Play: Best of Enemies

Tonight, I finally booked for Best of Enemies at the Noel Coward Theatre. This play concerns a series of debates on US television between liberal writer Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley in 1968 - the interesting twist here, given the time and place we're talking about, is to cast William Buckley as black! Had my own seat review on Seatplan to guide me in picking a seat - this is one of those restricted view/legroom theatres. And despite all the theatre offers flooding my inbox, I found the cheapest tickets for this on the official website! Mind you, what with See Tickets doing the selling, I found myself with a second, unexplained, booking fee..

I thought I'd look nearby for food - the nearest place with availability (third I tried) was, to be fair, only a minute's walk away from the theatre! (The joys of a Monday night.) So I booked a table there - it was Spaghetti House. The queue at the bus stop rather phased me - there was such a huge queue, it looked as though there was a shortage of buses! Now, there were a few I could get - when the first of these happened along, I dreaded a scrum to get on. Mercifully, a #205 arrived at the same time, and most of them gravitated towards that! Now, that explains the scrum - that bus is so rare, its arrival should make the papers..

Well, I arrived at the restaurant with a couple of minutes to spare, and was shown straight to my table - the only free table I could see. I perused the menu - it's ages since I've had minestrone, so thought I'd have that: fancied a carbonara as well. And the usual 250ml of sauvignon blanc - unusually, described as a carafe, here! Well, the waiter happened along - I have to say, I've never seen such ridiculously smiley waitresses. This one looked so gleeful, she might burst at any moment. Either it's a great place to work, or they're on something.. her smile didn't falter one bit as she informed me that they had no sauvignon blanc - so I had chardonnay. And they'd just served the last of the minestrone - all right, I'd have calamari. I was ok with the carbonara.

When the wine arrived, it became apparent that the reason they serve 250ml carafes is that the wine glasses are smaller than that. Seems easier to buy bigger wine glasses, but hey. The wine was decent, the calamari passable. The carbonara was lovely, actually - and quite filled me up, which was a good thing. The theatre had emailed to ask me to arrive half an hour early, and I was coming up to that - happily for the restaurant, who'd given me a two-hour max. When I asked for the bill, the server seemed a smidgeon confused.. she brought me the bill, waited a respectable five minutes, and asked whether I was ready to pay now! Ehh..?

Well, they're nice, and worth the slightly higher than usual service charge. Trotting over to the theatre, I walked along the world's longest roped-off area, leading around the side! Nobody waiting in it, just the people to check bags. Right to the end I had to walk, and back. In a side door then, and up (and up and up) what you might call a refurbished fire escape, to get to the Balcony. Would you believe, after all that climbing, the bar is another flight of steps up! (Mind you, I think I spied another on the climb..) Lovely bar, after all that - I got a drink, in plastic so I could take it in with me, and sank into a seat until showtime. When I had a fun climb - down, this time - to my seat, on the aisle in the front row:

Ok seat - decent legroom, actually, and I had the aisle to swing my legs into, and to leave my stuff in. The guy beside me was massively disappointed when I arrived, having all his things on my seat.. Only thing was, we kept having to get up to let people in and out! Anyway, 60s music plays at the start of each half. This is actually a great play for anyone with an interest in the 60s - the events depicted take place then, of course, and we get some 60s fashions: but we also get some real-life stills and film footage, projected onto the side of the stage. Most atmospheric.

The debates take place during a presidential election campaign, and start during a Republican convention in Miami. The fun starts when they move to a Democratic convention in Chicago - the Democrats are at sixes and sevens following the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, and things aren't helped at all by the city's reactionary mayor, who isn't at all a fan of the revolutionary spirit of the age.. and, faced with protests against the Vietnam War, sends in the National Guard.

As to the debates themselves - they're fun, the participants treating them like boxing matches and using them as an excuse to slag each other off. Mrs. Buckley is frequently seen giving her husband advice, as Gore Vidal's companions also do for him. Each is very keen to best the other, and the verbal battles are terrific. Not that they're given great rein to wax on about subjects at length - television doesn't lend itself to that. Gore Vidal is certainly better at soundbites - but it's perhaps Buckley who has the definitive final word, warning that democracy cannot survive when menaced by moral supremacy. For the latter part of the play, such argument as there is finds itself superseded by the riots erupting around them.

So, not one for those hoping for deep political discourse - but it is riveting, and a real window into the past. Runs till the 18th.

