Ah, what an interesting weekend I've been having! From the backstreets of Whitechapel to the heart of Soho. I don't go to many comedy gigs - I'm wary of comedians I haven't heard before. Then it occurred to me - I use YouTube for music acts - why not for comedians too? So, with such a profusion of comedy acts running these days, I've been spending a lot of time watching clips of them. Thus it was that I decided Carl Donnelly was worth a punt. I might've gone last Wednesday, then I didn't - but I caught the last night of his show in the Soho Theatre tonight.
With nothing much in the house, I decided to eat in Chinatown beforehand. It's about five minutes walk away, and unlikely not to have space. And my preferred eatery there these days is the Feng Shui Inn. So, I consulted Google Maps beforehand to remind me of the best route there, and how to get from there to the theatre - continue along Gerrard Street and take a right onto Dean Street.
I left in good time, and my journey into town was uneventful, save that I took the Piccadilly Line and was nearly run over by the couple - probably coming from Heathrow - with trolley bags, who didn't realise that the aisle wasn't going to be wide enough for them to walk off side-by-side. And in no time, I was at the restaurant.
It was busy, but not so much that they couldn't squeeze me in somewhere. To be fair, service was excellent, and they buzzed around all night. I had a badly positioned table, one of two small tables that had been inserted into a passageway between the kitchen and the main restaurant. But it really wasn't that bad - there was just a constant stream past me. Oh, and I could see myself in the mirrored wall opposite, if I bothered to look.
The other table was occupied by two Cockney gents, one of whom appeared very drunk, and couldn't understand why his companion seemed so insistent that they end the night so early. He left a right mess, and was incredulous at the bill - although he paid it, finally. Yep, it does add up, and while this isn't an expensive establishment by London standards, you can be left wondering - particularly as the bills aren't itemised. I'd probably have eaten better, and paid less, at my local Chinese - but I fancied a change. So, I had some decent spring rolls, and a kung pao chicken with rice. The menu seems much less extensive than I remember - but the chicken was delicious, although the rice was somewhat lukewarm. The glass of wine was generous, and nice enough that I had a second.
Well, I did have time to kill - it wasn't to be a long walk. When I did leave, and passed along Gerrard Street, I found myself passing my previous haunt, the Black Bean - now closed! I don't know how permanent that is, but the last time I ate there they had gone seriously downhill. Anyway, I continued on my way..
I don't know what she was doing there, but she was attracting a lot of attention..
I was looking for Dean Street, and remembered enough of the area to know that, when I hit Wardour Street, I'd overshot. Turns out that where Dean Street crosses Gerrard Street, it's called Macclesfield Street, and that's where I should've turned. Well, not much of a detour, and I had plenty of time. What an unusual feeling, particularly for this theatre! I strolled in, collected my ticket, and the guy told me it was already open - this was 20 minutes beforehand.
They have spaces on several floors, and I haven't been to the downstairs theatre before, which is less a traditional theatre space than the others, and instead is a bar with a stage. It was packed - I'm glad I booked. As I wound my way around the queue for the bar, a lady with official-looking equipment, such as a headset, a walkie-talkie, and a clipboard, ascertained that I was looking for a seat, and how many of me there were, and offered me a chair in the middle - where I'd likely have been stuck behind some large person - or a seat on the bench at the side. The view from there was decent, so that's what I chose. I'd have lost my seat if I'd gone to the bar, and anyway, I'd had enough to drink.
As the last people arrived, we all had to budge up, and the leaning lass on my left made her presence felt for the duration. But what the hey. Mister Donnelly appeared pretty much on time. He looks much better now than his picture on Wikipedia (see link above), or the clip I saw of him on YouTube. Apparently, he got divorced not that long ago - it seems to have agreed with him! He's cut his hair, lost weight, and had laser eye surgery, which was the subject of his first joke - so no more glasses. Very fit, in fact!
His style is unassuming, and the jokes creep up on you. In a way, they're peculiarly British, in that sense of the hilarity of being embarrassed at things. His observations are pretty spot-on, but I won't repeat any here - as befits a late Saturday show in Soho, the subjects aren't the most polite. And as I write this, we're already into Sunday. So not appropriate then! But I laughed so hard I felt dizzy, and laughed often. Good choice, on my part!
Afterwards, dodging the cars and rickshaws of Dean Street, I returned via Shaftesbury Avenue, where I soon found myself in the midst of a massive hen party with distinctive pink fluffy zogabongs. Ah, London on a weekend night! I'd forgotten how manic it was - this was my first weekend out and about in London this year! What with being back in Ireland every second week, and being sick the last weekend I spent here.. it's good to be back in the thick of it. I came back from Piccadilly Circus, and on the escalator down to the platforms, we were well entertained by a very jazzy number from a busker at the bottom, on an electric guitar. Half the folks on the escalator danced along..
