I headed off asap - ever so slightly later than intended. In lashing rain, again. Happily, I had a choice of buses - and one came along just as I did. And was I relieved to be under cover. The rain didn't seem as bad as I walked the last bit to the theatre - there was a helluva queue to get in, though. And so, up to the Grand Circle bar to meet the others - although I was actually sitting in the Stalls, for once. Not too far to climb, at least - the bar is a decent size, and very swanky!
Being a bit late, I didn't bother with a drink beforehand. We chatted away, then those of us in the Stalls headed downstairs. All the way.. it's one level down from the street.
Yes, that is a restricted view - but acceptable. Mind you, I was delighted when the guy in the seat beside me said he was actually going to try for a seat further forward, and if he got one, I could have his! which is what happened. It's amazing the difference one seat makes.. for £10 more (on the official site), you get a much more panoramic view of the stage. In practice, this entire row (S, in the rear Stalls) has a problem with the overhang from the Grand Circle, which does obscure the top of the stage. Not too badly though, and I found you could get a decent view of whatever you needed to by ducking down to peer under it.
Ah wow, I don't know where to start in praising this show. I thought it was fabulous! The lyrics are consistently clever - I found myself waiting for each song with delight, to see how the play on words would work. The story concerns a writer who's accepted the contract to turn his book into a screenplay - cue artistic differences with the director / producer. It's a classic PI story, the gumshoe hired to track down the missing daughter of a multi-millionaire. But as you might expect, the case isn't so straightforward.. the story, for us, switches between the writer's "real-life" story and the story he's penning.
You might not expect all the twists in the tale, as the fourth wall (between writer and characters) gets broken. :-) A favourite of our group was the rewrite scenes.. worth the price of admission alone. I won't spoil the surprise. Or what happens when they turn on the radio! But overall, I just adored this - the subject matter, the presentation, the staging tricks, and, as I say, the clever lyrics, which often see "real-life" words repeated by characters in the screenplay. And the screenplay itself replayed, after the director's rewrites! Some performers were undoubtedly better singers than others, and perhaps I couldn't remember all the songs afterwards - but this was so good overall, I just couldn't resist. Runs till the 5th of September, booking recommended.
Waiting for my bus home, I availed - once again - of the free WiFi kindly provided by the adjacent Pizza Express. And when the bus did come, it actually had room to park - no Co-Op van in the space, for once! No blogging last night though - had to be in early for a planning session.
Tonight, whoop-de-doo! Finally got a decently priced, decently located ticket to the show of the moment, Hamilton! Showing at the Victoria Palace, booking through Ticketmaster exclusively. Booked the same day as City of Angels - I often block book. So I get to see whether it lives up to the hype - I'm just delighted to be able to stop searching for tickets for it! And even with everything else going on, I remembered to bring the ticket with me. Now paranoid about losing / tearing it..
Tomorrow, back at Soho Theatre (hopefully - at least the show is later than Tuesday's, which I missed!). This time, it's Sara Barron's show, Enemies Closer.
On Thursday, back with This & That (not for ages, then twice in one week!). This time, it's a pre-Paddy's Day concert with the Band of the Irish Guards, at the Guards' Chapel. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
On Monday, back at Soho Theatre again - this time, for the opening night of Tom Rosenthal's show, Manhood.
Next Tuesday is, of course, Paddy's Day itself - and like last year, I'm off to the Irish Centre in Camden. And again, they have a St. Patrick's Night Special - I've already booked my ticket. Dunno whether anyone will join me, but hey.
On the 18th, back with UITCS for Be More Chill, at The Other Palace. My only Meetup that week!
The 19th is going to be hugely busy for me. So, first I'm at Soho Theatre for Jena Friedman's show, Miscarriage of Justice. And then, wouldn't you know it, The Embers Collective scheduled a series of shows at the Vault Festival. And blast it if I wasn't already booked for the whole week! But hey, with the comedy show finishing at 8.30.. and the storytelling not starting till 10.. this one was doable! Their show that night is Queerstory - LGBTQ+ - themed. And I'm going.
On the 20th, finally getting to see Dear Evan Hanson, at the Noel Coward Theatre. It got the royal seal of approval during the week, of course! And it's about time I saw it - UITCS went last year.
On the 21st, a proper social at last from my last company, woo-hoo! We now have 5 (possibly 6) confirmations for a dinner at my current favourite Italian - Amarcord Museum. The place with the chocolate mousse cake to die for.. I've booked, on the assumption that I won't get any more takers. And that laying a space for 6 is much the same as laying a space for 5. And I've asked specially for the chocolate cake..
On the 22nd, heading to the last night of a classical spectacular at the Albert Hall. Popular classical tunes, complete with lightshow - sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
On the 23rd, back with UITCS for Far Away, at Donmar Warehouse. Unfortunately, I'm now hearing really bad reviews of this - ah well. Not surprised, given that it's by Caryl Churchill, who also wrote A Number. Which I didn't rate highly.
On the 24th, seeing The Dumb Waiter, by Harold Pinter, at Hampstead Theatre.
On the 25th, back with UITCS for Clybourne Park, at the Park Theatre.
On the 26th, back with them again - for the opening night of a Ballet Black Mixed Bill, at the Barbican, for once! Much handier for me. Interestingly, no fewer than three Meetup groups are going to the same thing - but UITCS advertised it first, and I've booked with them and will not be repeating the chaos of multiple bookings that I tried previously. One in particular, Love London Theatre Arts Music & Stuff (LLTAMS) - which has a habit of booking the same thing on the same night as UITCS - has introduced a new rule that you can't book with them if you've booked with someone else as well. Well gee, no problem - wasn't going to anyway. Not really the way to increase your group's attendance, if you ask me. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
On the 30th, ironically, I'm with LLTAMS for something that they're the only ones to advertise! It's a classical concert of religious music at Queen Elizabeth Hall, and should be lovely.
On the 31st, back at the Barbican for It's True, It's True, It's True. Dramatisation of a 17th-Century rape trial.
On the 1st, I find myself with London Science & Geek Chic Socials! We're off to a talk at the Star & Garter (Greenwich), entitled Greenwich Skeptics: A Magician Among the Spirits, which describes the confrontational relationship between magicians and psychics - the name is taken from a book by Houdini.
On the 2nd, back with UITCS at the Barbican - this time, it's the opening night of Orlando.
And on the 3rd, back with them again for Last Easter, at the Orange Tree.
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