Ohh, but I could have done with more sleep. Never mind, out I hopped, and with a number of options for getting there. The one that promised to get me there quickest was to take the bus from my nearest stop, then the Tube.. either bus would do. I was in good time, it was sunny - all was good. Unfortunately, the buses took forever.. the first to come was the #56, for which the plan was to alight at St. Paul's, then take two Tube lines. The problem arose with all the connections.. with the bus delay, I missed the Tube I should have got, and ended up with about a five-minute wait for each of the two trains I needed. At least I got a seat on the Piccadilly Line, for most of the way.
I didn't arrive at South Ken till gone the time the first event was due to start. Still, I persevered, trotting down that subterranean tunnel, praying I'd see the right exit soon. I emerged into the museum with a vague notion that I had to go left, having checked the interactive map last night - of course, it's not as easy in person, and when a helpful assistant asked whether he could help, I asked directions to the Sackler Centre. Yup, just keep heading left - I was almost there, and the Arts Studio is plain to see once you get there.
Mercifully, they let people in late, and I followed another woman, our tickets checked at the door. We could grab free drinks and pastries, and were instructed to grab a stool and sit at the side, which I did. I was a few minutes late - when I came in, the lady who was chairing the talk, at the head of the table, was discussing how Elizabeth I used to encourage people to stay away from the theatres by convincing them that the players spread the plague.
A lovely, bright and airy room, and a nice, custardy pastry left me in a receptive mood for the talk, which showed how political censorship in ages past switched to more prudish, sexual censorship in more recent times. A photocopy of the censor's report on Waiting for Godot was passed around, with much mirth at the censor's complete bafflement as to what the play is actually about. The speaker explained how she never appreciated the Carry On films, with their crude sexual innuendo, until she realised that that was as far as their expression of sexuality was allowed to go! And now, she concluded, censorship has been abolished - or has it? What about works that are seen to criticise certain religious groups, for example? A very interesting talk, a nice start.
I joined the others at the end - the ladies of our small group went in search of the loo, and finding the main toilets had a terrible queue, we enquired of an usher, who directed us to some well-hidden toilets, upstairs from the Raphael Gallery (ooh, there's a Raphael Gallery! and it's gorgeous). And then we went exploring, for a bit.
More photos here. Then we assembled at the meeting point near the entrance, for a gallery talk on Censorship on the Elizabethan Stage. For that, our guide took us up to the Performing Arts Gallery, which I'd never known existed - another terrific find, with its displays of costumes, theatrical posters, and video footage. She explained to us the difficulties of proving censorship from this period, and how one way of detecting it was to examine different copies of the same work, to check what had changed.
A quick trip to the cafe, and we were into an afternoon of political theatre. As the speaker remarked, she'd been told for weeks that this was sold out - and here we were, in a rare spell of British hot weather, with the room half full. Ah well, can't be helped. An interesting few hours followed, in which we watched an enlightening film about Belarus Free Theatre, listened to an interview of two people involved, then had to participate in an interactive session.. wasn't too bad, of course. First, people were encouraged to speak about something they always carry with them, and describe its significance. Then, we ended up carrying this long strip of red fabric around the building and back - a symbol of the red line that won't be crossed. We ended with what I found most moving - a Skype call to one of the underground group in Belarus, standing outside tonight's secret theatre, as the audience filed in. "Say hi to London, guys!" Good luck to them.
Time to eat, before the film gala; I fancied trying the cheap Oriental place I'd spotted - Oriental Canteen, as it turns out - so went and got a table there. It's mostly communal tables, but they have small ones along the windows, suitable for one or two. I'd ordered, and was sipping my 7Up - they don't have a full licence, and the only alcohol is Tiger Beer - when I realised the place is cash-only.. and I didn't have any! I checked with them that I'd need it, then asked where the nearest cash machine was - South Ken Station again. Complete with a couple of enterprising beggars, of course. Well, I got it and returned.. they only do mains here, but damn, they're cheap! £5.50 for any of the specials, which come with a choice of three sides - I had Teriyaki chicken with fried noodles. Which was fine - not the tastiest, but perfectly decent, and a good size helping. Friendly service, too. I'd be ok with coming back to try something else.
And afterwards, back up to the Albert Hall, where I ran into a couple of the others. You have to print out your tickets for here - one of us had had his ticket print ridiculously large, and had to go off to the box office to fix it! We others continued up to the Second Circle, where most of us had booked seats. Well, we'd barely arrived when someone let us in on the fact that the ushers were offering free Stalls upgrades..! We didn't need to be told twice. And as more group members arrived, I directed them all to her, and the ever more frazzled usher tried valiantly to seat us all together. Hey, she managed it for a whole group of us - we got terrific seats!
And so for a fantastic end to the day, with film (and tv) themes I mostly recognised. Goddamnit, even Game of Thrones made it in, as it does everywhere else.. the night ended with Star Wars (natch) and Rocky as encore.. but somehow, the theme of the night for me was E.T. As it soared over us, it couldn't be beaten..
Bus home, then, in enough time to drop into the Co-Op for something sweet. Tomorrow, another Funzing talk - An Introduction to the Dark Net. At Sink.. only about 10 minutes' walk from the office. For which I earned a loyalty discount, on account of all I booked recently!
On Tuesday and Wednesday, back again with Up in the Cheap Seats: Tuesday is for An Ideal Husband - part of the Oscar Wilde Season, at the Vaudeville. Stars father and son, Edward and Freddie Fox. And Susan Hampshire. Wednesday is for Mood Music, at the Old Vic, with Ben Chaplin.
On Thursday, the London European Club is attending a lecture at the LSE, on Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration. Then I'm back to the highly non-Eurosceptic Ireland again, for the weekend.
On the 30th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for A Gym Thing - got a fright when I saw that, but no, it's a play - in the Pleasaunce.
On the 1st, I'm back with North London Friends - to the Theatre Royal, Stratford East for Our Country's Good.
On the 2nd, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to The Writer, at the Almeida.
On the 3rd, London Literary Walks is doing - ahem - Stalin's Doss House. Meeting at Starbucks, naturally!
Then we're into the Early May Bank Holiday - and I saw an interesting trip, advertised by Carpe Diem, for a long weekend in Bulgaria. So I applied for a place - only to be told that there'd only been six, which were now gone. When I pointed out that the Meetup page advertised 12 places, and that some were shown as still available, they removed the event entirely. Instead, on the 4th I'm headed - with the £3.60 club - to Music Hall Monster: The Insatiable Mr. Fred Barnes, at Wilton's. Could be good.
And on the 5th, as of now, I'm signed up to an overnight trip to Newquay in Cornwall with Eddie's Excursions. This time, I got in the first six - ironically, they're not guaranteeing it'll go ahead unless they can fill a minibus! Watch this space..
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