I'm back to Ireland for the weekend, which is bookended by two Up in the Cheap Seats events! Both booked very recently too, I might add. Tonight was Infinite Joy, at Southwark Playhouse - could hardly say no to that venue! I had an iffy afternoon, with an awful pain in my stomach - so I ended up at home. But it had just about cleared by the time I needed to leave, and I managed to leave in time to get buses - the tentative work release didn't happen anyway (surprise!), so all those urgent deadlines weren't so urgent.
Hot, hot, hot - the temperature gauge, as I passed it, said 28 Celsius. No coat required then, and I was glad I didn't bring one. The first bus zipped along until the detour, then crawled - but still got to the changeover stop just in time for me to catch the second bus. Which stops just past the theatre. And so it was that I ended up being the first of our group to arrive. When the organiser got there, I suggested we take possession of the armchairs by the window - 'twas always the seat of the Man with the Hat, back in the day. And so we did.
Two stages here, the Large and the Little - we were in the Little, and the show started later there than in the Large. Open seating - when we went in, we decided to take front row centre (why not?!). Pretty empty when we went in, the venue did fill up nicely after a while.
The show started (a bit late) with a couple of lines of young people filing in, deeply engrossed in their phones. Which is shortly followed by the plea to turn off your phones. This is to prove relevant to the plot. Actually, I initially didn't know what to make of this - we learn, early on, that the story is based on an island off the coast of Scotland somewhere terribly remote, where a bunch of teenagers were dumped as babies with one woman to look after them. As a "social experiment". They're all terribly smiley and happy-clappy - I was starting to wonder whether I'd signed up for some kind of Christian rock thing!
Nope, it's cleverer than that. One day, one of them finds what is apparently a mobile phone, washed up on the beach after a storm. Can't say I've ever seen a mobile like that before - big brick of a thing - but well. It is colour-changing, which is nice. And then lo, they get it to work.. and out pops Siri!! Literally - we had to pull in our feet whenever she came galloping around our side of the stage. What follows is an absolutely delightful romp through the internet - apps like "Faceroom", "Oogle", and "Instaglam" are explained to the youngsters, who of course soon become addicted, threatening their wholesome way of life.
Gosh, they're terribly enthusiastic, these performers - their "mother", by the way, looks absolutely no older than the rest of them. They grin and dash their way around the stage - and the energy! Particularly as the place was like a sauna. Sweat dribbled off them in huge drops, to the extent that we worried that the stage might become slippy and impair their safety. Devised and developed with the members of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Bridge Company, it seems - and there's definitely an Andrew Lloyd Webber vibe to the excellent soundtrack, which is accompanied by truly excellent singing and choreography.
They're right on the money with their exploration of famous apps - although they're really going to have to change the names if this goes further! Anyway, highly recommended - although you might want to bring something to fan yourself with. Runs till a week on Saturday. Afterwards, we each had something cold - outside! Very pleasant evening, great show. and great to see people again.
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