Play: Mediocre White Male

For today, I finally gave up on Meetup - the best things coming up were walks, and it was supposed to rain. Instead, I headed with TAC to a show called Mediocre White Male, at the King's Head (another place I hadn't been to in years!). Mercifully, the temperature was supposed to drop a bit as well.

Well, the temperature might have dropped, but it remained really clammy. No rain had yet been seen when I set out, although I did take a raincoat, just in case - I could walk to this. Checked beforehand, and discovered that the King's Head only does snacks, sandwiches, that sort of thing - so, looking around the area, I came up with The Bull, just down the road, which does full meals. En route, dodged two cyclists cycling on the pavement, and two cyclists and one motorcyclist that ran red lights, so I had to be careful when crossing at the green pedestrian signal.

Nice area this, lots of interesting shops - like the bookshop that hates people judging books by their covers:

And so to The Bull, where I ordered from the bar, rather than the app, it not being too busy:

Had a really nice chicken schnitzel, with some piping hot fries and a nice dip - which went better with the fries than with the chicken. And was finished just in nice time to schlep a few doors up to the King's Head, ordered a drink because someone was already chatting to the person at the box office, and then went up myself. She had to dig for my confirmation - remembered my name, but it wasn't on her list. Anyway, she didn't have a ticket to give me, but gave me a seat number - which I saved on my phone, just in case. And when it was time, we all filed in.

So, this is a monologue from a guy who earns a living acting the part of the statue of a historical personage who was murdered. Hence the plinth, which he hops up on whenever it's time to deliver his tourist spiel. The show is about 70 minutes long, and during the course of it, we find out about his job, his workmates, and his relationship with his ex.

Now, he has a lot to say about "wokeness", about non-binary gender identity - he comes up against it at work, and also against prejudices when we're talking about his ex - he's being left behind by a world he doesn't understand, and he delivers the material quite well. However, I am SO sick of personal rants, based on lived experiences. Which is what this sounds like. It's a brilliant portrayal of one man's experience in a hostile work environment, with a tragic portrayal of his relationship with a girl - but for something that apparently purports to have a wider agenda, I saw little evidence of it. The story was too focused on his experience to have much to say about the wider world. It could be quite moving - but I was glad when it finished. Runs till the 2nd, if you're interested.

Well, that rain caught up with me on the way home - I took shelter for the worst of it, but was still soaked through, and had to take everything off when I got in. Oh, and just one cyclist cycling on the pavement, and one running a red light, as I went home. The rest must have stayed in from the rain:

Tomorrow morning - having heard nothing in the meantime from that company I'm waiting on - I have an interview for a well-paying contract. In the evening, I'm back with Civilised London - for a Syrian meal this time, at Imad's Syrian Kitchen. Meeting beforehand at The Clachan. So I can update them with the latest news in this ongoing saga.

On Wednesday - well, I've signed up with Soho Comedy Factory Shows and Socials, which organises free events on Wednesdays at the aforementioned Soho Comedy Factory. Again. And again, this is subject to change. Watch this space..

On Thursday, I've decided on film. Having garnered all the available films this week, I had an interesting choice to make: ended up eliminating lots of films from the top of the list for sheer lack of interest! Basically, the decision process ran like - if this came on TV, would I watch it or turn it off? And so I came down to the one I really wanted to see. Nope is the latest from the excellent Jordan Peele, and stars Daniel Kaluuya (again) as the hapless victim of horrific events - extra-terrestrials this time. With Jordan Peele's typical injection of humour, this promises to be fun! And it's on at my local, so I get to see it for free.

And then, of course, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again. Planned film for the weekend is looking - finally - like Thor: Love and Thunder. Well, if I see Nope in the meantime, I'll have seen everything better - no longer showing in Ennis, so I'll see it at the Omniplex.