Mercifully, the house has been quiet all day - I can only assume the offenders aren't here - and I got to eat at home. Also got to walk to the venue - I'll be a bit further away in the new office, but still walking distance, which is great! A bit too far to walk to the new flat, though. And I must finally have broken in those shoes that have been too tight - they were much more comfortable today, despite the trek there and back.
A long climb, as usual, up to the second circle, where we were to meet. We formed an ever-increasing circle in the bar - a large group tonight, including a lot of new faces, which is great. I think most of us were sat quite close to each other - I had a seat at the side, as usual. Well, I did once I removed the guy who'd been sitting in it because he couldn't find his own! (He had the wrong row - as I pointed out to him, the letter determining each row is on the stairs.)
It seemed to take forever for the lights to go down, and I was wondering whether the show had already started - what with the monk pacing the stage, rearranging his mandala constantly, which he continues to do for the whole show. We were also treated to some deeply sonorous notes from an offstage gong.
Gotta say, this show is visually arresting. It looks gorgeous - both at the start and the finish. The structure that emerges from the mist at the back of the stage - accompanied by that deep gong sound - put me in mind of the obelisk from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The costumes are intriguing. Oh, and a creature appears later on; a helpful interview with the choreographer - as posted by one of our group afterwards - explains that it's actually a Tibetan lion.
This is the second night in a row that I've been unable to understand a dance production without some explanation. That aforementioned article is most helpful in explaining that what we're looking at is a work in three parts - incantation, sacrifice, and reincarnation. Now, when I saw the Pina Bausch version of this, it was terribly depressing - distressed dancers, dreading doom on a darkened stage. This - I'm delighted to say - is utterly different, with the dancers vying with each other to be the sacrifice. Because, it seems, in this instance, the sacrificial victim gets reincarnated!
So, much lighter then. I loved the atmosphere of the beginning. I loved the (as I now understand it) reincarnation section at the end, where the reincarnated dancer appears almost as a goddess on that backstage structure, reminding me of the painting The Birth of Venus. I found the actual sacrificial sequence, in contrast, very raw - but I think that's a good thing. Nothing like a contrast.
However - what I most definitely did not like was all the other stuff. Because there was a whole lotta shakin' going on.. for most of the second half of the production, they reminded me of nothing so much as 60s go-go dancers, complete with extreme headbanging and hairtossing. Can be tedious, too much of that, you know.
The confused audience thought several times that the production was finished, and I think missed the actual cue to start clapping. Never mind, we got there eventually. And that poor monk was still trying to tidy the stage, during the bows.. In the front row, expect some of this stuff to fall at your feet - it was spilling all over the front of the stage. A short run, this finishes on Saturday - and is completely sold out, at time of writing. Well, I can't recommend it unreservedly - but it is definitely different..
And tomorrow - for something completely different - we're off to the Park Theatre for The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson! Brexit, of course, should feature strongly.
On Saturday, mention was made last week of Ivan playing piano, at some bar or other. But as a venue wasn't specified, I doubt it'll happen.. Instead, I thought about cinema. Top of the list came Amazing Grace - a documentary about Aretha Franklin, who recorded an album of the same name before a live audience in a church. Apparently, she repeatedly blocked its release while she was still alive! I believe I saw Mick Jagger, in the audience in the trailer.. Anyway, with both showings at the Curzon Bloomsbury sold out, I thought I'd better book when I saw availability at the Rio. I booked the matinee - then remembered I'm supposed to pick up the keys to my new place on Saturday! Still, it shouldn't take too long to get there - the Overground, would you believe, isn't stopping where I need it to, but I've warned the estate agent I'll be a bit later than anticipated, and he says that should be fine.
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