Play: Romeo and Julie

Tonight, back with - you guessed it - Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), for Romeo and Julie, at the Dorfman. The quickest buses I could get to there involved me walking past GBK, so that's where I ate.. and ate well, although now it's repeating on me a bit. Ah well, these things will happen..

The rain held off, pretty much - and apart from the organiser, I was one of the first of our group to arrive. And wow.. having recently come across the most expensive glass of wine ever in central London, here I found the cheapest in ages! At under £9 for a large glass of sauvignon blanc, I wasn't complaining.. I did make sure to get it in plastic, so I could take it in.

The high seats at the back do require some organisation, as you can't reach anything on the floor from your seat, so you have to be careful what you leave down there - but otherwise, it's quite comfortable. And the view is excellent, although - with most of the row in front vacant - one of our group did head out there for the second half. I didn't see the need, though..

Now, this is similar to Romeo and Juliet in that it's a doomed romance, between a boy and girl from opposing families. It is different in that.. it's set in Cardiff - specifically, Splott, the same location as for the fantastic Iphigenia in Splott, which has the same writers. And the genius twist is that the opposition between the families comes from the fact that this Romeo is a single father, raising his little girl alone, with an unreliable, alcoholic mother - this Julie, however, has parents who have pushed and pushed to give her the most she can have in life, and are delighted with her ambition to go to Cambridge. To study physics, in fact - she's into the Theory of Everything, the Holy Grail of modern physics. Fair enough, Cambridge is acknowledged as the place to do that..

In what we must admit is a very unequal world, we can readily see the problem here. Any middle-class parent would be horrified to see their child - particularly, their daughter - with a chance of going to Cambridge, endangering it by a romance with a local with zero prospects. OK, so that's us set against the romance, then. Except.. he's so responsible, so caring of his daughter, whom his mother wants nothing to do with. And they are truly in love. Oh my..

Given this unconventional take on the classic story, we were all befuddled at the interval, trying to guess what would happen next! I don't know whether anyone predicted what actually would happen - it certainly came as a shock to me. And by the end, we were all in bits. This - like Iphigenia in Splott - is beautifully written, beautifully acted (with a minimal set), and such a moving and original take on the story.. Just like that play, an absolute must-see. Runs till the 1st - go see it, decide whose side you would come down on..

Tomorrow - not so much appealed on Meetup. Free Stuff and Free Events does have Free Community Singing with Ros Hone and the Global Fusion Sound Singers, which you can attend on Zoom, or in person at Fossdene School Community Hall. Which sounds just fine - except that this is the sort of thing I keep cancelling! So I decided not to confirm until nearer the time. Which is just as well, because - predictably last-minute - Eleanor Salter Thorn, from Tuned In London, just a short while ago advertised an evening of Iranian music with Shahab Azinmehr, with the World Music Meetup. I adore this kind of music - and for once, it's not all the way out in Rotherhithe! It's just such a trek.. no, this is in St. Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace. Which, ironically, is just down the road from where I last lived.. anyway, much closer than usual for these concerts! Refugees and asylum seekers get free tickets.

On Wednesday - back with the Crick Crack Club, woohoo! for Goddesses in the Garden, at the Chelsea Physic Garden. Features my favourite, Clare Murphy, along with Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, Laura Sampson, and Xanthe Gresham. Might need to bring something to keep myself warm..

On Thursday, my final booking - for the week - with UITCS, for Brilliant Jerks at Southwark Playhouse. And wouldn't you know it, I still had credit on my Pay as you Go subscription, so got it for free!

And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again. Now that the film listings are finally (mostly) out for there, presently at the top of the list is one I hadn't heard of. My Sailor, My Love is an Irish, geriatric love story - a crusty old ex-sailor is looked after by his daughter, who gets in a housekeeper (Brid Brennan, looking a lot older than when I last saw her, in Brooklyn). The last thing she's expecting is for them to fall in love..