Play: The Fatal Weakness

Well, I'd been wondering what happened to Thumbs Up Theatre Toronto, whom I hadn't seen advertise anything in a while. And lo, there they were again, advertising another late-night (for me) rescued play from the excellent Mint Theater Company, for Tuesday night. This was a drawing-room drama, called The Fatal Weakness - so, having no morning meetings on Wednesday, I was in! Very late notice, but really, how much did I need..

Joined them for a chat beforehand. Ah, it was nice to chat to a group again.. and share my news; I finally had a date for my second vaccination! (Friday morning, so I got to take the day off work. Ridiculously early, and I had a ridiculously long drive, as it'd been moved - but never mind, it was great news.) And I got a woo-hoo from the organiser, when I told them! And an interesting tale from the Californian who joined, who let us in on the secret that you can get a free Big Mac if you get the vaccine there.. She was rather perturbed to hear that there were concerns about AstraZeneca, which was the one she got.. Anyway, in due course, people dropped away to watch the play. And typically, almost every one of them seemed to need instructions - despite the instructions already being included on the event page!

Pity I was so tired - things have been hectic lately. Indeed, I missed a few of the cues in the first act. But I made myself wake up thereafter, and wow, what a great play! So, it's a comedy - set in the late 1940s, among the upper classes. A housewife fears her husband is playing away - now, she just happens to have a friend, who has a friend, who has her own car and a nose for gossip and sleuthing. So this friend volunteers her friend, whom the husband doesn't know, to follow him.. Meantime, the housewife with the philandering husband also has a grown-up daughter, whose own marriage is going through a rocky patch, not least because of her modern ideas.

It is hilarious - witty, sharp as a tack, the banter is relentless. The ladies go at this detective business with a vengeance, the maid is constantly eavesdropping, the daughter thinks she knows it all, and is rather scornful of everyone else's opinion. But more than this, it's an observation on marriage, as the wife mulls over the state of her marriage - and analyses her daughter's. And seen at a remove of some 74 years, it's interesting to see how things have changed, and which things haven't changed so much. And you have to wonder - if you plonked a few modern characters in there, how would they react to events..?

This is a joy to watch! not least for the gorgeous costumes. Mint Theater productions are available to watch until Sunday, for free - highly recommended. It baffles me why these productions were left on the scrapheap.. Apparently, they found the ending of this one too depressing. Sadly, I was too tired to join the group for a chat afterwards. Maybe next time.

Well, that made a nice change - and ongoing, and while I'm still stuck indoors, I'll be checking out the St. Patrick's Festival website again. Apologies for the late publish - I'd actually forgotten to publish this, and of course, I'm not publishing every day now, so I didn't check!

Play: A Picture of Autumn

Well, I wasn't sure whether I'd attend tonight's offering from Thumbs Up Theatre Toronto - but (as so often) I'm glad I did. So, we were watching a free, online recording of a 50s English play called A Picture of Autumn, staged at the Palace Theatre, and broadcast by Mint Theater. The host explained, afterwards, that they offer "rescued" plays, that otherwise wouldn't see the light of day again.

As usual, very few attended the pre-show chat - and to be honest, there were some awkward silences. People just don't have much to say, these days. We don't get out much. Anyway, we all started watching a little early. Name and email address required, but as I say, free to watch, and available until the 27th. The play centres around an elderly trio, living in a decrepit country manor - the Lord and Lady of the manor, and his brother. Coming to visit are the Lord's and Lady's sons, along with the elder son's wife and stepdaughter - the elder son, wife, and stepdaughter just back from living in Somaliland. It's set in the 50s.

And it's absolutely charming. The genteel, slow pace of life at the manor, matched by the genteel manners of the three elderly people, is in sharp contrast to the officiousness of the elder son, who breezes in and immediately starts to try and fix things. Comic relief is provided by the family jokers - the younger brothers, one from each generation - who are the charmers, the dreamers. And, of course, there's the comical old retainer, deaf as a post and doing things her way.

The times, however, are a' changin'.. or are they? How far will these people allow themselves to be tugged from their familiar, old lives? A clever, well-written play, with appealing characters - it's strange that it's sunk with hardly a trace. But then, as the host suggested afterwards, perhaps the topic was a bit sensitive at the time of its release, when it would have struck close to home for people who were seeing their old worlds disintegrating. Anyway, well worth a look - highly recommended. And that theatre has another couple of offerings this month, too..

Afterwards, only a couple of people logged on to chat, apart from myself and the host - and gee, it wasn't nearly as late in the evening for them! But I'm delighted to have come across this group, it's really giving me something of a social life. Nice to be reminded how a proper conversation works.

Tomorrow night, the same group has another of those quizzes on, so I've signed up for that as well..

And on Saturday, reliable Cultureseekers has a quiz of their own: this time, name the Ladybird book whose cover I'm showing you! Well, I mightn't be able to identify them - but they're delightful to look at!