Well, my original plan was to walk there - and in retrospect, that's what I should have done. However, I did get caught up with things at the office.. so had the bright idea to take the Tube. At that, had I known better, I'd have walked to Bank, and taken the Northern Line straight from there. It'd have been quicker. Nope, I needs must wait at St. Paul's - the station that, at that time of the evening, no-one needs to get out at - for a Central Line train to arrive that had space for me on it. I was waiting a while.. I had to let seven trains pass before managing to squeeze on the eighth. I hope I never make that mistake again - it would actually have been quicker to walk the whole way. (The Northern Line was much emptier, BTW.)
So, I duly made it to the Mercato. Gee, what a place! Packed with literally dozens of food stalls, it is a maze - and it wasn't until my second pass through the place that I even saw the stall they were supposed to be sitting near. I appealed for help on the event page, was given more directions.. still couldn't find them. Until, of course, I was actually on my way to the theatre, and spotted the bar that had been mentioned. And lo, there they were. Well, there was a pasta stall nearby,and I figured that'd be quick enough - so I got some of their bolognese, served on a mini frying pan, with a fork. And very tasty it was! And hey, it was an experience, despite the hassle.
So we then made our way over to the theatre - via the convenient zebra crossing. I had to pick up my ticket. And we were then into the crowded theatre bar. It's so long since I was here last that I actually couldn't remember whether they allow drinks into the auditorium (yes, they do). Once that was settled, I purchased a glass of house white - and yay, they do proper measures here! I was beginning to worry I'd never see a 250ml glass again. In the end, I drank enough that it would've been (slightly) more cost-effective for me to have bought a bottle. Ah well.
This is a dramatisation of the life of Rachmaninoff during a time when, as a very young man - just starting out - he suffered from severe depression. A soulful-looking, intense young chap, with heavy eyeliner, plays the lead role; as he consults with a therapist, his alter-ego plays the piano, in the back. His fiancee makes a few appearances, as do friends. But as they come and go, we start to wonder which he's fantasised meetings with.
But hey, this gets a lot more interesting than that! Clever lighting is used most effectively to represent the sheer chaos in the head of a tortured genius - there's a lot of strobing. So much happens in this that it would actually be worth a second viewing, just to remind yourself.. there's the conflict between the Rachmaninoff in the therapist's chair and the one at the piano, there are the larger-than-life people he meets. And after a mesmerising, surreal first half - we get the bowels of hell at the start of the second! Whether this is meant to represent a real-life operatic event, or just his fevered imagination, isn't clear. Perhaps it's both.
The roots of his depression seem to be both his early success, and the failure of his first symphony. (And yes, as referenced in the play, part of the blame was down to the conductor.) The reconstruction of this in the play is suitably horrific. But oh, along with the intensity of the acting, we have the most gorgeous music throughout... appropriately for a play about a composer, of course, although his compositions are mixed up with those of the writer. Beautifully played, parts are also most beautifully sung; I don't think there was anyone in this who lacked musical talent. It was for that, as much as anything else, that I joined in the standing ovation at the end. My summing-up came as one word - Wow! Such talent, such a fantastic show.. others could take note. (And how funny that the two best things I've been to this week are based around Russians.) Ends tomorrow (Saturday) - for goodness' sake, if you can, go see this. Rapidly.
Convivial drinks after to finish the night - and it seems they're selling off old costumes, now! They also have a contactless donation point in the bar - seems they're fundraising to move to a permanent premises. Good luck to them! Afterwards, an untroublesome bus took me (swiftly) straight home.
Tomorrow, seeing the matinee of Solaris at the Lyric Hammersmith. Turns out that both UITCS and Love London Theatre, Arts, Music & Stuff (LLTAMS) are going - so I booked with both! Why not? Each requires you to buy your own ticket. And with only a few going from LLTAMS, I hope we can merge.. Ivan was talking about possibly meeting up that evening, but then realised he had a train booked for the following morning, so we have to reschedule.
On Sunday, joining the London Improvisation Community Group for the first time - they have a show called Happily Never After at the Pleasance - part of the London Horror Festival.
On Monday, I'm seeing Mother of Him, at the Park. I see NLF is going to this a bit later, and already raving about it..
On Tuesday, UITCS is off to the Albert Hall for Symphonic Queen - the Royal Philharmonic is performing Queen.
Then begins a long period of non-Meetup stuff. On Wednesday, I'm heading to the ballet Manon, at the Opera House.
On Thursday, the Crick Crack Club (CCC) is back at Rich Mix, with Melusine. TUUP is the headliner on this occasion, which should be terrific!
Next 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 are now, and will likely sell out - indeed, I see availability is now limited.
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 - UITCS 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, that rescheduled meeting with 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, LLTAMS is off to Blood Wedding, a new adaptation of the Lorca play, at the Young Vic. By 'eck, though, I see there's already limited availability on tickets for the whole run, and several dates sold out! Hope I don't lose out..
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