Afterwards, I had a choice of buses home - bless continual decent internet access, so I could keep adjusting my journey to find the most comfortable trip (least walking).

For the next week or so, it's all Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS)! Tomorrow, for some reason, I hadn't seen their advertised event to see Orlando, based on the book by Virginia Woolf, and showing at the Garrick. For this, however, I found the cheapest tickets from Official London Theatre (OLT).

On Wednesday, we're off to see John Bishop at the Leicester Square Theatre. Love him, so I booked as soon as I saw this advertised - one of the few things for this month that I booked last month! Not that it seems to be selling out..

On Thursday, we're off to The Vaults Festival - specifically, The Welsh Lxdies, a bilingual show about the women of Wales.

Then back to Ireland for the weekend again. With partial film listings finally out for there, it's looking like The Fabelmans, in Ennis - an autobiographical tale from Stephen Spielberg, about how he got into filmmaking.

Next Monday, we're heading to Noises Off, starring Felicity Kendal, at the Phoenix. Again, cheapest tickets from OLT.

On the 31st, with a group I haven't joined in a Very Long Time - I'm back with London Dramatic Art, from whom I've got a front-row ticket for Sylvia, at The Old Vic; this is the story of Sylvia Pankhurst, and stars the excellent Beverley Knight. Completely sold out - this was my only way to get a ticket!

On the 1st, back with the Horror Book Club. This time, it's The Ballad of Black Tom, based on the Lovecraft story, The Horror at Red Hook, but told from the perspective of a black man. I managed to get through the club's book, and read the entirety of the story it's based on, which is much shorter - and less coherent. Again, the meeting is in the Prince of Wales, Covent Garden. Question is, will the kitchen be open..?

On the 2nd, I'm on my own for My Son's a Queer (but what can you do?), a musical at the Ambassadors Theatre.

On the 3rd, my first meeting of the year with London Classical Music and Theatre Group! We're off to Wigmore Hall, to listen to the Hagen Quartet play Mozart. They're Austrian, so that's appropriate.. I just need to remember not to drink the ultra-expensive sauvignon blanc!

On the 4th, well, Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners are back to Greenwich again. Now, I have been there with him before.. not sure how "new" this one will be, but hey, it was a great day last time! Indeed, that evening might be the time to meet Ivan - and our coworker, if he's recovered, by then, from the jetlag he'll suffer from the trip to India he's currently on!

On the 5th, nothing on Meetup appeals massively at the moment - I might go for a walk along the Ken's Events route, if I feel like it! (on my own). Or Over 40 Living the Life has advertised a walk along the New River.. I'll have to see, as I have to pay to sign up (refunds given to those who then come). And I might well change my mind.. 

On the 6th, my first actual event with that group. We're off to How Not to Drown at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East - the first event of theirs for which I couldn't get a cheaper ticket! So I decided, if I couldn't beat them, I might as well join them. True story of an unaccompanied, 11-year-old asylum seeker.

On the 7th, excited to be headed to see Derren Brown in Showman, at the Apollo Shaftesbury Avenue. Cheapest tickets with OLT again.

On the 8th, off to The Lehman Trilogy, at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. Based on the true story of the bank that collapsed. Got the last £39.50 ticket!

On the 9th, back with UITCS for Winner's Curse, at the Park Theatre - an interactive show about a peace negotiation. Turns out North London Friends are headed to it the same night - what, are they now copying this group, as another group did some time ago? (since closed down). And then I'm back to Ireland again.

And on the 13th, I'm headed to Allegiance, starring George Takei in a musical based on the true story of his time in an American internment camp during the Second World War. Showing at the Charing Cross Theatre.

Musical: Dear Evan Hansen

Tonight.. I booked for Dear Evan Hansen, at the Noel Coward Theatre! Finally - I'd booked for this before lockdown, and of course it got cancelled. Cheapest tickets from the official site. I needed to eat, and noticing that it's just up the road from a Cote, I decided to eat there. Being a Tuesday, I could get a booking - the earliest was at 6. With the show at 7.30, and so close, I figured that was fine.

The bus was early. Which was just fine, because so was I! And just as well, considering how long we were delayed at roadworks, at the junction of New Change and St. Paul's Churchyard. In fact, I ended up just getting off the bus at almost the time my booking was for. I then had to fight my way through crowds on Strand, and arrived at the restaurant 10 minutes late. No problem, they keep reservations for 15 minutes, and showed me to a table immediately. And it was just as well I booked, because the place was buzzing!

