Play: Mad House

Yesterday was another handy day to come to the office, as last night, I headed to Mad House at the Ambassadors Theatre. A short walk from here!

With all the free food here, I've started boxing clever, and stashing food so I can eat all day, and don't have to get anything in the evening. Which is marvellous! Anyway, I can't get a locker until I get a permanent pass - which there's no sign of yet - so I was forced to drag the laptop with me to the theatre. At least it was a short walk! I was pretty wrecked by the time I got there - only to find that b****y Google Maps had sent me to the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) - in other words, Wyndham's, not the Ambassadors Theatre. Happily, the West End being what it is, it wasn't far between them.

At the (cursory) bag check, I got dragged into a surreal discussion about a young usher's girlfriend, who'd been hinting about a ring. When I finally got in, I was early and the house wasn't open yet. Sadly, no cloakroom, so I lugged the laptop up the stairs to the (teeny-weeny) bar. Where service was friendly, but it was a bit stuffy - even with the windows open. So I had a glass of wine, and was lucky to get a seat - the bar ultimately filled completely, and a queue down the stairs was unable even to enter, and had to wait for people to start to leave before they could have a go at ordering a drink! Well, considering they didn't get around to opening the house until about 7.05, the time I was actually supposed to get there - for a 7.30 show!

Mercifully, I'd - as usual - booked an end seat, so had space for the laptop. And my legs. And the heavily pregnant lady beside me only needed me to get up once to let her out to the toilet.

I have a suspicion I've seen this before - but anyway. Bill Pullman (THOUGHT I recognised that smirk!) plays an irascible old man, on his last legs, who's widowed, and has been cared for by his son for the past year or so. This son spent a year in a mental hospital, it transpires, and his dad never lets him forget it - and when his brother and sister arrive, sniffing around for valuables and talking wills and deeds, you can see how he might have been driven to madness, with the three of them! Frankly, he's probably the sanest of them.

The father, bitter at no longer being able to do the things he enjoys, and taking it out on his carers. The brother, having a good snoop around to see what the house might be worth. And the nightmare sister, barging in, first time in years she's darkened the door, and straight away she's criticising everything, talking about suing people, and talking about having her "insane" brother re-committed. Of course, as she points out to her other brother, that'd mean a bigger share of the spoils for "everyone else". We've all met them, haven't we? "Where there's a will, there's a relative." The one outsider in the piece is the hospice nurse, who takes the caring son's side, and in whose indignant amazement we can see just how dysfunctional this family is!

Fantastically acted, engaging, funny, and moving as we realise how much this brother is putting up with - this is a lovely piece of theatre, and well worth seeing. Runs till the 4th of September. Struggled home with the laptop - the boss isn't in today, so I couldn't use his locker - and took two buses, to have as little walking as possible.

Tonight, back with the Crick Crack Club! for The Nine Muses of Queen's Crescent, at Rich Mix. Courtesy of my favourite storyteller, Clare Murphy, whom I haven't seen in an age! Last storytelling event until autumn.. Now, distance-wise, this is a curious one. There actually isn't much to choose between home and work as to which is handier for this - home is very slightly closer to walk, but still too far for me to walk (particularly in today's heat!): but the public transport option is ever so slightly quicker from work! So, what with the free food n all.. I'm in the office again today.

Tomorrow, I had booked with TAC for Haydn's Creation at St. Pancras Church, Euston. And then I saw that Bucket List London (BLL) had booked something for earlier in the day! specifically, a trip to Greenwich Royal Observatory and/or the Ranger's House. Ah well now, I haven't been out with this group since January! Ironically, that's where I first met Laurence, on so many of whose walks I've subsequently been - and who knows when I'll see him again?! since he seems only to run walks on weekdays, now. I seem to be swapping one for the other.. So anyway, I'm now going to all of the above. One of those busy days.

On Sunday, back with London Guided Walks (LGW) - but, armed with the information that they now advertise through TAC, I've booked through them instead! This is the Secrets of St. James Walk, and given how I booked, I must remember to bring £3 cash on the day. I have to admit, the standard of these walks is excellent.

On Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Jitney, at The Old Vic. I didn't fancy the cheapest seats - but gee, SFF had seats in all but the most expensive price bands, for very little more! So I now find myself in the central Stalls for this..

On Tuesday, I'm at the Royal Court for That Is Not Who I Am, a play about identity theft, from a mysterious writer about whom we have few details, except that he has worked most of his life in the security industry. Ooh..

On Wednesday, back with TAC for The Lark Ascending and Piano Quintet, a classical concert at St. Giles' Cripplegate, a church I've often passed but never been in! Part of the City Churches Music Festival.

On Thursday, back at the same festival - with CT, this time, for a concert of English Song at the lovely church of St. Bartholomew the Great. It's been too long.. Then back to Ireland for the weekend again.

On the 27th, booked with TAC to hear an interview with Chris Patten, the last UK governer of Hong Kong before it was handed back to China. Happening at Conway Hall.

On the 28th, back again with Free Stuff and Free Events, for their Free Tuesday Sing-a-Long for Health and Pleasure. Online, and one where you're muted, so you don't even have anyone hear you sing! Great for the shy.

On the 29th, I'm finally succumbing to Anything Goes, at the Barbican. Now, I got my ticket for this from Time Out, which is the first place I saw the offer - but it turns out that any number of outlets have £25 tickets! If they're all for the same seats as Time Out, then I'd have to feel sorry for people that bought tickets for £38, which is cheaper than the original price of £45 for the seats on offer! Assuming anyone did. Anyway, with no bad seats here, you'd have to be crazy to pay more.

On the 30th, back with BLL - who obligingly is doing something midweek! I'll have to skip off work early - this is for vespers in Westminster Cathedral, and starts at 4.30. He is actually in Westminster all day, attending Ministerial Question Time earlier - but not only do I have a job to go to, but jeez, I do believe this would just infuriate me! So that, I'm not attending..

On the 1st, back with Civilised London for dinner at Caravel. Terrific reviews..

That weekend, I'm back with the man with the famous name - Dr. Stephen King (not the writer) is guiding a couple of walks for LGW (courtesy of Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts). Sadly, not as yet advertised on TAC, so I've booked them through the official site (discount of £3 with the code MEETUP3, as usual). Both topics / areas I've covered many times before, but gee, he's such a great guide! On the 2nd, it's his Southwark Walk.

On the 3rd, it's his Royal Coronation Walk. I just bet he comes up with something I didn't already know..

And on the 4th, I'm headed to A Doll's House Part 2, at Donmar Warehouse - sequel to the famous original, where the wife leaves an unhappy marriage; this sequel examines what happens when she returns.