Opera: Lucrezia Borgia

Tonight, ended a run of Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) with Lucrezia Borgia, by the English Touring Opera Company, at the Hackney Empire. I thought I'd get a meal up there - but I left it a bit late, and as I waited interminably to cross the road - the traffic lights taking much longer than usual to work in my favour - lots and lots of buses I could have taken sailed by. So, by the time I finally got across, it would have taken ages to get a bus up there. Given that I wanted to eat too, I decided on Tube + bus.

Then, wouldn't you know it, the bus stop I wanted was closed! Or at least, had all sorts of signs on it, saying it was - so I walked on to the next. I'm not actually sure that stop is closed - it says nothing about it online. I've complained - I'll get a reputation with TFL, I've complained so much! Anyway, at least my bus didn't pass me on the way.

Google Maps estimated I'd still make it in time to eat - I didn't. Blame it on terrible traffic in Shoreditch. Meanwhile, en route, a guy got on with the cutest little Yorkie dog, complete with a little topknot, staring eagerly at everyone.. aww. Which was just fine, until the elderly lady sitting in front of me spotted it. She was sitting just beside the wheelchair area, where dog and companion were standing. "OH NO!", she exclaimed, "Don't let it bite me!" whereupon the person attached to the dog obligingly backed off - as much as he could; the bus was crowded. As soon as a seat came free further back, she dashed to it - just in case the tiny creature mauled her. Honestly, I sympathise in that I guess she might have once had a traumatic experience with a dog - but could people with dog phobias not recognise them as the unrealistic fears they are, and stop making things harder for dogs and their accompanying humans? The dog could honestly hardly have been less threatening. Really, I'd be more scared of the old lady..

As I say, I didn't have time for a proper meal - and the area is shockingly bereft of cafes. I ended up heading into a local supermarket and grabbing a snack - which I hid on myself as I went in, although, as it happened, there was no bag check. Lots and lots of stairs followed, to the Upper Circle - I got a drink, and propped myself against the shelf in front of the bar, where I met the others. Some of whom I hadn't seen in ages! and we chatted until it was time to take our seats.

Mine was a peculiar seat - I ended up swinging my legs, feet well off the floor. Which, again, was fine, except that the hard edge of the seat kind of cut into my legs.. I was a bit stiff by the time the interval rolled around, and glad to move again. Same when I was leaving - I can't fault the legroom, really, with space to swing your legs - but neither did I find the seat properly comfortable. Ah well..

I was glad I had glasses on - you see the teeny screen in the photo? That's what the captions were displayed on - and all they were displayed on. The singing, however, was gorgeous, the music and sets lovely - and how lovely that it starts in Venice, giving them the excuse to wear masks as they go about their nefarious doings. And what a tale of dodgy dealings this is, with people being assassinated right, left, and centre - ah yes, the reputation of the Borgias precedes them. Having said that, it's perhaps somewhat exaggerated - and certainly, that of Lucrezia, who probably suffered by association with the sort who would give the Mafiosi pause for thought.. Mind you, I kept remembering the Showtime series on the family, which I enjoyed greatly, and can highly recommend.

Anyway, this was one night only, I'm afraid. But I was very glad to catch it! Got buses back home, with less drama.

Tomorrow, back cat-herding - Ivan suggested that whole day for, well, a lot of drinking. And food - he wanted to go back to O' Neill's. Well, he got in touch. To say that, unfortunately, he can't now make it. My other coworker from that company still can, though - as they've both said, it's been so long since they actually met each other! They can never seem to coordinate.. The third person I invited finally let me know he can't make it either, so it's just the two of us again, as so often.

On Sunday, back with Discover London at last - she does excellent walks, but sometimes they clash, and sometimes they sell out before I get to them! This one is Discover Historic Chelsea: From Quaint to Quant - 1660s to 1960s.

On Monday, back with - you guessed it - UITCS, for Romeo and Julie, at the Dorfman.

On Tuesday - 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 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.

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.

Opera: Amadigi

Well, back in London again! Tonight, it was back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), to an opera by Handel, called Amadigi. Playing at the Hackney Empire, courtesy of the English Touring Opera.