Predictably, things moved a little slowly - but I have to say, the staff did their best. I knew straight away what I wanted, so when she came for my order, I was straight in there with the mushroom soup, the steak frites, the large chardonnay. And to be fair, the delays weren't huge - I've had much worse. Unfortunately, the standard of the food wasn't what I'd expect from a Cote. It wasn't terrible, just.. lacking. The soup, to begin with, wasn't as hot as I'm used to. You couldn't call it lukewarm, but it wasn't really hot - I figured it'd been left waiting somewhere with inadequate heating. And the steak was - chewier than I'm used to. Undercooked. Honestly, each mouthful was a task, and I didn't finish it. There wasn't really time for a dessert. Nope, this experience didn't put me off Cote - just off this one. At least at this time of day, with people crowding in for food before the theatre and the kitchens overrun.

I left rather gratefully, and seeing all the different doors at the theatre, consulted with the guy standing next to me with a mic. He explained that the same queue handled all the doors, and that mine would be the last. There was a cursory bag check, a ticket check at the door, and up we went - all the way up the winding back stairs to the highest levels. I passed the bar en route, but couldn't really be bothered, and just headed straight to my seat, in the front row of the Balcony, the highest level. Damn steep stairs down to that row, but I had a handrail, so was fine. I did wonder what the weird noise was, though.

Now, the problem with this seat isn't the rail - there were plenty of ways I could tilt my head to get a better view: and, to be honest, hardly any seats were occupied to the sides of the Balcony, so there was nobody behind me to object! No, the main problem was that there is no space under the seats. It's a hard block - so you can't swing your legs underneath, which bothered me more than I'd have thought! Legroom isn't a huge issue - that's why I got a seat on the aisle, although I found it handier to sit, like a woman a few seats down, with my feet resting on the ledge in front. At the interval, being on the end of the row meant I had a lot of people wanting to pass - I found it more convenient just to take myself to the unoccupied seat on the other side of the aisle for the interval. And the empty seat beside mine was dead handy to leave my stuff on.

This show, I have to say, is a lot better than it has a right to be (as the saying goes). That weird noise has something to do with social media notifications, because this is a show about a teenage boy - the eponymous Evan Hansen - who is so socially inept that he's in therapy, and who, when a schoolmate kills himself, through a series of strange occurrences, gets involved with the dead boy's family (he always fancied the sister, anyway). They get the idea that he and the dead boy were best friends. He, motivated mainly by his obsession with the sister, persuades his one friend to manufacture a backstory in emails, another person who knew the dead boy sees the opportunity for a social media campaign, and we're off. The story, however, grows legs, and he duly finds himself out of his depth..

It has a lot to say about social media - how stories can be fabricated, how and why they can be spread, the reactions people have to them, and possible consequences. I have to say, it rings very true - and the prevalence of social media is well represented on stage, with constantly scrolling internet feeds covering the floor and backdrops. The songs are really beautiful, deep and well performed. The characters have depth, and the second act in particular hits quite hard. My only quibble with the entire thing was that I couldn't hear all the dialogue - the younger characters, especially, tend to speak very quickly, and frankly sometimes the speech wasn't loud enough. Perhaps because I was so high up. Anyway, currently booking until the 22nd of October - recommended! Go, be pleasantly surprised.

On the way back, I had a choice of three buses, all leaving from the same stop! The same roadworks held us up, but not as much - of course, it's never as bad a delay when you're not in a hurry.

Tomorrow, back with Civilised London (CL) - back at Le Sacré Coeur, meeting beforehand at The Crown, as usual.

On Thursday, back with TAC for Avocado Presents - Improv, at Etcetera Theatre. Eh, I think it's a jazz concert? 

Failing any information from my new job, have provisionally booked for Friday - Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners are off to see Elegant London!

Anyway, then back to Ireland for the weekend again, and on Saturday, now that the listings are finally up, I've booked to go see The Batman at the Omniplex. It's free to book, and handier when you get there. And gee, I've heard great things about this! A very dark take on the story, it seems - has Andy Serkis as Alfred, and Peter Sarsgaard as the DA.

On Monday, going to see Daddy at the Almeida. Having never seen a bad production here, I have high hopes.

Next Tuesday, finally going to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella! I hear good things.. it's playing at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, which is new to me - Seatplan was invaluable in choosing the best seating option. What's On Stage provided the cheapest price for that seat, though!

