Of course, you know what happened - I left it too late to walk! (For goodness' sake..) Well, I might have managed it, but at best would probably have arrived at the door with a couple of minutes to spare, and me having to head all the way up to Level 5. No thanks. Not too late to catch the bus though (for once), which materialised as I approached the stop. Heavy traffic delayed it so I had time to get there, which was good, as no-one else hailed it, wanting to get on. Indeed, I had the whole bus to myself most of the way!
Arrived at the opera house with about 10 minutes to spare - what a luxury. After the most cursory of bag checks (he didn't even ask me to open it!), I headed upstairs. I'm sure they've changed the direction system since I was last here - which was a little while ago; it's much easier now, each door given a unique letter identifier, so it's easy to find the right one. Slightly more trouble to find my seat in the slips, but I did eventually.
The mysterious hand in the photo belongs to a Japanese lady, who was so excited to be there - the lead ballerina is Japanese, as it turns out, and this lady was all thrilled and proud of the fact!
Well, I have to hand it to them - this is a terrific production. Sumptuous to look at, the choreography is as expressive as I've seen it anywhere. The drunk ballet in the second act is a particular highlight. As for the lead ballerina, she glided onstage to a smattering of applause - I don't think my companion was alone in her admiration. And throughout, she was ethereal, and seemed light as a feather. Speaking of interesting visual effects, the swamp mist of the last scene spilled over continuously into the orchestra pit - kudos to the musicians in the back row, for playing through what was at times a dense fog!
Unfortunately, the show lasted half an hour longer than it should have - towards the end of the second act, the lead male dancer started to hobble. Might have been part of the quirky choreography - until he turned and hobbled off. And just to prove the point, someone came on - obviously not part of the production - to say there'd obviously been an accident, and could we bear with them. It was subsequently confirmed that the role would be substituted, but the whole thing added half an hour to the running time. I was just glad it wasn't rescheduled - I'd never fit it in!
At the end, massive bouquets for the leading lady - and a huge round of applause for the stand-in, who had a lot of jumping about to do in the last act. Runs till the 6th - highly recommended. I can't say whether the original cast member will be back, though. I'd forgotten how much hard work is involved in sitting in the slips - had a crith in my neck most of the night. Mind you, the people to my left didn't come back after the first interval - which meant we all had more space. I had somewhere to leave my stuff, and a lady in the middle of the row, who came back after everyone else was seated, decided just to stay at the end! Easier all round.
I had quite an easy journey home - a choice of buses, so I just chose the first to arrive. Which, not being the #11, had no problem bringing me to within sight of my door! Tomorrow, the Crick Crack Club (CCC) is back at Rich Mix, with Melusine. TUUP is the headliner on this occasion, which should be terrific!
On Friday, Helen's in town, heading to a Midge Ure concert at the Palladium - we're meeting for dinner beforehand at the Slug & Lettuce. Now, that's the day I should be flying back to Ireland - so I'm going the next day instead. And with my mother's birthday during the week - and not having any major holidays booked - I said, why not just take the week off and spend it in Ireland? So I am.
On the 28th, the CCC is back again - Ben Haggarty is in Soho Theatre with Grim Grimms - a dark take on fairytales, highlighting four lesser-known tales of the brothers Grimm. With musical accompaniment. Tickets weren't available when I noted this in my calendar - they have now, predictably, sold out.
On the 29th, I'm trying to persuade the social group from my former company to come with me to a Design My Night event - Fright Night Cinema is showing Hallowe'en in the Rivoli ballroom, with a themed cocktail bar and people dressed in spooky costumes. Now, that sounds like fun.. I've booked, at least, and a couple of others have indicated they'll come.
On the 30th, back with Meetup at last - Up in the Cheap Seats is at a mixed programme by Birmingham Royal Ballet, at Sadler's Wells. I've seen part of it before, and it's excellent.
For Hallowe'en, The Embers Collective stepped up to the plate, with a storytelling performance called Witch, at The Jago.
On the 1st, meeting Ivan.. he's away most of the time till then, and I'm busy the rest of the time!
And on the 2nd, I've booked with Best Authentic Walking Tours in London, for a Royal Maritime Greenwich Ghost Tour. Now, this is - as with all their walks - with Funzing, so I can get a refund up to 48 hours beforehand. Which I'll probably do (have, in fact, done for this twice already), as I might go to a film that day - depending what's on - or, if I don't like the offerings, Love London Theatre, Arts, Music & Stuff is off to Blood Wedding, a new adaptation of the Lorca play, at the Young Vic. But I now see that's sold out - was bound to happen.
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