Musical: Rent

So, a lull in decent tv tonight provided me with a window to do something a la Meetup. And my eye was caught by a performance of Rent, streamed free on YouTube, and watched earlier tonight by Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS). About time I saw it, I figured - I'd heard so much about it.

Caveat: It's long, and for me, it felt it. The set design is good, and the camera performed all sorts of contortions in getting all the angles. And the songs are lyrically good, and undeniably catchy. I spent some time figuring out why I wasn't getting into it. Ultimately decided that, particularly in the first half, it's just SO in your face as to be annoying, and prevented me from caring much about the rest of the show. People in the audience going ape for no good reason didn't help. It improves when it calms down a bit. Oh, and I wasn't imaging it - seems it is based on La Boheme (except - spoiler - they cop out and give them a happy ending). Set in the East Village of Manhattan in 1991 / 2, it also focuses on the AIDS epidemic - appropriately enough for these times, I guess. So you'd think that, with all that misery around them, you could have had something a bit more downbeat. Hmm.. not my favourite of all time, I have to say. But you know, if you have 2 and a quarter hours to spare..

Tomorrow, London Social Detours (LSD) has a quiz - in the afternoon, so I've signed up. She's requiring us to write down all our answers - dunno whether she's considered that she'll only be able to read them backwards! Must remember to make myself respectable. However, I'll also try to catch this week's offering from The Shows Must Go On!, where Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals are streamed for free for 48 hours - this week, it's Love Never Dies, a sequel to Phantom of the Opera. As advertised by UITCS.

On Sunday, as usual, I'm following UITCS' lead in watching Hampstead Theatre's weekly offering, which this week is the currently topical Tiger Country, set in the NHS.

On Monday, London Literary Walks has scheduled a continuation of the music quiz that was running.. a mistake on the organiser's part, he accidentally made the next bit a separate event! Glad he's still running it - when I saw the first event had ended, I was afraid he'd stopped, and I do enjoy them!

On the 2nd, behold, LSD has my attention again - they're doing an online murder mystery, where everyone chooses a character and (optionally) dresses up. Small fee. Cool! We get scripts, it seems.. And I've been chosen to be Sierra Tango, police constable! Seems it's been booking heavily, and that was all that was left. Fine by me.

On the 3rd, back with Hampstead Theatre for The Arrest of Ai Weiwei. UITCS is, of course, seeing it that evening.

Now, the 8th is a bank holiday - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow UITCS' lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..

..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..