Of course, I decamped to the office first. The show was at 7, so I left at 6:55 to be sure of getting a seat (yes, it literally is that close!). I'd never paid much attention to it before, but it's just on the corner of Phoenix Street and Charing Cross Road.. no-one to take my ticket, so I descended the attractive, art-deco staircase:
A bar, tables and chairs - but I could see another room behind with people settling themselves, and figured that was the venue. No-one there to take my ticket either! I was just in time to get a table down the back, as opposed to taking the front row.
Shortly into the set, I discovered why they didn't have anyone checking tickets. The blasted show was free to all.. I could have just shown up and seen it without having to book with ShowFilmFirst. Nuts! Goes to show - in future, I'll be double-checking their offers.
Well, it was good, at least. This, of course, was an Edinburgh preview - i.e. a comedian practicing their routine for the Edinburgh Festival. So, you get untested material, half-formed material, comedians checking their notes because they can't remember what comes next. This guy is better than most, though - a mild-mannered Canadian, when he swears it doesn't sound natural.
In his one-hour set, he only included two specifically Canadian references - the sexiness of Justin Trudeau, and his preference for North American football over soccer. And he had a couple of digs at British politics: firstly, the lack of ceremony in Britain formally leaving the EU - a note?! Where was the skeleton of Winston Churchill, propped up at the entrance to the chunnel, sticking one finger up to them? On a more serious note, as he said, what kind of inbred, over-privileged parliamentary f**ks can't listen politely while someone with whom they disagree is making a speech, but must make farmyard noises at them..
Yeah, good show. With free wine in the office, I didn't have to get a drink there, and was out pretty quickly. Tomorrow, Crick Crack storytelling is back! Gee, it feels like an age. Anyway, I'm off to see a show called Uncaged, in Soho Theatre. Whoop-de-do, I can walk there again!
On Tuesday, I'm taking myself to Half a Sixpence, just a short walk from the office again. Best value I found was with Amazon Tickets.
On Wednesday, back with London Literary Walks of course - and I'm looking forward to this one more than most - it's The Chaucer Walk, and I do love things medieval!
Thursday is a red-letter day, with the last scheduled Meetup of the Man with the Hat. Both groups (London for Less Than a Tenner standing, and Let's Do London- for less! in seats, as usual) are headed to the Globe for Romeo and Juliet. It'll be poignant.. but the production itself will be controversial, from what I hear, being - shall we say, avant-garde. As usual, I'll reserve judgement till I see for myself. Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend.
On the 15th & 16th, I'm off to Pint of Science - following a theme, given my background, I'm headed to a talk on Small Is Beautiful (quantum physics) on Monday and one on Across the Universe (cosmology, and now sold out) on Tuesday. Rock on..
On the 17th, London Literary Walks is off to Highbury. And so am I.
On the 18th, I'm booked for free comedy in Hammersmith, with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon & Greenwich, Random London, and London Live Comedy. Something, frankly, that I usually cancel, but you never know - nothing better has yet come up for this night!
On the 19th, I saw that London Social Detours (a side-shoot of Ken's Events) were charging £3 to go to the free jazz concert at the Royal Academy. So I was going to go on my own. Free. But then the London European Club (LEC) advertised a Norwegian Dixieland concert at Jamboree.. well, that sounded like more fun, so now I'm going to that instead.
On the 20th, I'm doing something local - a guided walk on Residents, Rascals & Riots, in Holborn. With London for a Tenner or Less.
The 21st, London Dramatic Arts (LDAM) is headed out of town. We're going all the way to Northampton, to see a couple of Shakespearian plays, one directed by one of her members. Richard II, to be precise, with Titus Andronicus to whet our appetites. No-one has signed up apart from me, but what the hey I've never been there, so it'll be interesting.
On the 22nd, I'm off to Ugly Lies the Bone, at the Lyttleton.
On the 23rd, Funzing UK is taking me to an Infinitease Burlesque Show. Probably up in Leytonstone, so if anything better comes up in the meantime, I'm up for it! That's a terribly long way out.
The 24th was supposed to be the Man with the Hat's last event, but he had to cancel. Instead, I discovered that the UL Alumni Association (UL is my alma mater) is holding a talk on Brexit that night - so that'll be nice.
The 25th, Crick Crack is back - at Crouch End Arthouse again, unfortunately. It's just so far! Still going, of course. Then I'm back to Ireland for the Bank Holiday weekend again - and taking the bank holiday, this time!
On the 30h, LDAM are at the Olivier to see Common. So am I.. on a cheap Travelex ticket, which I booked direct with the venue. So I'll be avoiding them, since they don't appreciate that.
On the 31st, free comedy in Hammersmith is up again (temporarily, at least), with the above groups, plus London Art Comedy & Culture Lovers (another offshoot of Ken's Events).
On 1 June, I eschewed the free comedy in Hammersmith for the Ghosts & Executions Tour, with London for a Tenner or Less - even though that guide wasn't great the last time, so I cancelled this previously, he's better than that free comedy!
Then I'm off down to Helen for the weekend - she told me about this Living History Festival, and I said yes please!
The 5th, I'm back to Soho Theatre with the Crick Crack Club, for something called The Frog Princess - Punked. Cool..
And the 6th June, I'm with the LEC, to see the Images Ballet Company at the Arts Depot.
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