Play: By the Light of the Moon

Tonight, I kept free for an all-night drinking session with Ivan. However, predictably, he cancelled - probably still recovering from his bout of Covid. I've only met him once so far this year - hope I get to see him again before the end of it! What annoys me, though, is how I always have to chase people to let me know when they have to cancel - he's not the only one, but he wouldn't have thought to tell me if I hadn't asked. Honestly, how is a person supposed to plan? Anyway, instead, I booked with TAC for By the Light of the Moon at the Old Red Lion. Part of their Grimfest Festival.

Could easily walk there - I didn't fancy their menu, but my route would take me past The Lucas Arms (yum). Only thing is, they might have been too busy.. but at 6pm or so, no they weren't, and I got a table without trouble! Ordered my food - for some reason, drinks were only available in plastic, but I said I'd survive. And my food was popped down to me in no time flat. Pie, of course - and it. Was. Amazing. I could nearly have had two.. did I mention it's award-winning?

Well, that sustained me for the walk to The Old Red Lion. Which I hadn't been in since the abortive night before I fled London at the start of the pandemic - when they'd taken my booking, but never put the show on. The decor hasn't improved. I got a drink and took a seat. Nobody at the box office, as usual - no WiFi, and no phone reception either. Good sountrack, at least. There was a cute baby at the next table, but once that family left, I had very little to do..

There never was anyone at the box office. The guy who later turned out to be checking names - complete with sheet of paper - stood over the side for a while, anonymously. The crowd streamed out from the last performance - seemed to have been well-attended. And finally, a bell rang behind the bar, someone yelled that the house was open, and up we went - the guy with the sheet of paper had preceded us. When the door opened, we started to file through - I wasn't on his list at all, of course, and he hadn't thought there might be a second! Never mind, I told him how I'd booked, and he just scribbled my name at the bottom of his list and thanked me profusely for coming. He asked me to fill from the front..

Seating is unassigned - and I don't remember it being in the form of church pews before! Not the most comfortable - at least it was only an hour. A one-woman show - beautifully written, lovely acting. The heart-rending story of real-life horror, of a young woman, who, it becomes apparent, has been confined to a mental institution, with no real idea of what it means. She keeps quoting nonsense poetry - the title comes from a line in The Owl and the Pussycat. And through snippets, she tells her story, and we find out how she got there, even if she doesn't realise. Truly horrific things were indeed done in real life - you don't need the supernatural to be scared of. An old-style scary story, excellently performed. I would recommend it - but sadly, that was it! Last night tonight. Grimfest, however, runs till the 5th.

So, that being nice and short, I should be able to get up tomorrow - I'm on another walk with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners! This one is the Edgy London Walking Tour, and is one of his new ones. Great to see them again..

And yes, I have something to do that evening! (This month is far too busy.) I'm back with the Crick Crack Club (CCC), for the Game of Candles - their Hallowe'en offering, where they extinguish a candle for every spooky story told. Tim Ralphs and Sarah-Liisa Wilkinson - in King's Place, lovely! I can walk home..

On Sunday, I dug out something interesting on Meetup, from a new group to me - London Social & Cultural Meetups is headed to evensong at the church of St. Bartholomew the Great. Gorgeous church, sounds great - unfortunately, their event is full, but I can head along on my own.

Ahh.. and then, 'tis Hallowe'en.. yes, of course I have something for that. Do you remember me mentioning I was going to five Darkfield events this month? Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed I've reviewed four.. which leaves one. For Hallowe'en - the only one they're running that night. Séance, appropriately, which, it seems, was their first ever show - I do have to go all the way up to Watford for it, but it should be worth it. I've booked the first showing of the evening, which is at 7.

Deliberately booked early, to try and squeeze something else in. Now, that only lasts 20 minutes - and it seems I can get down to Leicester Square within an hour. Which gives me time to get to Prey for the Devil, showing at Cineworld Leicester Square at 9pm. Another exorcism story, this one unusually seems to have the exorcism performed by a nun! (Very egalitarian.) She gets around the Church's rules about women not doing such a thing by claiming that the same demon that possessed her own mother is now inhabiting a patient at the facility where she works. So this nun is probably a target. Well, it's probably not high art, but it should do the trick..