On the 30th, back with CL - for a play this time. This is The Fever Syndrome, at Hampstead Theatre.

On the 31st, back with TAC for One Night With Robbie Williams. This is at The Courtyard.

On the 1st, back with the Crick Crack Club (CCC) for - The Grand Annual Lying Contest! at Rich Mix.

On the 2nd, I had booked with WTTH for a Regent's Canal Walk. Different guide. But yay, Laurence and the 45+s then advertised another walk for that day, which is pretty much guaranteed to be superior. So I've booked it. This is Scandals, Scriptwriters & Sumptuous Architecture - and of course, it being a London weekend, I can go!

On the 3rd, the CCC again! Emily Hennessey and Sheema Mukherjee are at the British Museum, with Holy Cow! Tales from the River of Life. Unfortunately, the London Landmarks Half Marathon is also that day, so I'll probably be on the Tube, at least getting to the museum. 

On the 4th, I'm back at the Park Theatre for the first time in nearly three years! This is for Clybourne Park, a comedy about a white family moving into a predominantly black neighbourhood.

On the 5th, I'm headed to But I'm a Cheerleader, a musical comedy at the Turbine Theatre.

On the 6th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats at Southwark Playhouse, and another free ticket for me! This time, it's for Anyone Can Whistle, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

On the 7th, Tommy Tiernan is playing at the Hammersmith Apollo! Now, I failed to get a ticket for this the first time around. Then it was rescheduled because of Covid.. and I got a ticket for the rescheduled event! Then that was rescheduled.. third time lucky?! Love Tommy Tiernan. The show is called Tomfoolery. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.

On the 11th, I've booked for The 47th, at The Old Vic. Written by Mike Bartlett, this imagines the American presidential elections of 2024. I am really looking forward to this play..

On the 12th, I'm finally going to Six, the Musical! Based around the story of the six wives of Henry VIII (very loosely, I'd say), it's playing at the Vaudeville and I hear good things. Cheapest tickets from Leicester Square Box Office.

On the 13th, back with CL, who are off to the opera at the Southbank Centre. The show in question is The Paradis Files. Next day, I'm back to Ireland for Easter - but left it so late to book, I could only get an afternoon flight, and will have to start my new job (whenever) by asking for that day off work!

Well, my friend got back to me - they're away in the middle of Easter week, back on the 21st, so the most sensible thing to do seemed to be to visit on the 22nd of next month, which I've now arranged with her. Whether I take that week as holiday, or take the laptop there and work from Ireland, remains to be seen. Anyway, I'll fly back to London on the 24th of next month. And on the 25th of next month, I'm off to The Corn is Green, at the National.

Play: 2:22 - A Ghost Story

A couple of weeks ago, Up in the Cheap Seats 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 tonight - 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 go to, I can afford it! Interestingly, a couple of days ago I got an email from them explaining that if I wanted a drink, I had to preorder. And I had to arrive between 30 and 45 minutes before the show starts. Well, said I, if I'm obliged to be there that early, then yes, I'll have a drink, thank you! So I placed an order. (Oh, and they told me which door to go to, too!) Goodness, that's more care than most places are taking..

The driver of the bus that was supposed to take me to the far side of Aldwych decided that the near side would do, which added 10 minutes to my walk. Ah well, 'tis exercise - I noticed a sign that said Strand was permanently closed now! to vehicular traffic, of course. En route, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't hunted for my ticket on my phone. And while I was doing that, the theatre finally confirmed my order - and I immediately got a message that it was ready. Yes, well I wasn't..

I did make it there within my allotted time though, and after someone asked whether I was "double-jabbed" (yes) and another made a cursory search of my bag (with a stick!), I was in. Had to ask where the bar "on my level" was, though - and discovered that it was down a few flights of stairs, and actually on the level below! A fellow at the door looked at me expectantly, and I said I had to pick up an order - I could see bags, just inside the door. So he asked whether I had a confirmation email - yes - but what he actually wanted was the code. Which wasn't in the email, but I'd fortunately memorised. And so I got to collect my bag, with a plastic glass and a small bottle of the only white wine they had (which was a bit watery). Naturally, I could take it to my seat - well, I couldn't go into the bar!

The place filled up completely, in due course - this is popular. The clock visible on stage reminds us of the importance of the time in this play, and cycles swiftly through its 24-hour period, over and over, until the play starts. And shortly after I got there, they started to play music - and they started with Portishead. Oh joy..

