Man, was I tired, after my week - woke late, and still spent a good portion of the afternoon asleep. Thank goodness to have the rare chance! Got ready in good time though, and walked up to Dalston, where I was the first at the restaurant. Not long before I was joined by others - and we had a long table, just inside the entrance - they'd opened up the whole entrance wall, to let the breeze circulate. Although it's cooler than before, that was very pleasant! Befitting the name, the walls and ceiling are made to look like stone, from which hang Turkish lamps and gilt stalactites:
Lots of people I knew there, from different Meetup groups - great cross-pollination. Most of us didn't have starters - which was probably a mistake, as we were quite early. Never mind.. the food was good, although the "spicy" adana lamb shish kebabs were not, by any definition, spicy. The ice cream was good, I can testify, and the sauvignon was excellent.. I'd be happy to come back and try another dish.
When we'd finished the faff of splitting the bill, we meandered off in the direction of the theatre, where at the box office, I guessed the correct postcode with which I'd booked! Yay - my prize was my ticket. Thus to the bar, where the very nice man tried to serve me two drinks. Which would have been fine, had he not tried to charge me for both.. Anyway, we managed to find a table at the end, large enough for us all to squeeze around.
This was in Studio 2, where many of us were in the front row. Last time I was here was a one-woman show; this time, if you hadn't known there were two, you'd have guessed from the two chairs that are the only props, moved around for them to sit on, and placed near or far, at different angles to each other to represent the state of their relationship. Because, you see, these are two girls from East London, best friends in school, who find it harder when school ends and they have to decide what life holds for them.
It's punchy and energetic; the stage is interestingly laid out in circular ridges, along which the chair legs can be placed. The acting is excellent, contrasting the one who stays in the community and discovers her roots with the one who breaks out into the wider world and tries to integrate with a different set. Although the London bombings happen in the course of the story, they're quite incidental to it - they might be a catalyst for the division between the girls, but I think it would have happened anyway.
The one who goes criticises the one who stays, thinking her a hypocrite for suddenly adopting her family's traditions. The one who stays thinks that the one who goes, who now has less time for her, is letting herself be used by people who look down on her. To be fair, she has a point with the other girl's job offer, which is a bit derisory. However, this doesn't have to be a play about Muslims - I found the same thing when I left home, and the people who stayed still don't understand why I did leave.
One person found it a bit long.. I think that might have been because we could predict what was coming. Still, as I say, well acted, and punchily delivered.
Afterwards, I was glad that some of us were already fixed on heading to a bar - the bulk of the group did the usual thing of standing around in the lobby for ages, as if on the point of leaving but not doing it, blocking traffic and talking about the play! Why they can't sit down to do that baffles me. If they had been, I'd have joined them, but I'm not a big fan of standing in hallways. They're the only group that does that. Anyway, we left them to it. The Aqua7 turned out to be closed, but happily one of our number knew of Newcomer Wines, which was happy to serve us some excellent wine. There was much gossip, about Meetup and otherwise. And many thanks to him for buying a second round before we called it a night.
My phone battery, of course, died on the way home, but somehow I figured out the way. Tomorrow, I booked with Walking in London, and Katie of Look Up London! Delighted she has a new walk - Smithfield & Clerkenwell: Guts & Glory. It's actually cheaper on her own site than on Funzing - unless you're getting one of those common 10% discounts! However, just yesterday she messaged to say she's had to cancel, unfortunately, due to family commitments. (Well, I had to cancel for myself, actually.) So it looks as though that film list will come in handy! Top for tomorrow is Kaiser: The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football. Based on the true story of a Brazilian footballer who, through faking injury and frequently changing clubs, managed to live the footballer lifestyle without ever playing a match..! I wouldn't normally go for a football film, but the trailer looks really good.. it's on in my local Vue. Woucher actually has a voucher for Vue - five tickets for £20 - but they have a time limit, and I can't guarantee using them by then, so I won't bother.
On Monday, I'm taking myself to the Proms, at the Albert Hall, for the first time in ages. This one is An Alpine Symphony.
On Tuesday, I'm finally back with North London Friends, for Give My Regards to Broadway, Upstairs at the Gatehouse. Completely sold out now, I believe.
On Wednesday - London Literary Walks is taking a break! That was the day I was originally looking at films for - but what was coming top was Teefa in Trouble. A Bollywood film - fine: except when I watched the trailer, the jokes weren't quite as funny to me as I think they were to the makers, and there was a bit too much exaggerated action - think slo-mo, and people balancing motorbikes on their fingertips. And 2.5 hours of all that was, I thought, a bit much - so no thanks. Which left Sanju again. Not so much.. so I then thought about heading, with UITCS, to Julie, again at the National. Huh! Only tickets left were £50, when I checked! I then checked again.. they had two tickets for £26! Gone again now, but they have £44 tickets.. Anyway, I've booked for a Heroism & Villainy Walking Tour (with Real Magic!), via Walking in London.
On Thursday, I was also booked with them - for The Summer Ghost Walk. I've been with this guide before - found him very good. And then.. Ryanair announced another bloody strike!! Yes, for the next day. Yes, when I was to go to Ireland for the weekend. So now I'm flying on Thursday, instead - happily, it was Funzing, so I'll get a refund. And they've even refunded me the credits that I used to book it! And I retain the record of bookings that'll earn me more credits. And at least I found out earlier this time, so booked an alternative flight earlier, so it was a bit cheaper.
On the 6th, Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group is off to Westferry Circus again, for The Importance of Being Earnest. I RSVPed for that.. but then London Dramatic Arts announced that they were off to see One for Sorrow, at the Royal Court again. They cleverly left the announcement until the theatre had sold out for that day - I guess there's an offer. So they were the only place I could get a ticket, and I did - probably at a slightly higher price than the theatre charged. Anyway, better than sitting on the grass, in the heat.
On the 7th, UITCS is off to When Midnight Strikes, Upstairs at the Gatehouse.
On the 8th, London Literary Walks is back with Brook Green - another area near where I used to live! Actually, the first medical practice that I registered with, in London. Nice nurse - one very narky doctor.
On the 9th, UITCS is back to the Camden Fringe, with How to Be a Londoner in an Hour, at the Hen & Chickens Theatre. Then I'm down to Helen's for the weekend, for a party..
And on the 13th, back with Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group, back to Westferry Circus.. this time it's for A Woman of No Importance.
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