Well, I did. And although I love the office drinks, it was good to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a while - and to honour my commitments! I was the first of us to arrive to an amiably chaotic lobby, with people milling about, waiting to go into the other show currently running here. (And isn't it annoying how they only advertise one show on the outside, so that people not familiar with their practices might think that's the only one!) Well, the others happened along in due course, and once we all had our tickets, we moved to the downstairs bar, which was much less crowded - you can't go down without a ticket.
The one thing that irks me about this theatre are the double seats - luckily, I had mine to myself, so it did prove useful for leaving my stuff on. And with only three rows to the theatre, there's no such thing as a bad view. That's an urn you can see there, BTW - this is a monologue about a teenage girl that takes her father's ashes on the journey of a lifetime - the trip he always wanted to take but never did, to the North Pole!
Starts off with a rapid cannon burst of dialogue, hardly intelligible. Don't worry, she's just making a point about all the stuff she has to tell you! It gets much more manageable thereafter. And how.. this is just over an hour of the most impassioned and entertaining acting you're likely to see. It's funny, it's sweet - never mawkish - and it's so touching, so true, that by the end I really don't think there was a dry eye in the house. Plus, absolutely fascinating if you have an interest in travel, and in the North Pole, as I do myself. You might be interested to learn, for example, that there isn't just one North Pole, but five..! And as for the description of glimpsing a polar bear...
Fantastic stuff, beautifully written and performed. One of the gems showing in London at the moment - runs till the 30th. Go see, for goodness' sake.. afterwards, we chatted briefly before people wended their separate ways home. Except me, who went to the office. Where I found my boss still working. So, when he was done, we had the drinks I hadn't had earlier, and a fine old chinwag. Perfect! So I squeezed in both the Meetup, and the socialising that I don't usually get with Meetup anymore.
Tonight, more Crick Crack! Back to their Archetypes series - taking place at Rich Mix, Lovers & Addicts is a stellar lineup of performers, including my favourite, Clare Murphy, Daniel Morden, and TUUP! Highly recommended - again, tickets are still available, at time of writing. I asked the team, but they don't seem able to make it - shame, this is gonna be good!
Tomorrow, I had booked with UITCS - same organiser - to see Shipwreck, at the Almeida. But from the terrible reviews I've heard, it sounds a lot less attractive to me than before. Sod it, the company social is the same night, and I've agreed to join the folks at work. So I cancelled the play. Anyone want a ticket..? Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
And on Monday, back with UITCS for Blood Knot at the Orange Tree. Assuming I make it, given that I cancelled the last one I'd booked here, as well..!
No comments:
Post a Comment