Plays: Northleigh 1940, In Stereo, and All of It

Yesterday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), for All of It, at the Royal Court. Which actually comprises three plays - the others being Northleigh, 1940 and In Stereo. Well, stuff got busy, so I didn't have much time to eat - I thought about eating in Cote, in Sloane Square - but I checked online, and they were pretty busy. So, it ended up being Pret.

It had to be Tube, again, this far west.. Google Maps said Victoria, followed by the District or Circle Line, would be faster, but I remember the Victoria Line being very stuffy, whereas the others have glorious aircon. And so it proved.. Once more, I ended up being the first to arrive in the theatre bar, where I nabbed a table by the toilets, and the others shortly joined me, and good conversation was had.

Now, I had to go up three levels for my seat in the Balcony - but I must have been getting more exercise lately, because I didn't feel as though I was going to expire! I ended up going in by the door on the other side, because my side was all full up - and it turned out that I was sitting behind some of the others:

Legroom was ok, despite the protests of the lady sitting beside me. And there's a railing to lean on, for each row in the Balcony.

So. This is a really interesting trilogy - the word "surreal" was bandied about a lot by our group afterwards (there is no interval). I wasn't the only one to think of Beckett as I watched - what with the rapid-fire dialogue, the unfinished dialogue snippets of All of It (think, for instance, Not I), the long pieces of In Stereo where we just hear a recorded voice, the actor doesn't speak (Krapp's Last Tape, anyone?). Someone remarked afterwards that what he was thinking of was Happy Days! Ah, I love a bit of Beckett.

But this isn't Beckett - just reminiscent of him. All the pieces are about women with interior lives. The first piece, Northleigh, 1940, is set in the author's childhood home, during the Blitz, and focuses on a young female typist, who loves to read (Lovecraft, I think, from the imagery). Most, I think, preferred the others, however - In Stereo, narrated in a Northern English accent, got uproarious laughter for its description of how a woman wakes in the middle of the night and goes downstairs - to find another version of herself watching television. And that's just the start of it.. All of It, finally, is a rapid-fire set of snippets, none quite finished but all recognisable, detailing a woman's life from - literally - birth to death. Fascinating.

Afterwards, just a few of us stayed for the Q+A, moving down to the Stalls - which were quite chilly! The Q+A was fascinating, featuring the writer - Alistair McDowall - and the two directors. And as one of our group remarked afterwards - no, we didn't get a huge insight into the plays: but we did get an insight into how his mind works, and how the plays might have come to be in this format - how he loves the way the words work together, for instance. I found the Q+A almost as fascinating as the plays, frankly - and those of us who stayed had a lovely chat afterwards. All in all, one of the best nights out I've had recently!

Catching the bus, my apps were agreed that I should go to a particular stop - which had none of them listed on it! The buses did stop there, mind, as I discovered while I was trying to find an alternative. It ran too late for me to blog afterwards, though - I was tired.

Tonight, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. Where, again, there's absolutely nothing for me to watch. On Monday and Tuesday, thinking film - and the top-rated films on my list are all showing at my local cinema. As usual, I had to check that website specifically. Monday, it was looking like Pretty Red Dress, a comic drama about a red dress, and its effects on a family. However.. it's slipped in ratings! and now what's coming up is War Pony, the coming-of-age story of two young Native American boys.

On Tuesday, what's coming up is something not even advertised on my film list, tsk - dunno why I didn't notice it on the cinema website before, either. Seven Winters in Tehran tells the true story of a 19-year old girl in Tehran, who killed her would-be rapist, and was in turn sentenced to death herself, and imprisoned for seven years.

On Wednesday, back with UITCS - for We Will Rock You! at the Coliseum. Excellent - this didn't have tickets for the night I looked for before. Written by Queen with Ben Elton, should be a great night out.

On Thursday - heading out to Elstree, of all places, for Giffords Circus. Well, it was the best of what I saw advertised..

Next Friday, my sometime-companion from UITCS suggested a murder mystery! The Murder Express: Jewel of the Empire.. set on a train, and includes dinner. Oh, lovely.. she got a Groupon deal, apparently..

On the 24th, delighted to be back with Expat Bucket List London! Well, back with the founder of both this and Bucket List London - I haven't actually been with the Expat group yet. Yippee, back to the Globe - for The Comedy of Errors. Unfortunately, while I'm in the Lower Gallery, as usual, the others are upstairs.. the organiser did offer to switch with me, so I'd have some company, but I wouldn't subject him to such a lower-priced seat! Anyway, I do like to be close. And as I've now booked a flat on that side of town, and can hopefully move in on Wednesday.. I might be walking to this!

On the 25th, back with Discover London - History Walks and Events to Discover the Secrets of the 19th Century London Docks. Always love this part of town - again, this will be walking distance from my new place.

On the 26th, got a cheap ticket with CT for From Swing to Soul, a concert series at Wonderville. I do wonder whether they fixed their tech issues from last time..

And on the 27th, back with UITCS again - this time, for A Strange Loop, at the Barbican. Multi-award-winning, it seems - cheaper tickets available from WhatsOnStage (WOS), fulfilled by London Theatre Direct. Interestingly though, to get the cheaper offer, buy through WOS..