Ah, but.. that blasted film list never now gets updated until the Friday - with the films due to show on the week starting that Friday! Poor you, if you wanted to go to a film that Friday.. So - just checked it.. and lo, there's a new kid on the block. Barbarian - very obviously released with the Hallowe'en market in mind - looks like a jumpscare film. But it has some good credentials, coming from "an executive producer" of The Ring and The Grudge, both excellent films. In this one, a young woman comes to Detroit for a job interview, books a house through Airbnb. (Ah, we know where this is going..) Well, from what I can glean from the trailer, the house already has someone renting it. But it's late at night, and he seems fine - whereas the neighbourhood really isn't. So she decides to stay the night and move on in the morning. Biig mistake.. ooh, and it seems to have a really big basement.

The teaser trailer spends the whole time showing us audience reactions! This is currently very highly rated - probably won't stay that high, but frankly, it has a long way to fall to get down to where Prey for the Devil is! Showing in the Odeon Tottenham Court Road, at 9.30 - and I can walk home from there! Ah, happy days when it was actually my local cinema..

On Tuesday, the horror continues - I've booked with TAC again for The Drought, a short horror play at Grimfest at the Old Red Lion again.

On Wednesday, back with the CCC for their annual Day of the Dead event - this one is at Rich Mix. Stars Daniel Morden, Clare Murphy, Lucy Lill, and TUUP - and all but Clare Murphy, I haven't seen in an age! In fact, I've never heard of Lucy Lill before..

On Thursday,  I was back with Up in the Cheap Seats - for Noor, at Southwark Playhouse. The true story of a WWII spy - and bought, as usual, on my PAYG subscription - which gives you cheap tickets to five shows, and never expires. Suggestion of eating beforehand at Mercato Metropolitano. But wouldn't you know it, that night's performance was cancelled.. Instead, I'm off to a talk at Watkin's Bookshop (which also has a Meetup presence!). Theme is The First Ghosts, by Irving Finkel - ghost stories have been around for a long time..! He's written a book about the first evidence of tales of the supernatural.. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

On the 7th, with nothing on Meetup, I'm currently thinking of heading to see the Carnaby Street Christmas lights, which will be up by then.

On the 8th, headed to see John Gabriel Borkman, by Ibsen, at the Bridge Theatre.

On the 9th - originally, nothing better coming up than Soho Comedy Factory, upstairs at The Blue Posts. Now, instead, I've changed my booking for Noor to this night. Sadly, not with the group, who rearranged for a night I can't go.

On the 10th, back - at last! - with London Classical Music and Theatre Group (LCMTG), for Alcina at the Royal Opera House. More Handel..

On the 11th, I was heading to The Horror Show at Somerset House - a horror-based art exhibition - with The Horror Book Club. But then Civilised London popped up with another meal - so I booked that, and we were headed to Champor Champor, a Thai / Malay restaurant. Meeting beforehand at The Rose, nearby. Until he decided, just yesterday, to cancel it! I supposed he hadn't wanted to do it with only two of us, since I was - unusually - the only one to sign up. But to my further surprise - he kicked me out of the group later last night! No warning, no explanation - not very "civilised". Jeez, I suppose he's had enough of me. Killer is, he was such a good reference for good eateries - and the group is private, so without being a member, I won't be able to see where he's going. Ah well, TBH, I was beginning to feel out of place with the people who were attending the meals.. which was pretty much all I was doing with the group, lately. Meantime, I'm back at The Horror Show - at least the ticket won't go to waste!

On the 12th, planning another meal with the people that are harder to herd than cats! As of now, of the four people I've invited, one is a pretty certain "no" and two more are iffy, as they might have to be abroad. Jeez.. If it's just the same person that was the only one to make it last time, I think we'll head somewhere different. For variety. On the other hand, Imad's Syrian Kitchen is right off Carnaby Street.. and the lights are probably going to be cool.. Of course, there is the small issue of the irregularity of the wine measures!

On the 13th, back with the CCC at the British Museum, where Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton are performing The Iliad.

And on the 14th, not having been with LCMTG for ages, I'm with them for the second time in a week! Heading to Wigmore Hall this time, for the Takács Quartet, who are playing Beethoven. Now sold out - and I'm not surprised, given that when I booked, I got one of the last three (top price) seats! Ah well, it wasn't astronomical - and I do love Beethoven.