Musical: Aspects of Love

Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) at last! Well, I couldn't resist a performance of Aspects of Love, by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with Michael Ball - I'd never seen it. Showing at the Lyric - there have been cheap offers, but the best I could find were with the official website. Aisle seat, for the legroom - thanks for the advice, Seatplan!

Handiest place to eat - as I'd be passing it - was The Lucas Arms, so I quit my work meeting early, there being nothing useful in it anyway, and headed down there. It was mostly empty - no problem getting a table. When I went to order at the bar, I saw one of the familiar faces - who greeted me with what sounded like surprise and delight! He made straight for the wine, asking, "Usual, is it?" and within five minutes, my meal was delivered to my table. And it was delicious, as ever. It's not for lack of enthusiasm that I don't come here that often, just that I do like to try and eat at my destination. But I'm only delighted to come back here! When I checked, it was a full 20 days since I was last here..

Had to get two buses, and in each case, I was just in time to miss one! Also in each case, another was right along after, though. I ended up being a bit early - they hadn't opened yet, and for the first time in months, I found myself queueing outside a theatre..

Ah, dontcha love Theatreland?! In one shot, our show, Les Misérables, and - just peeking out, in between, The Crucible.. Anyway, it wasn't long before the queue started to move, they checked our bags and tickets. I explained to the usher that I was meeting people in the foyer bar - we arranged to meet there, as half the group were sitting down there - and she said I'd have to go in the main entrance, and at showtime, come back out and have my ticket scanned again. Which was what I did. I skipped the photo op, in the foyer:

Ordered a (quite reasonably priced) drink, and bagged the only table in the foyer! Well, it's handy to have something to lean on, or at least put your stuff on. The others arrived in due course, and we chatted away - I needed to drink my whole drink in advance though: I didn't think they'd much like me taking it outside!

Nearly expired on the climb to the balcony - this has been a tough week so far for me, to be fair, and the lack of sleep - and stress - didn't help. Made it alive, surprisingly, and was greeted by two of our group, whom I didn't know, but I had mentioned my seat number on the event page, and so they located me! They were sat just in front of me, anyway. I have to say, from experience, the legroom was fine, even without swinging my leg into the aisle! View not bad either, although I had to lean a lot to see the near edge of the stage - happily, the balcony was half empty, and there was no-one behind me. Also found myself bobbing my head up and down a lot, to see around the railings:

Well, there's one song that everyone knows from this show - and by 'eck, they do it to death, frankly. I didn't recognise a single other song in the show. Mind you, it's a cracker - Love Changes Everything has stood the test of time. And so has Michael Ball's rendition of it. Mind you, the group's general consensus was that the same cannot be said for the plot! So.. in brief, a young French actress in wartime Paris, Rose, finds an 18-year-old American lad - Alex - has a crush on her. And says - OK then! accompanying him to his uncle's villa in the south. They have a brief fling - until his uncle arrives, and she falls head over heels for him (or his money?). So, Alex goes off in a huff, to be a soldier.

Fast-forward a few years - she's the uncle's mistress, then wife, then mother to his daughter, Jenny. Still has the acting career, and seems to be carrying on with one of her Paris hangers-on, Hugo. Whom she drops like a stone when Alex comes back on the scene..

Fast-forward some more years, and Jenny is growing up, Alex is still hanging around, and they start a relationship. Apparently, they've increased her age a bit in this production, to make it a tad less weird. Her dad - Alex's uncle - keels over with a heart attack at the news, and one of the best scenes is his wake, which turns into a Bacchanalian orgy, courtesy of a friend of Rose's. Whom Alex then decides is far better for him than Jenny - who might just be a bit young.. Oh, and Rose makes a fool of herself, throwing herself at him and begging him not to leave her. Michael Ball originally played Alex - in this production, he's the uncle..

Not all our group stayed to the end. Me, I thought the plot was, at best, bonkers, but I adore showtunes, and that one, as mentioned, is terrific, and keeps popping up throughout. Mind you, as I remarked to the group, outside, afterwards - it took Alex rather a long time to find a woman who wasn't related to him! Basically, don't go for the story - go for the music. Runs till the 11th of November - seems to be taking a holiday, the last week in August.

Meantime, we admired the new Coyote Ugly across the road:

A couple of dancers were just visible inside. And just at that moment, the rickshaws arrived, blaring music.. yes, you could say the town was hopping.

Film tomorrow - and I thought I might finally get to see The Blue Caftan! It's Moroccan, and again showing at what is still, for now, my local cinema. Although, checking the listings again, I found a new one - A Crack in the Mountain is a documentary about Hang So'n Doong, the largest cave in the world, which is in Vietnam. Looks gorgeous - but it's only on in the Curzon Wimbledon, at 5.40, which I'd never make in time if I stay at work as long as I should! However, it is on their Home Cinema.. which would also save the fare.. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

Monday and Tuesday, I'm also thinking of film. The film listings weren't helping my decision much, though - so I consulted my local cinema, which was happy to tell me that it's showing Return to Seoul on Monday, which seemed the best of the fare that day; The Blue Caftan doesn't seem to be showing next week. It's the story of a young French girl, returning to seek her roots in Korea. Looks engaging. But the new listings are finally out! and now, it's Beau Is Afraid. Funnily enough, it comes under the headings of comedy, drama, and horror! The title role is taken by the ever-watchable Joaquin Phoenix, who plays an anxiety-ridden man who, following his mother's death, decides to travel back home. Now, the Hideout (Horror, SciFi, & Fantasy) group that I'm a member of went to see this recently, and raved about it - when pushed, someone said what he liked was the surreal settings, and very black comedy.. nearest showing to me is the Picturehouse Central. Definitely worth a look.

On Tuesday, my local cinema's excellent doc house is showing Tina, a documentary about the phenomenon that was the late Tina Turner!

Next Wednesday, back with UITCS for Bleak Expectations, a Dickens-based comedy, with a different star every week, showing at the Criterion. I think we're getting Julian Clary.. I ended up going up a price band here, the cheap tickets all seemed so restricted!

And on the 8th, back with North London Friends, for the first time in, oh, ages.. we're off to The Park, to see The Shape of Things. Different people from last time, these are some I knew before.