So, the plot is simple - a couple with a small baby have moved into their dream home, which they've completely redesigned, with a modern extension to an old house. However, just recently, with the husband away, the wife (Lily Allen, in her West End debut) heard strange noises over the baby monitor - as though someone was pacing around and around the nursery. This has happened every night since - at 2:22am - and the last time, she was in the room herself, and heard crying. She's terrified. So, when her husband returns, she invites an old friend and her partner over for dinner - with the ulterior motive of getting them to stay until the fateful hour, and prove she's not as insane as her highly rational husband thinks she is..

Aw man, I knew it. Every time I'm really looking forward to something, it disappoints me. Having said that - and not giving it away, because it is on again tomorrow - the twist is excellent. But what spoiled it for me was the blood-curdling screech that accompanies every scene change, along with flashing lights and the red lights around the edge of the stage coming on. A stupid jump scare every time. I guess they figured that, without that, the play would be too slow. But most horror is actually like that, a completely normal setting until something happens to change your whole perspective. Hey-ho, the twist makes it worth seeing - not sure whether it justifies the price I paid though, and it's even more expensive if you want a last-minute ticket for tomorrow! Ah well, not the worst.

What was worst for me was that my knees - never good at the best of times - started acting up in the second half, during which I spent a lot of time trying to get them into a comfortable position! Being in the front row of the Circle, you see, meant that I had a hard surface in front of me, with no give, so I couldn't stretch - and my row was full, so I couldn't stretch to the side either. I was stiff and sore by the time we were let out - and still am, to be honest! At least, on the way back, I got the bus driver to stop at the correct stop, for a change, by virtue of not pressing the button until I could see the stop! It isn't even listed on their route any more, you know..

Tomorrow, 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. We're to meet at 11, and it'll take me the better part of an hour to get there, I see - so off to bed for me imminently!

On Sunday, 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 Monday, 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!

On Tuesday, 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. And that'll be a night I can move stuff from my desk - we have to clear them out by the end of the week, as we're moving office next month!

On Wednesday, I booked another walk with Invigorate - this one is a tour of (the outside of) Christopher Wren's churches. Starting even closer to the office than the last one, handily.

On Thursday, an online storytelling double-bill - I'll have to see how that pans out. First, I'd booked Universe, a Crick Crack Club (CCC) show happening in Oxford and live-streamed. Clare Murphy - and I've seen it before, and it was the best show ever! And then I saw that Martin Shaw from the CCC was doing an online show, earlier in the evening.. this one, in association with Watkins Bookshop, is called The Smoke Hole, and it's free. So I said, hey, why not? (And this is realistically the last night I can move stuff from my desk.)

Next Friday, back with the London European Club for a concert - Balkan Music, courtesy of Raka & Balamuc, in The Post Bar, Tottenham. Sounds like fun. Even if I have to bring my work laptop, as we won't have access to our desks by that night. Then I'm back to Ireland - another Saturday flight - and with a few days off, I'm not flying back until the 28th. At least I'm not working from home this time, so don't have to bring the laptop on the flight!

But on the 29th, back with that group again, for Carmen - contemporary flamenco at The Place. (Might work from home that day, as we won't be in our new office yet, and I'd have to carry my laptop around with me.) Funnily enough, someone in the group said there were no individual seats left, and asked whether anyone wanted to double up with her. I offered, if there were no other takers - but she never got back to me. So, since I was now up to that date in my schedule, I decided to check for myself - and got an individual seat! So I've booked it.

And on the 30th, I'm doing something nice and Halloweeny - a ghost story event entitled Night Owl - changed from Scared to Death in the Woods, which they're now doing on Hallowe'en itself, and which has sold out. Tickets from Design My Night. So, an organisation called London Dreamtime is leading us off into a undisclosed location, somewhere around Hampstead Heath.. we're to dress warmly, and bring a blanket to sit on, and a "candle in a jar" - I actually went out and bought an LED flickering candle in a lantern-style holder. Well, thought it was the most practical! Now I just need batteries..

Play: Quiz

Last night, North London Friends went to Quiz, at the Noel Coward Theatre. This is based on the true story of an audience member who apparently coughed at the right answers from the multiple-choice selections, in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, thus enabling the contestant to take away the top prize. Well, the group had onstage seats, which they sold themselves - they didn't show any availability when I looked, though, so I booked my own in the rear stalls, with the benefit of a Theatre Token I'd earned with Seatplan reviews. I then let them know I was coming.. and they finally added me, yay. So I got to be sociable, too, with what is a very sociable group!

