Film: Nothing Like a Dame

Now, we're into the Early May Bank Holiday (whee!) - 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. And so it happened that I stayed in town this weekend.


For today, I thought of a film.. and what was being thrown up sounded good! Nothing Like a Dame is a portrait of four acting dames and lifelong friends: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins and Joan Plowright are interviewed about their separate lives, and their friendship. And it looked like fun. Nearest showing to me was in Picturehouse Central.

Had an early night, and a leisurely start today - just as well, in quite oppressive heat! As usual, I got all nostalgic as the bus got to the West End - I really miss living there. It was a relief to get off the stuffy bus - and I was right beside the cinema. They should make it a bit more obvious, I've always thought, that none of the cinema's business goes on on the ground floor - you have to climb the stairs (which I can now take in my stride, if I am left panting afterwards), where there's a concession stand and ticket desks - or you can buy your ticket at a machine downstairs. There's a ticket check, and then it's upstairs again to the screens - by escalator, this time. I was right up on the top floor.

Oh, how deliciously cool it was - I knew I was right to come to the cinema today! A sentiment I was later to see echoed on my way home:

Lovely, chenille seat covers too, and comfy seats with good back support. I can't say I was too impressed with the ice cream I'd bought, £3.70 for a tiny tub that tasted no more of chocolate than of the cardboard it was packaged in - never mind, it's not like I'll be making a habit of it.

Some things I'd expected of this film, some came as a surprise - somehow, I'd missed the fact (or maybe forgotten it) that Joan Plowright is now blind! Gosh, that isn't even on her Wikipedia page. I'd also forgotten that she was married to the late Sir Laurence Olivier - her friends had quite a bit to say about him. Including Maggie Smith, who described how he kept belting her when she played opposite him in Othello - said he knocked her out once! There's method acting for you.

Oh yes, this is a film jam-packed with anecdotes - the combined reminiscences of four acting greats, over decades on stage and screen. One thing I'd expected was that Maggie Smith would be the wicked one - and she is a genius at turning a comic phrase. Judi Dench, mind you, has a feisty spirit of her own, and had the most hilarious story about how a hornet stung her on her bum last summer. She was attended by a 17-year-old paramedic, she said, who opened with "What's our name?" "Judi," she replied testily. "And do we have a carer?" At which point she lost it, replying with, "Oh fuck off, I've just finished six weeks of The Winter's Tale at the Garrick!"

The audience were in stitches throughout - most unusual for a documentary. And this is an absolute must-see for anyone who loves the theatre - or film. The stories span four lifetimes, and the old footage of them is priceless, including Judi in a York Mystery Play, back in 1952. Incorrigible characters, their personalities light up the screen - I'm not surprised the IMDB rating for this actually rose three points from yesterday. Go see, go see.

Afterwards, not fancying the dubious standards of Chinatown, I took myself instead to Garfunkel's - had to sit inside, with all the outside tables taken, but never mind. Had my dependable usual, and was absolutely stuffed - and so home, via another overheated bus. I pity the drivers.

Tomorrow, we're all back to work, and Meetup is back to something approaching normal activity! I'm headed, with Henning and the London European Club, to a talk on the Catalan crisis, at the LSE - tickets were allocated by ballot, but even those of us who got them aren't guaranteed entry, as they oversell and it's first come first served.

On Wednesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for Red, at Wyndham's. Terrible time I had, booking this - I accidentally let my old billing address (I've moved since my last booking with them) go through on the form, the payment was rejected, and I couldn't get back into the page to edit my address! Neither could I start a new booking - everything I tried gave me an error message. Dreadful site. I finally e-mailed them, and they said to ring back during working hours and they'd amend my booking, or if they hadn't heard from me after one working day, they'd cancel it. Not fancying paying for a premium-rate call, I let them cancel, and rebooked myself. Carefully replacing my address with the correct one!

On Thursday, I'm headed with London Social Detours to a talk on Shakespeare and the Wandering Mind, at the Wanamaker Playhouse - my first trip there in over a year, goodee! They were sold out when I tried, which is why I'm willing to go with her and pay her booking fee.. Payable on the day, so I'd better get some more cash out. And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.