Play: The Phlebotomist

Tonight, I got the very last ticket to The Phlebotomist, downstairs at Hampstead Theatre (gee, Hampstead again!). I went with Up in the Cheap Seats - North London Friends saw it in preview, but it was already sold out for that night when I looked.

Ah jeez, what a day today. Came in to the office, to discover that the entire documentation team in California was sacked. Well, first I found out that my boss was gone, then the head of training, then the guy who managed the community forum. Spent the day in shock, and I'm not recovered yet. Anyway, I dragged myself out in time to catch the bus, by which time things had settled down a bit - but I was still distracted as we chugged up the road, the bus overheated by the crush of passengers and the brilliant sunshine. At least, in Camden, I remembered that Stop X is actually after Stop Y - and with the indicator board not working, was delighted to be able to help a fellow passenger with the information about when our next bus was due, courtesy of that extremely helpful Bus Countdown app. And a lovely breeze was blowing by the time I disembarked.

Collected my ticket at the box office and headed downstairs, where our organiser was just drawing together tables and chairs. I headed first to the loo - confusing as ever, with a full-length mirror to give the illusion of space, and doors with large show photos, so it was hard to tell where the door even was. Plus, there was no toilet paper in my cubicle. Never mind, I managed, and was soon out to shock the others with the story of my day. Some had drinks, but our office picked a very good day to start to restock wine, I'd had some, and didn't feel the need now. We moved on to other topics before a queue started to gather, but didn't feel the need to start queueing until the door opened; we were at the end of the queue, but still managed to get seats all together, in the second row on the far side of the stage.

Two rows are all there are, for this production, on each side! The long stage runs down the middle, accessible from either side - seems they favour that kind of set, here. The sign outside the door warns that the production contains smoking (well, vaping) and flashing lights - true, and they start with six screens set in the wall, three on either side, above our heads, initially displaying static.

The story is set in a dystopian near future, where blood screening is used to give an overall picture of the health of an individual, summarised as a score between 0 and 10. Under three and you're known as a "sub", to be discriminated against in terms of dating sites, insurance companies, and employment prospects. It's all quite plausible - realistic ads extol the virtues of the system, and its by-products.. there's a cringeworthy dating ad, someone trying to excuse the fact that her score is only 5.9.. and we follow the stories of four characters caught up in this. There's the phlebotomist of the title, sorting blood samples when we meet her, whose job later becomes to test it for quality. There's a charming young man that she literally bumps into at the hospital. There's her best friend.. and there's the oddly cheery hospital porter, uncannily happy with his lot. All are affected by this system - in different ways.

I love dystopian fiction, and of course all this rings very true to life. Insurance companies do take account of your health, as do some employers, and of course mortgage providers, who look into the minutiae of everything - they'd just love to have it simplified for them with a numerical score. And can't you just imagine people being discriminated against, people being jealous of each other - and, for that matter, people prepared to cheat to better their prospects! The four characters react to this society in quite different ways, showing us how damaging it can be to judge people by an arbitrary number, i.e. be "ratist", as each questions the rules they live under.

I thought it very interesting - runs until the 19th of next month.

On the way home, an old friend contacted me, which delayed my journey somewhat, as I arbitrarily got off in Camden, for fear of missing my stop, only to discover that I was one before it! Not too bad, then. So I finished my conversation there, then waited for the #214 back home.. had to wait ages, and would you believe it, of all the buses that stop there, that was literally the only one that sped by without stopping! Blast - then the next was late. I was glad to get home finally, let me tell you.

Tomorrow, Helen is in town and we're headed for food. Somewhere. In the evening, I'm back with London Discovery Walks for yet another ghost tour - this one is called Ghosts of the Old City - just like my last Funzing walk!

On Sunday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats.. all day, as it happens. See, one of the organisers went crazy booking things the other day - it seems there's a day of free events at the V&A, with the theme of censorship. The day starts with Decorum X: Brunch with Bite.. tickets required. This is followed by a talk on Censorship on the Elizabethan Stage, then finally comes a performance by Belarus Free Theatre (the only theatre company in Europe banned by its government on political grounds, it seems), with Artists Fighting Oppression. Sold out now, but he had tickets for us, if we were in quick. In the evening, we're off to a film music gala at the Albert Hall. What the hey, the V&A is on the way there!

On Monday, another Funzing talk - An Introduction to the Dark Net. At Sink.. 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 am 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..