Play: Julie

Tonight, I was finally off to see Julie at the National, having got a cheaper ticket than I could have managed on earlier occasions. Would you credit it though.. the cheapest ticket I could find was from.. Ticketmaster!! Never known for their cheapness in the past.. with this, and them scrapping the Get Me In and Seatwave ticket reselling sites, maybe they're turning over a new leaf!

I'm going to miss these lazy days - mind you, I was out earlier today than the last two, despite having taken the time to drag practically my entire outfit out of boxes! Arrived way too early at the theatre, and sat over the side reading my latest book (on the Kindle app on my phone - very handy). Well, I came to the end of a chapter, and decided it was time to head towards the theatre - and whom should I run into but two members of Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS)! Fancy.. So we stood and chatted for a bit, until we were called to go in.

I was to the other side from them - and wouldn't you know it (I had suspected), the Ticketmaster voucher that said it was my ticket wasn't accepted as a ticket. (I've complained to Ticketmaster about that, for whatever good it'll do.) So I needs must gallop back downstairs and over to the box office, where the confused attendant checked, and sure enough there was a ticket for me. So I galloped up again, where the poor usher was most apologetic. Anyway, I did still make it a couple of minutes before curtain-up - and my seat was quite close to the entrance. so not much climbing required.

The curtain opens to a Hello!-style kitchen, all anonymous, white doors, leading to cupboards or dishwashers. A long wooden table with accompanying benches along the centre. Here, we meet the servants, working overtime to serve the needs of the guests at the Bacchanalian party upstairs, which is revealed to us on a higher level at the back. Julie, however, the daughter of the owner of the house, ends up more interested in spending time with the folks downstairs.. particularly the dishy chauffeur..

I found the lead-up to the seduction quite humdrum, although it would have been shocking in its day - the original on which this is based, Miss Julie, was written in 1888, when the daughter of the rich master would have been scandalised to have been caught in a relationship with a servant! The seduction itself is artfully done - and indeed, the whole depiction of the party, with partygoers choreographed to depict wild abandon, is quite lovely to watch. However, the aftermath of the seduction, with its arguments and recriminations, was for me the highlight, as the poor little rich girl realises how poor she actually is..

A striking, and at moments, shocking play, it runs for 1 hr and 20 minutes without interval (like last night!). Recommended - I see why they changed some elements of the original story to be more contemporary. At the climactic moment, we actually had our own dramatic climax in the Circle, where somebody over the other side seemed to take a turn - a doctor was called for, and there was a kerfuffle. It was over quickly enough, though. And one of the people I'd met on the way in was back on the bus with me, which was nice.

Tomorrow is a bit up in the air - our boss suggested a (very) long lunch, but try pinning him or my other co-worker down on details! Anyway, I've suggested Bill's - doesn't matter, as long as we get out of the office for a while!

On Wednesday - at last, back with London Literary Walks! for the Lincoln's Inn Walk. I feel a bit guilty, having missed his last two for the Camden Fringe - blame UITCS! Now, I cancelled a meal with Let's Do This for this walk - ironically, I see that Mary took my place on it.. ah, this Meetup inter-group competitiveness!

On Thursday, I'm with Walking in London again, for The Summer Ghost Walk, which I cancelled earlier in the month. Handily, I got a loyalty discount for this, which knocked nearly half the price off! Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

And next week starts with two trips with North London Friends. Next Monday, we're off to Hampstead Theatre for The Humans. Front row, cool!

And on the 4th, we're seeing The Aristocrats - by Brian Friel - at Donmar Warehouse. Now, initially, I didn't book anything for this night, what with another late-night work meeting planned. Forgot about that when I was booking this, next time I looked - but sod it, the last late-night work meeting didn't even happen, and I'm sick of them just blithely assuming we'll work after hours.