girl has to sleep with a corrupt official to save her brother's life - ironically, he's been sentenced to death for getting an unmarried girl pregnant.
On Wednesday, the Man with the Hat is taking London for Less Than a Tenner to Top Secret. It'll be great to see them again. Let's se whether we can make it a late one!
Next Thursday, he's back to the Opera House for the opening night of a mixed bill of ballet. As usual, he's in the slips with London for Less Than a Tenner, and in the amphitheatre with Let's Do London - for Less!
Friday 17th, I got a cheap ticket to a very topical version of Twelfth Night, in the Drayton Arms. Ah, I remember when I was walking distance from there..
Saturday 18th, I'm back with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts for an Oliver Twist walk. Back with Hazel, excellent!
Sunday 19th.. not a Man with the Hat event, but one he's advertised. One member of his group plays Spanish guitar, and is giving a concert that night - so I've booked a ticket. Well hey, I do love Spanish music..
Monday 20th, I'm off to a Funzing talk on The Science of Psychedelics. Courtesy of London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less (nothing to do with the Man with the Hat). Unless I think of something better up to 48 hours beforehand..
Tuesday 21st, I'm with London European Club (LEC) for Carradine's Cockney Singalong, at Hoxton Hall. Had some fun with this last week, when I noticed another group member had confused it with something at a different venue, and thought it wasn't now happening..
Wednesday 22nd, I'm headed with LEC again - with a different organiser - to see 2 Cellos in concert in the London Palladium. Cool - never seen them before, never been there before, and I can probably walk there!
Thursday 23rd was another Funzing talk, with the same three groups, on The Science of Hypnosis. And then, wouldn't you know it, Henning from the LEC advertised.. Hypnosis - Altering Consciousness! With Pint of Science. (What is it about that day and hypnosis?!) Anyway, I do enjoy events with Henning, and as I say, I can cancel Funzing up to 48 hours in advance without penalty. So I did, and booked the other instead. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again..
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