For these two days, I'm with Up in the Cheap Seats again. Today, it was Misalliance, by Bernard Shaw, in the Orange Tree Theatre - had an evening meeting as well, and left straight after. The Orange Tree is a nice venue - but, as they say, "location, location, location" - particularly from where I live now, it's a nightmare to get to. Well, maybe not a nightmare - but it is a hassle. I started by catching the bus to Waterloo - glad to get on where I did, because from Clerkenwell it became very crowded. We all piled off at Waterloo, where I saw from the massive departures board that I was near the platform for the next train stopping at Richmond.
I also saw signs for an RMT strike, effective on three days, including today. Oh, lovely. You forget about these things, you know, when you don't catch the train regularly.. Sure enough, as we passed along the long platform, it was beginning to look as though I wouldn't get on this train at all, it was so crowded. Apparently they were only running half the trains. The crowds were bulging from the open doors, all the way along. Finally, I managed to squeeze in, near the very front - I'd picked up a paper outside the station, but didn't have space to read it! The carriage was as crowded as any Tube carriage I've seen, and the conductor was falling over himself, apologising profusely on the tannoy for the extreme overcrowding, and urging us to take the train at Platform 18 (adjacent) if we were travelling anywhere en route to Staines. He said he'd warned them at the next stop, Clapham Junction, that we were full - I noticed that it didn't stop people trying to crowd on, though!
Mercifully, almost all the people between me and the door got off with me at Richmond. Exiting the station, if you glance to the right, you'll see a sign for the Orange Tree.. so I headed in that direction. It's literally just across the road from the station. I was early, so grabbed myself a nice glass of chardonnay and a packet of incendiary sweet chilli crisps (dinner, until our office gets itself sorted), and sat myself in the bar, where I was later joined by the others. Most of us were sat together, in the lower level and one row back from the stage - except for the one who'd booked late, when the only seats left were upstairs.
It seemed sold out, in fact. The stage area is marked out by a patterned carpet, dotted with a few chairs, a couple of tables bearing props, and a hostess trolley of drinks, liberally consumed throughout. A "Turkish bath" occupies one corner. The entire play takes place over the space of an afternoon, in the well-appointed home of a wealthy businessman, his wife, and their grown-up son and daughter. Also present are the daughter's foppish fiancé and his upper-class father. Oh, and later, there are some uninvited guests..
It's a comedy that Shaw used to illustrate some of his political views: mainly his frustration at the restrictive social mores of the time, which obliged women to play a very restricted role. In particular, he pokes fun at the idea that men of the time sought out compliant, "ladylike" women, when what they secretly wanted was a strong woman of independent spirit. You can see his own spirit voiced in the elderly businessman, who feels himself cheated of an artistic life, and spends his time extolling the virtues of reading, and coming up with new ideas for the ideal society.
The play was designed to be a debate on the nature of marriage at the time, and boy, is it wordy! The first half exhausted some of the audience as much as one of the characters - I noticed some very bored-looking faces in the balcony! But never fear - Shaw isn't a boring playwright, and injects some action into these bored people's lives by the most effective means of having a new-fangled plane crash in their garden! And so we meet its occupants, who embody a new, exciting outlook, and provide some much-needed stimulation for all the characters. Not satisfied with that, Shaw injects a bit of socialism into proceedings by having an anarchist hide out and observe some of the action, and later deliver some home truths.
Beautifully acted throughout - the foppish young aristo, in particular, is a joy to watch! I also liked Joey Percival's variation of pace as his character deals with different revelations. A long play, but worth the effort, I think - runs until the 20th, seats all gone by now for most performances, I believe. And Friday's is sold out completely. Recommended. As, by the way, is the excellent ice cream they serve at the interval..
Afterwards, some made for the bus, some the train. And it was surreal, on the train, to be seated opposite the two young women from the play, sharing snapchats! Indeed, after the earlier crowding, it was surreal to be seated at all. In Waterloo, I had to figure out where to catch my bus, and correctly determined that, to get onto Waterloo Road, I needed to head towards the rear of the station, where I got an escalator down to it. Waited for an age at the stop (chosen because I had a choice of two buses there), but when mine finally came, it was the #4, which would drop me right around the corner from home.
Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to the stage version of The Twilight Zone, at the Almeida! Always loved the tv series. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
Next week sees not much action with Meetup - well, there wasn't when I was looking - and booking! Still quiet for January, I guess. Still, I'm excited about what I am doing - on Monday, I'm headed to Mary Stuart, at the Duke of York's Theatre. I've heard so much about this - apparently, they toss a coin beforehand to decide which plays which role, Elizabeth or Mary!
On Tuesday, my annual trip to Cirque du Soleil at the Albert Hall! The show this year is Ovo - cheapest tickets for the date coming in at just under £50, but they're worth it! So, back through that subway again..
On Wednesday, more comedy - Sara Pascoe, at Wyndham's.
And next Thursday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats - my first Meetup in a week will be Lady Windermere's Fan, at the Vaudeville Theatre.
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