Two buses, again - not nearly as crowded as yesterday, and indeed, the only problem - apart from freezing my tush off waiting between them - was the predictable traffic jam in Shaftesbury Avenue. As we crawled along, and the obliging driver let people off at places he shouldn't have, I had time to gaze at our old office building: not demolished yet, I see! Arrived in decent time at the theatre, and went to the box office to collect my ticket. Well, that was an interesting experience - I'd received an email saying I'd be refunded when the run was cancelled, but behold, they never did cancel my first ticket! So I'd blithely gone off and booked another. And I now had two - one in the Circle, one in the Stalls. After some confusion, she cancelled the one in the Circle, on the spot.
And I joined the others in the really crowded downstairs bar! Never seen it so bad. I picked the end of the bar that had good service - they're notoriously appalling, here. So it only took about five minutes to get my drink - and after a bit of a chat, we headed back upstairs, and I took my comfy, leather seat in the rear stalls. Perfect legroom, and not too far from the stage, even in the second row from the back:
Four seats - those are the only props they need. I do like that in a play. Anyway, turns out this is based on a film I haven't seen (was it banned in Ireland, perhaps?) - which in turn is inspired by the experiences of a teenage girl in the north of England. And this lass and her pal go babysitting for Bob and his wife, Bob drops them home in his car, and has sex with them as a parting gesture. (The seats are re-aligned to represent a car.) This becomes a regular thing, and things develop from there.
So yes, this run was cancelled, and then un-cancelled. And this was the second time this week that I've seen a man's naked bum on stage! (This one was hairier.) And both were set oop nawth.. what is it about that part of the country? Mind you, in the 80s, when this was set, in a less well-off community, in Thatcher's Britain, when the North in particular was hard-served, work was scarce, and people's opportunities were limited.. what else was there to do?
So, they're banging away pretty quickly in this, and you can see why they thought it might be a tad controversial. It only occurred to me as the deed was finishing - they'd raised the house lights! which were turned off again immediately after. WTF - were they recording us or something? Not appreciated - I hear there's been a walkout before over this.
Apart from that, it came across - to me - as an extended version of Coronation Street, the show that Bob is so keen on watching. I got absolutely nothing from it. It's nothing we haven't heard before - at length. It was probably a lot more controversial at the time.. afterwards, folks were saying that the film was darker, and indeed, a touch more darkness wouldn't have gone amiss here. Ironically, for a show that was originally cancelled, I don't think they were controversial enough. Although, by excluding other characters from the story, perhaps they were trying to direct our focus to Bob.
Kudos to the actors. Especially Bob, who suffers for his art in an impressive mullet! (No, it's not a wig - the whole cast showed up in the bar afterwards, and he was still sporting it.) And I could have done with the music being a bit louder - it was kept very faint, so as not to distract us, but I love 80s music! Anyway, no interval - and I was glad to leave. Runs until Saturday - limited availability. As the man said, there's no such thing as bad publicity!
Afterwards, some of us repaired to the bar - unfortunately, the slow side. I had a packet of crisps, and Lordy, I would've had the whole thing eaten by the time we were served! Anyway, we had a nice chat, over by the side - it was early, after all. And the 19 took me straight home, just in time to catch the Co-op before it closed!
Couldn't blog last night - I had to be up early for a U2 presale. Successful, BTW - wish me luck in the public scrum tomorrow! Tonight, I'm going to The Birthday Party, in the Harold Pinter Theatre. Interesting review in a recent paper. Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
On Monday, back to the Orange Tree in Richmond for Out of Love, with Up in the Cheap Seats. Have to rush for that one - it's another evening I have a late meeting! Should make it, though.
On Tuesday, finally back with Funzing! LDN Talks @ Night (I thought they were changing their name to Funzing Talks - perhaps not yet) and London Speaks Sessions are talking about the Seven Wonders of the Solar System, at Cafe 1001. Yeuch - can't stand the place: hipster central. Still, at least I can walk there from work..
On Wednesday, I had RSVPed with London Science Talks and Museums Meetup, for a Science Museum late. But hey, it's free - so I had no problem cancelling when Let's Do This advertised a meal the same evening. Turkish, I believe, with a drink at the George Inn beforehand. Closer to me, too.
I start February with two from Up in the Cheap Seats. Next Thursday, I'm at John in the National. And on the 2nd, my now-nearby venue, finally - I'm at Sadler's Wells Sampled.
On the 3rd, I'm finally back with Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group (fairly trips off the tongue, that!) for a free walk - Secret Diaries and Public Spaces: the Legacy of Pepys and Wren. As run by Walk London. I had a great time with this group before - it's a shame they so frequently clash with other things I'm doing.
On the 4th, another walk, with Funzing, via Walking in London - Forgotten Old London is one I've had my eye on for a while. And that evening, someone suggested a classical concert in King's Place - well, whyever not? So I booked. Close enough to walk home after, too.
And on the 5th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, at Hampstead Theatre, for Dry Powder.
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