Concert: The Choir of Man

Tonight, I was supposed to be with Civilised London (CL) again. They're going to a lot of plays these days - tonight, we booked for The Forest in Hampstead Theatre. A few famous people in this - Millie Brady, Silas Carson, Paul McGann, Gina McKee, Toby Stephens.. A while ago, I was contacted by the box office to say that during rehearsals, they'd discovered that my seat had a restricted view. Which is very thorough of them! So they'd reduced the price. I had a choice to make - did I want to stay in that seat - in which case they'd give me a credit note for the price difference, or change to another seat - if available, or upgrade to a more expensive seat and pay the difference, or perhaps book for another night? Well, I didn't want another night - so I rang them, and discovered there were no other seats available at my original price, so I upgraded, and was now in the second row. Well, as she said, the view would be excellent! Anyway, this is now sold out for the entire run.

And then today the theatre contacted me to say that tonight's performance was cancelled, owing to "the indisposition of a cast member". Jeez, this performance seems to have been cursed! Anyway, I could have got a credit note, but as I never really know what my plans are, I asked for a refund. 15 minutes I was on hold, waiting for that. And then had a look to see what else was on tonight! and wouldn't you know it, Up in the Cheap Seats was off to The Choir of Man. So, I did a little hunting around.. and handily, Seatplan was one of the cheapest ticket sellers offering deals on this, with plenty of £15 tickets, no fees. Especially handy because I had a £10 Seatplan voucher. So, for £5, I had me an end seat in the stalls..

I wanted to get something to eat beforehand, but hadn't thought to book anywhere. And the West End was unbelievably crowded - most places were turning people away, and there were queues at every door to every branch of Bella Italia that I passed!

I knew there were a couple of restaurants right beside the theatre - and carrying on to there, I came to P. F. Chang's Asian Table. Where - gee, they could seat me right away! They'd have to put me at a high table - but that was ok. Service came with a smile - I got the impression a lot of the staff were quite inexperienced - and I had a helluva choice, from what sounded like a whole menu of delicious choices. I eventually decided on chicken dumplings with sweet chilli sauce to start, followed by Mongolian beef in dark soy sauce and fried rice. And a large Sauvignon Blanc.

The fun started when the mains arrived before the starter. But never mind, the dumplings arrived in due course - and I have to say, everything was delicious! Beef a little chewy maybe - and caveat, that chilli sauce is quite spicy! but it was lovely. However, good luck getting anyone to take a dessert order - this is where the lack of experience might have showed, and they had got a bit busier, but after 15 minutes of trying to get anyone's attention, and with an hour now to showtime and half an hour to meeting the group, I gave up, put on my coat, and stood by the cash registers, waiting. And someone eventually got the hint and gave me my bill. A downer on what had been a lovely meal.

In the theatre, the bar was open - and already starting to fill up. And ooh, they had ice cream! So I had my dessert there. Followed by more wine. The group duly happened along, and we chatted before going in.

Now, the idea is, the stage is done as a bar, and sundry audience members are invited up and given free beer - and later, one woman scored a pina colada. You could be targeted from anywhere in the stalls - in Row F, I was invited up (no thanks!). They wanted to make sure no-one missed out, which was nice of them:

Well, this has been described as a musical - no it isn't, it has no plot! What it is, is a singalong-cum-choral concert. Set in a pub. It starts with Welcome to the Jungle - the idea being that "the jungle" in question is the pub. But don't let that fool you - most of their repertoire is easy-listening. Think Adele, think The Pina Colada Song. Think Dance with my Father, which I honestly never liked. Also some I'd never heard at all. So, not for everyone. But hey, they're amazing singers - and when they do get everyone singing along, it's great.. they finish with The Parting Glass, a beautiful choice - albeit a very highly produced version. Yep, worth a look. Runs until the 3rd of April.

Tomorrow, London Classical Music and Theatre Group (LCMTG) just yesterday advertised an LSO concert at the Barbican - so I'm going. 

On Friday, Laurence Summers persuaded me to come on his Old Jewish Neighbourhood Walking Tour - with the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners, as it happens. Now, it starts in the morning - and ends with lunch - so that should be ok for my flight! Hell, it's all around my area. And my new job hasn't started yet, so..

That evening, back to Ireland for the weekend - and with more legal stuff pending, doesn't look like I can squeeze in a film. If I do, what's coming up is (ahem) Dog, where Channing Tatum - a soldier - bonds with a dog he's taking to another soldier's funeral. We'll see.

On Monday, back with LCMTG for a concert at Wigmore Hall.

On Tuesday, Interesting Talks London is discussing - via Zoom - IEMT and Psoriasis - How Moving Your Eyes Helps a Skin Condition! Hmm..

On the second, back with CL for a Turkish meal, at Liman - meeting beforehand at The Crown, as usual.

And on the third, I was supposed to be back with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex, for what promises to be a very interesting talk: Dark Days Virtual Show - The Dark Days of Edgar Allen Poe. Love Edgar Allen Poe, myself. But it was rescheduled yesterday, and I can't make the new date. Have requested a refund. So, looking for something else to do, I came across Over 40 Living the Life. Who are off to the Vauxhall Comedy Club. Two interesting things about this. Firstly, the group is charging twice what the venue is advertising - so fine, I won't go with the group. Secondly, the venue is adding a 50p booking fee to what they're advertising. So, you know, seems a bit rich to advertise an "early bird" charge, then add a booking fee. But whatever. I'm going. On my own. (Oh, it does include a free drink.) Tickets from Design My Night.