One of those you have to pick up your ticket for - sure enough, at the theatre, the long queue was for the box office. Pick-up was easy, and then - despite some of us sitting in the stalls - the group met in the Upper Circle Bar, since most were sitting up there. Happily, with the Dress Circle at entrance level, we were halfway there already, with not much further to climb! As usual, we took over most of the bar, which isn't that large.
My seat was in the very back row of the stalls - my view much improved by the lack of anyone sitting in front of me, thank goodness!
An ominous play this, written over 100 years ago.. with a gorgeous, evocative set. The action takes place in two rooms of the great house of Rosmersholm - mostly in a drawing room that's hardly used, following the death of the wife of the pastor, who is the last scion of the great Rosmer family. There is one scene in the pastor's bedroom - I have to commend them on the set change there, which I didn't even notice! Perhaps my attention was directed elsewhere.
They've perfectly captured the sense of a house - and a family - once grand and now decaying. The walls are patchy, with signs of damp - the paintings, once their dustcloths are removed, are gloomy. The light that passes through the side windows gives a fantastic lift to the scenes, shafts of light from the outside beaming hopefully in. But nothing seems able to penetrate the gloom of these rooms, which has its own effect on the people within.
This play has everything - political upheaval, with an election on the horizon: and social change, with questions about the rights of the common folk, and indeed of women, mixed up with challenges to established religion and moral standards. Each of the characters finds their most deeply held beliefs threatened over the course of the play, and as the sands shift under their feet, the whole thing is rendered yet more disturbing by the sounds of a storm outside, and the housekeeper's insistence that she's seen the "family ghost" - the white horse of Rosmersholm, which foretells a death in the family.
It's absolutely marvellous. Not only the set, but the acting is spot-on, in what is a great production. I found the pastor a bit whiny - but I think he's supposed to be, a man who should represent the greatness of his family, but instead seems to dither, politically and personally, never coming down properly on one side or another. His brother-in-law is suitably annoying, representing the rigid morals of the past, and the young lady who acts as the protagonist gives an impassioned performance as she tries to bring something of light and life into the place - as hinted at by her white dress, in the midst of all these dark colours, in the first act.
Go see, go see - this is worth it. And as someone remarked, quite as relevant today. Runs till the 20th July.
Tonight, it's Our Town at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, with some folks from last night. Happily, the weather seems to be obliging, with no rain promised, decent temperatures, and indeed sunshine - for now!
Tomorrow, back at last with London Literary Walks - whom I'm shamefully neglecting - for "The Second Westminster Walk".
On Thursday and Friday, I booked with UITCS. On Thursday, it was for The Starry Messenger, at Wyndham's, starring Matthew Broderick. I waited the longest time to book this, because I have theatre tokens, earned from posting photos to Seatplan, and every time I thought of booking it, I was either away from where my tokens were, or it was out of office hours - and they have to be booked by phone, generally. Well, I was to be glad I waited - they finally released really cheap front row seats in the stalls! (Restricted view, it's a tall stage.) And I was within arms' reach of my tokens, mid-afternoon. After being kept forever on hold, I was put through to someone who had to have everything spelled out for her, and emitted a big sigh when I told her I had a theatre token. So she had to log into that site. But it was all worth it, to get a ticket for £2.25.. Of course, I knew something would go wrong: and now the office social is scheduled for that very day. Ah well - curry night it is then, venue TBD.
On Friday, I'm off, with UITCS, to Jude, at Hampstead Theatre.
And on Saturday, back - for the first time in a ridiculously long time - with London Dramatic Arts! We're at King Hedley II, with Lenny Henry, at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. As usual, she closed RSVPs too early, but I asked, and she reopened them. Be good to see them again!
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