Kee-rikey, what a lot I had to do today at work! (Happens, when you've been away the rest of the week.) However, I firmly resolved to get to the theatre in time. It'd take a while by bus, and a change of buses, but that was ok - and I did manage to drag myself out in time to catch one of the two that Google Maps gave me as an option. (Just as well, considering that all of a sudden, the other had no projected arrivals!) Getting to that bus in time was one of the most stressful things I've ever done - but I now had a nice, long journey to get over it, and calm down. And it was a nostalgic run - I'd forgotten that this was a bus I took all the time in my last accommodation, and we actually passed very close to there! Damn, I didn't get on with my flatmates, but there was terrific storage.. How I miss the storage..

It was stuffy enough that I had to take off my mask for a while, during the journey. My second bus was a lot more crowded though, so it was a relief to get off after five stops. Much fun was had with a bunch of rambunctious kids playing down the back, whose mothers were sitting opposite me - they did try to keep one of the kids with them when she dropped down for a visit, but in vain. They had some success in keeping an eye on them via the CCTV.. but of course, one ended up having to go down there. The stern one, I'm guessing. And then I got off.

Almost all the group were in the Upper Circle, whose entrance is around the side of the theatre. So off I went. 52 steps, we'd been warned. Gee, I think that's actually more than I have to climb up to my flat! For sure, I'm unaccustomed to the exercise, these days. So up I climbed. I was glad not to have to rush. And at the top, as there was no-one there I recognised, I treated myself to a celebratory drink - a decent size, for once. My first theatre drink since before lockdown! I took it outside to the auditorium - the bar is very small - and behold and lo, the group started to arrive. It transpired that anyone who came early had met in the garden outside. Ah well, we had a good chat.

Now, I have been here before - seven years ago! Twice that year, in fact. On at least one of those occasions - very likely both - I was in the Stalls. So I can be forgiven for not knowing where I was going. Mind you, the place seemed confusing to the usher as well (who tried to direct me to my seat when I was looking for the bar, and pointed me in completely the wrong direction for my seat). (The bar is in the middle, at the back of the auditorium.) I finally figured out where I was going by starting the booking process for another show on my phone, and seeing what the seat numbers were, and so we duly made our way to our seats. Well, what can you expect from a theatre that has seats 6 & 7 on one side of the auditorium, and 8 & 9 all the way over on the other, in the same row? Also watch out for the hidden slope in the floor, and the rather large step depths - I was glad I was over the side, and could take the railing along the wall to make my way down.

It wasn't until the interval that I got a chance to take photos - and it is gorgeous. As someone mused, I wonder whether they used lockdown as a chance to renovate..?

And so, off we go. We all agreed that we love the music - it is sublime, and a terrific end to a stressful day. The story involves a damsel in distress - she's been kidnapped by a sorceress, and it's up to the dashing hero to save her. The sorceress' assistant, mind, has fallen for her, too.. expect lots of derring-do, and sword-brandishing.

The story, as always in baroque opera, is perhaps a bit over-wrought, and it's a good thing to have a bit of comedy. The props include voodoo dolls, the male characters' costumes have rather enormous shoulderpads. The evil sorceress' apprentice looked like a hunchback. (Spoiler - he descends to Hell in the second act, and comes back looking good and spooky. Just the thing for October!) And I just loved how the damsel spent her time in prison.. But as always, it was the music that did it for me. It's just a shame that, during the second act, I felt unwell briefly and had to repair to the loo. (Thank goodness I was at the end of a row, and near enough.) And felt guilty when I flushed.. so I made sure not to use the hand dryer..!

Anyway, baroque opera is not for everyone, but if you do enjoy it, you'll enjoy this. Curiously, they switch to English at the end (with Italian surtitles). At which point I lost the plot, literally - I had more chance of understanding the Italian surtitles than understanding English sung like that! Ah well. Apparently, the surtitles throughout were approximate to what was actually being sung - for which I'm sure they had an excellent reason. The old-fashioned dialogue doesn't always translate.. Playing there again tomorrow night, then touring the country until the 17th of next month - see the opera company's website for details.

With so little choice on Meetup at the moment, the next four nights for me are with one of my cheap ticket groups (TAC), at £3.60 a pop. Well, it's good to get back with them before they decide I no longer want to be a member! Tomorrow sounds interesting - it's Ophelia Thinks Harder (a reworking of Hamlet) at the Bridewell Theatre. Which is walking distance from me - as long as it's not lashing!

