Play: Phaedra

Tonight, I booked for Phaedra, at the National. Stars Janet McAteer. Google Maps said the fastest route there was to take a bus from Acton Street - so, past The Lucas Arms again. But when I went in.. Lordy, I've almost never seen it so busy! Certainly not when I was last here, a week ago.. Well, I scouted the pub, and there were exactly two tables free - one of which was reserved. So I grabbed the table for one, near the Ladies' toilet. Which was fine, really! The lady at the bar confirmed that this was unusually busy - and warned me that the food might take a little longer, because they had other orders to get out before mine. I tell you something, they know what they're at in that kitchen - even with a table of six to be served, right beside me, mine still only took 10 minutes. And was perfectly cooked.

So, having gobbled it down, off I went, figuring the earlier the better. And as I was crossing the road - the nightmare scenario, a bus I could take was just pulling in! So I started to run off my dinner.. the lady who got off the bus smiled at me as I ran past, and bless the driver, he was one of those that wait! So I made it. Sadly, Google Maps still doesn't seem to recognise that the stop they tell me to get off at has been closed for ages for road works - happily, it doesn't make much difference, except that I still have to cross the road, and the next stop is nowhere near a pedestrian crossing! Happily again, there was actually no traffic, for once.. and the next bus was right along. So I made the theatre in plenty of time.

The house, BTW, was packed - and the row, two rows in front of me, was what looked like a school group. Lucky beggars - I never got to anything this cool when I was in school.. You can see some of them in this shot, leaning over to talk to each other.

The actors play in a box, essentially - perhaps a strange choice, but I got used to it. The set, you see, is a large, enclosed, glass box that can revolve, and which has different sets within it at different points of the story. One of the (many) trigger warnings for this production is that there are many sustained periods of darkness - that's when they're changing the set. Indeed there are - during a couple of which, a man's voice narrates words in a foreign language, whose translation in English is projected onto the safety curtain. Turns out the language is Arabic - I don't speak enough of it myself to have realised that until the story progressed a bit.

Wow, the dialogue in this is fast-paced - I had trouble keeping up, particularly in the opening scene, when we meet "Phaedra" - here called Helen - and her husband, grown-up daughter, son-in-law, and teenage son, who have gathered for a meal in the well-appointed living room of their London home. The lady beside me had similar problems - and I can only feel for the poor sign language interpreter, stood outside the box for the whole thing, translating vigorously as people speak over each other! 

So. In the original myth, Phaedra's husband is away at war, hasn't been heard from in years, and is presumed dead. She proceeds to fall madly in love with her stepson - only to have her husband return! To deflect criticism from herself, she accuses her stepson of forcing himself on her, he ends up dead, and she commits suicide.

Here, she's a successful politician; the choice of "Helen" as her name isn't accidental, and is confirmed when, at one point, her husband draws a comparison between her and Helen of Troy. She might now be comfortably married, but back in the day, she had an affair - it is revealed - with a dashing young Moroccan musician, who ended up dead in a car crash. And now his son is in the UK, and has come looking for her.. and you can guess what happens next. Now, I have to say, I can't blame her - they cast this role carefully, and I think, very successfully. I can quite believe this guy as a lothario! He is dark, handsome, sultry.. has a deep, sensual voice.. seems sensitive and caring..

I did not expect this play to be as hilarious as I found it. It's kind of like a comedy soap opera; as the plot twists and turns, the audience shrieks in disbelief, and we get to laugh as various characters react to the news. The trigger warning of nudity is a bit OTT - nobody appears completely nude, they always have underwear on! It's all quite comical - until it isn't. Finally, in the last, snowy scene, we get to the tragic Greek conclusion, where the mood changes completely. Trigger warnings perhaps appropriate here, as the story is finally and dreadfully resolved.

I loved this - unless you have a particular sensitivity to the themes covered, this is a must-see, and provides a terrific evening of enjoyment! Runs till the 8th.

Tomorrow, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats to Sadler's Wells - first time in an age - for Creature, by Akram Khan! I absolutely love his work. Handily enough, I used my latest Theatre Token for this - would have used it for Phaedra, but while neither theatre takes them online (you have to phone if you want to use a token), the National charges extra for phone bookings. So I used it for this instead.

On Thursday, back with the London European Club, at somewhere called the Ugly Duck, for Synchrony, a female 12-piece string ensemble. Tickets from Eventbrite. As hosted by Eleanor Salter Thorn again! So glad to see her hosting events in more central locations..

I was keeping Friday free because Ivan is feeling thirsty again. :-) And for once, he seems to be sticking to the date, having booked us a table at The Lucas Arms (which, as he pointed out, has a smoker's area). We're hoping to have Martin - my other friendly ex-boss - join us, but he has more family commitments, which he's trying to juggle - we've told him to join us whenever. And this looks like turning into the first zapoi in a while - Ivan is talking about booking a studio, where we can drink overnight. Oy ve, watch this space.. So, not pushed about doing anything extra on Saturday.

And on Sunday, I'm back with the Crick Crack Club, for Orpheus Dismembered, at the British Museum, courtesy of Ben Haggarty. The event there that I'd already heard of..