Tomorrow will probably be more sedate. I'm off to Singing in the Dark Times, an evening of song about the work of peacekeepers around the world. In aid of Peace Direct. Takes place in Bush Hall, just off Shepherds Bush.. not too far away, and not too late.
Well, what an unpredictable day!
So, I went flathunting in the afternoon - loved the room, by the way, just waiting now for the landlord to sit back and peruse the many applications he has - which meant the two films at the top of my film list, which were on in the middle of the day, were ruled out because I had to travel for them. I'm sure I'd have made it back, but I preferred not to stress myself out. Just as well really - I had to chase him for the address. I had enough to do without traipsing all over for films.
So I decided on a film that turned out to be the closing gala of the Raindance Festival, in Leicester Square at 7pm. Decided to have a Chinese first, Chinatown being just across the road. I've had enough of my regular - which has really gone downhill - and happened across the Feng Shui Inn. The lamb in honey sauce caught my eye, and seeing that they weren't completely full, I said I'd give them a try. Well, it was only delicious! As were the spring rolls. (By the way, this is the first place I've been where they also have summer, autumn, and winter rolls!) A bit pricey - I think they include service. But I had an excellent time, and I would definitely go back.
I finished at 10 to 7, and the cinema was just across the road. And chaotic! So I joined the end of the first queue I saw, which stretched into the square. By the time the people in front of me got to the front, it was after 7 and I had resigned myself to going to something else. After all, it doesn't do to rock up late to a gala! The final straw was when they and I simultaneously discovered that this queue we'd been standing in all this time was for ticket collection for the gala. Only. (They did have a sign to that effect, but you couldn't see it for the crowds.) Well, I wasn't going through all that again..
So I decided to check what films were on where. Unusually, my phone, which throws a hissy fit whenever you ask it to access the internet, works fine in Leicester Square. I couldn't remember all of my film spreadsheet, but I did remember that there was another film that was only on tonight - but I couldn't remember what it was. Then there was a long, Indian one - but that isn't showing anywhere close enough, or early enough, to make it feasible when I have work in the morning. I did remember that Filth shot up in the IMDB ratings recently and seemed to have stayed high, and when I checked I found that it was showing in Shepherds Bush in just over an hour, which gave me plenty of time to get there. That's the closest place to home it's showing. And thus, after a quick check of the Tube map to verify the fastest way to get there, that is what I did. It did strike me as ironic that ShowFilmFirst was offering free tickets to a showing of this, but I didn't get one in time..
For once, the ticket machine actually worked! Never has for me before in this cinema. And then, of course, I was so early that I figured I'd buy something to nibble on, since I hadn't had dessert. I could have bought my ticket at the same till. Never mind.. So I headed for the Ben & Jerry's stall, where it turned out that, of the three people behind the counter, two were trainees. One didn't know the secret of scooping very hard ice cream (sadly, I didn't hear what her mentor suggested she do in future) and the other had to enlist the same guy's help when he accidentally entered into the till that I had given him £20 instead of £10 (I'd no change). It was mint chocolate chip, by the way, and I was the first to try it that day! To be fair, there were more attractive-looking flavours. But mine was delicious! I had it eaten by the time they said I could finally go in. But there are seats in the lobby, so that's ok. Had a coughing fit during the trailers - luckily, it cleared up just in time.
Right - and so to Filth. Filth is set in Edinburgh, although you'd hardly recognise it from the tourist brochures. It stars James McEvoy as the most obnoxious cop you can imagine. He's racist, homophobic, misogynistic, drug-addicted, a heavy drinker, sleeps around, manipulates people relentlessly, and frequently has strange hallucinations of animals. He's after a promotion, and is prepared to use dirty tricks against everyone that he sees as a rival. And it's hilarious!
For a while. And then it becomes something much cleverer, and more sinister. It's quite depraved - you need a fairly strong stomach for this. I suspect foreign audiences will also need subtitles. That includes English-speaking audiences. And I absolutely loved it. This is a work of rare quality. Recommended - for those with strong constitutions.
In the meantime, before I set out today, I had a look into the future, to see what I might be doing in a few weeks' time. And I came across a play, called The World of Extreme Happiness, playing at The Shed. As the Time Out reviewer remarked, there are so many Chinese plays on at the moment! Indeed, Chimerica - which I saw in June - is having such a good run that they had to have a cast change so that some of the cast could appear in this! (Highly recommended, btw. I see it's top of the Time Out listings now.) Anyway, when I checked to see whether I could get an offer on tickets, I discovered that there is a Time Out offer, only valid until next Wednesday. Well, I hadn't planned on seeing it this week, but under the circumstances.. so I'm going tomorrow. At least I now know my way into The Shed!