Now, I'm thrilled that Hallowe'en is coming up - so I spent a lot of time during the week trying to find something decent to do that day. And would you credit it, I haven't yet found anything! So I had a look at what Darkfield is offering - that was the best thing I did, last Hallowe'en. They have in-person shows too, but Darkfield doesn't provide a venue, and I don't have one to give them! So, I was delighted to see that they've got a new personalised audio show called Knot. It's a three-parter - the first is designed to take place on a park bench, the second in the front passenger seat of a car, the third at home. If necessary, all parts can be experienced at home, but they ask you to recreate the environments as closely as possible. Currently booking - but only up to the 11th! I'm sure it'll still be running on Hallowe'en, but just to be sure, I've booked for tomorrow night. I should be back in time. Headphones and app download required - I still have the app from last year, and I've brought my headphones from work. Blindfold highly recommended, as you're not supposed to peek..!

Sunday is Love Goddess: The Rita Hayworth Cabaret, at the Canal Cafe Theatre. I believe we have to buy membership on the door, for another £1.50.

Monday is the World Doctors Orchestra, at the Barbican. Yes, apparently with actual doctors. They're to send me a promo code to use to get my own ticket - I asked what the story was, and they said the venue recommends not sending the code out until the day before the event.

Tuesday is Fritz & Matlock, at the Pleasance - they caught my eye by advertising it as a reworking of Waiting for Godot..

On Wednesday, I've signed up for a Free 3 Mile City of London on Screen - Guided Walk & Post Event Social, with Invigorate. It's a tour of film locations, most of which I might know already, but hey. This is a newly minted group, made from one that I used to be a member of, before. And it'll be my first guided walk, post-lockdown! The organiser of this group also organised one of the last events I went to, pre-lockdown..

Thursday, I've promised to keep free so I can go for drinks with my boss and her team again. Happens weekly.

Next Friday, back with TAC for Lately, at the Lion & Unicorn. Then I'm back to Ireland again - on Saturday again, as I was unable to get a Friday flight! Working from home the following Monday, and flying back to London that evening.

On the 12th, I found a curious thing on Meetup - it seems that Watkins Bookshop has its own Meetup group, where it advertises events, and that day there's a talk by Stephen Skinner, about Aleister Crowley's Four Books of Magick. Ok, sounds interesting to me - I signed up.

On the 13th, back at last with Civilised London! We're off for what promises to be another excellent meal, this time at the Korean restaurant, The Petite Corée. Meeting beforehand in The Railway pub.

On the 14th, back at last with London European Club! Happily, they're going to what I'd be going to anyway.. the Crick Crack Club is performing The Women Who Gave No F*cks, at Rich Mix. Fantastic when the London European Club decide to come..

On the 15th, woo! A couple of weeks ago, UITCS was off to 2:22 - A Ghost Story, but I was meeting an ex-colleague for drinks that night and couldn't go. Well, I got a ticket for the 15th - second-last night of the run! Unfortunately, cheapest available were £65, and no availability with cheap ticket sellers - ah well, I decided I really wanted to see it (great reviews helped), so I booked. Had great fun trying to decide which of the few remaining seats at that price was the best.. Showing at the Noel Coward Theatre. And with all the cheap shows I'm going to, I can afford it!

On the 16th, my first outing with another new group - Bucket List London is off to Kenwood House, and I said I'd join them. You don't have to book, but it guarantees availability- tickets for free from English Heritage, via See Tickets.

On the 17th, I found something interesting with London Walks, Art & Culture Explorers! Yet another new one for me. This is an "Uncomfortable Statues Walk" - statues commemorating controversial people. I can think of a few, and it'll be interesting to see which come up on this!

On the 18th, I'm with London Classical Music & Theatre Group, for a choral performance (annual, apparently) by The Sixteen in Temple Church. Fantastic, and I've never actually been inside!

And on the 19th, I'm with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex (!). They have an online talk entitled Hallowe'en Penny Dreadful Online Show - The Art of Victorian Horror. I have to say, online has become much more of an option since lockdown.

I'm finally beginning to feel my diary getting back to a healthy state! ;-)