And for today, I signed up to an overnight trip to Newquay in Cornwall with Eddie's Excursions. This time, I got in the first six - ironically, they didn't guarantee it'd go ahead unless they could fill a minibus! Sure enough, it was cancelled on Tuesday. (Praise be, a lie-in!) So, no travelling for me this weekend. Instead, for today I booked with Funzing (through Funzing UK) - for a show called World Without Us, at Battersea Arts Centre. Gee, they're selling tickets for regular shows now! Way cheaper than the regular price, I must point out.. and that was before I applied the personal discount I got, for not having booked anything for a while.. even though I was outside the deadline for using it! :-)
Well, to begin with, I really enjoyed that lie-in! Had a very relaxed day, just venturing out for food, and remarking at the glorious sunshine and heat - I'll never get used to that. Didn't even need a coat - nor when I eventually left in the evening, but I took one with me for later. As to how I got there - well, once upon a time, two accommodations ago, this would've been within walking distance, but it was now a trek by bus and train. Just as well I left early, because the bus route was somewhat diverted.. arriving at the station, I had a peek at the departures board, saw that there was a train to Clapham Junction in four minutes from a nearby platform (they're very frequent), and duly made for it. And when I was comfortably sat on the train, I remarked to myself how very long it's been since I travelled this route, and how comfortable it is! But then, it wasn't rush hour..
Alighting at Clapham Junction, having lived there for a year, naturally I took the wrong exit. Never mind, I did know my way once outside, and how nostalgic it was to walk past all the shops. That was one of the great things about living there, the easy access to shopping. One of the not-so-great things awaited me just past the shops, where I had to put my lungs to the test by climbing Lavender Hill. Not quite cured yet, obviously, as I had to stop a few times to catch my breath - never for too long, though!
Battersea Arts Centre - the place I never, ever visited until I'd moved out of the area - is a converted council building, with a glorious marble staircase that you must climb to the theatre. There's a cafe downstairs, but I figured I didn't really have time. Downstairs we all huddled, though, until the lady came to clang the bell, disturbing an enormous black cat I hadn't noticed till then, who made a hasty exit. The stairs are gentle enough, so I didn't die, and as we went in I noticed a warning that there'd be 10 minutes of pitch blackness, and if you needed to leave during that time, you should raise your hand and an usher would help you. (Do they have night-vision goggles..?)
So, the stage is bare, apart from an obelisk-type thing - very interesting if you look closely, because it has teeny little staircases leading to an inner chamber with a mini-obelisk inside! Symbolic of something, no doubt. As we waited for the (slightly late - as usual) start, I mused how this crowd was like a flippin' cinema crowd; obviously, the cafe downstairs was selling nuts, and a number of people seated very close to me were crunching them away noisily. Including the guy beside me, towards whom I harboured strong homicidal tendencies. Honestly, I'd be embarrassed to make that much noise in any group of people! And I mean really, on a weekday I'd understand it, but why does a Saturday crowd feel the compulsion to eat at the theatre?! What, they couldn't eat before or after..?
After a bit, the performer came out - and once the lights started to go out, the nut-crunchers shut up, happily. Probably felt louder in the dark. Now, I'd been wondering how a world without humans would be portrayed - well, what this is, is a single narrator, who spends a bit over an hour telling us, in beautifully rendered prose, just what would happen. He doesn't bother explaining what's supposed to have happened to the humans - to hear him tell it, it seems as though they all just winked out of existence one day. But it's a fascinating and detailed description of what happens to our world - he starts from the perspective of the theatre, all the small creatures that start to get used to not being disturbed. He gives the poignant image of an aeroplane on autopilot, full of luggage but with no passengers or crew, flying ever onwards, overshooting its destination until it eventually runs out of fuel and crashes.
Nature gradually takes over, of course, and he gives a vivid account of that, describing all the wondrous creatures that roam former city streets. But the story continues way past that, right through centuries (which, as he points out, aren't counted any more), until (spoiler) the sun expands and engulfs the Earth. And what's left to show that we were ever here? Why, Voyager, of course! The space probe that was sent out with a record (literally) of humanity, samples of voices, pictures, snippets of music and so on. In fact, we get a taste of that at the start and end, with the start of the show consisting of people speaking greetings in all sorts of different languages (translated on a projection on the back wall), and pictures and sound at the end.
It isn't for everyone - someone left at the end of one of the dark sequences, and someone else walking down the hill behind me afterwards remarked to her partner that, "if it was a play, something should happen in it!" (Eh, centuries passed, and the sun engulfed the Earth - how much more did you want to happen?) But for me, I was entranced - of course, I'm used to this kind of performance, one person on stage telling a story, and for me it was both familiar and welcome. Beautifully told, and a fascinating story, starting with the familiar and moving to a grander scale. I note that a book with a similar name and theme was published some years back - I do wonder whether it was based on that? Thought-provoking and moving - I loved it. Highly recommended. Runs until next Saturday. Oh, and never fear - the darkest bit only lasts for a couple of minutes, and they still couldn't get that completely dark..
Afterwards, I was peckish, and found myself outside Panahar, the Indian restaurant I used to frequent around here. All right then.. with a couple of groups in, they could just about seat me, and with no butter chicken on the menu, I ordered a korma. And lamb samosas - it's been so long! And a peshwari naan - and, intrigued to see egg fried rice on an Indian menu, I had that too! And it was all delish - although the rice turned out to be pilau, and egg fried pilau struck me as a bit odd. Never mind. I was absolutely stuffed, and delighted I'd come - and gee, with the bill they present each person with an After Eight mint chocolate and a segmented orange, and each adult with a little glass of Bailey's! It's the little touches, you know - and I was so sorry that they didn't give me the opportunity to leave a tip on the machine, because I forgot to bring my Sterling cash from Ireland this time, damnit! Never mind..
Got the bus back to Waterloo - the journey was somewhat delayed when a group of young - Caribbean?-types got on and one, drunk or high, sauntered past the driver without paying. Well, he wasn't putting up with that, and despite the others being more co-operative, he put them all off and actually called the police - then called them back, down the road, to say that their services wouldn't actually be required. Oh, and I guess he'd had enough, because - with me the last on the bus - he made me get off and walk, one stop early. And at Waterloo, had the usual interminable wait for the #4, whose terminus is there - mind you, it says quite clearly on the stop that the bus only comes, late in the evening, three times an hour, so the Bus Countdown app should really get its story straight.
Chesty again this evening - I can only cough stuff up in the mornings. Tomorrow? Well, my regular Meetup groups have gone AWOL.. Ken's Events is doing something that sounds interesting: a walk from Queen's Park to Little Venice, for the Canal Cavalcade. Now,, I fancy neither joining a select group of 88 (!) others, nor paying £3 for the privilege - but I can mosey along myself, can't I? Be lovely in this weather..
No comments:
Post a Comment