Would you believe it, I nearly forgot the damned ticket yesterday morning! Just as well I wasn't in a hurry.. I idly wondered what was in that envelope over there, and lo, it was the ticket that they insisted on posting to me. I'm just not used to that anymore. In the evening, I left in good time - on a Friday evening, I was one of the last in the office! Again, either bus would do from the stop across the road - and again, I just missed one. I was early though, and while I was waiting, I took note of the number of a "man with a van", advertising on the stop - could be handy for my upcoming move. When I had to change buses in the West End, my second one arrived within seconds, and as it happened, I arrived in front of the theatre just at the appointed time.

I found the group over to the side, and we chatted until it was time to go in - ushers standing in the lobby had clipboards to take interval drinks orders, and again, a generous group member ordered a bottle of wine for us to share - and five glasses. Now, as I say, they were all on stage - which isn't a normal seating arrangement, so there were no directions for it; when they asked, they were told to enter through the stalls bar - which was just behind me, and was where we were going to be meeting at the interval. Very handy.

We had to come down a very long way to the stalls, and I worried for later, with my chest as it is. My seat was fine, if the view of the top of the stage was somewhat obscured by the overhang:

I discovered voting pads hanging from the seats in front of us - ooh, we were going to get to be in Ask the Audience! Awesome. The seats were also peppered with quiz sheets - there was a "pub quiz" we could participate in, whose questions were fed to us at intervals through the show. Unfortunately, although they assured us that pens were also hanging from the seats, nobody around me could find one, so we didn't really bother with this bit. Ultimately, the winners got a signed cast poster, it seems..

The theatre didn't stay as empty as in the above shot, but the two rows in front of me were almost completely unoccupied - I did consider moving forward, but reasoned that my view wouldn't improve much, as I'd still have the overhang. The place was completely decked out like a tv studio, screens to each side and at the rear of the stage, the set lit up as if for a performance. Flashing lights are a feature throughout, I should mention. The anticipation as we waited for the start was immense - we got a guy whose job it was to stir up the audience, and a camera was wheeled around the stage, alternating between shots of it and of us.

It's not a straightforward gameshow, though - instead, a judge comes onstage at the start, and the trial of the accused contestant begins then and there, the prosecution putting their case first. We go back through the history of gameshows, with stagings of different ones. This, of course, is where the people onstage get their chance to shine - including some of our group, who played a blinder when called on..

So, we meet the "coughing major", as he's known, and we get the background to the events. All quite gripping. And we get the fascinating psychology behind the staging of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, as they describe how the tension is ratcheted up. We also see wannabe quiz cheats, who study the game and devise ways around it. And at the end of the first half, as the prosecution rests its case, we have to vote - rather unfairly, without getting to hear the other side of the story.

At the interval, it was easy to locate our bottle, with all its glasses, and we hung out in what is a very small bar and chatted about gameshows before going back. Now, there was a chap sat just behind me who wasn't entirely the full shilling - was shouting out the answers when they had the pub quiz; when the compere on stage jokingly cried, "Don't call them out!", my companion responded with a puzzled "Why?" And he was muttering along to the action on stage. Well, bless us, by the end of the interval, it seems he'd bought some dinner, and I got to listen to him eating crisps and drinking something fizzy. The joys.

Back to the onstage action, and the case for the defence was finally being put. Some points you mightn't have thought of are raised, before we're told what actually happened to the accused in real life, and asked to vote again - a graph is put up after the result is revealed, showing the results of the last 10 votes. In all, the evening was great - you really get the feeling of being on a gameshow, and the audience participation is fun. Highly recommended - runs until the 17th of next month. I had to pause for an extended time to get my breath back after climbing all those stairs out, but I survived.

Afterwards, a brief discussion ended with the very sensible decision to go to Brown's, next door, which, as our organiser said, "always has room". We squeezed ourselves around a table in the bar - some of us wanted to eat, and there was the usual kerfuffle about us having to sit in the restaurant if we did, then they took forever to find a table that'd seat nine of us! So someone eventually said we could stay where we were if we weren't all eating, and those who were only had snacks. The fact that eight of us did end up ordering food, and most of that was main courses (chicken schnitzel for the most part, as it happened) was politely ignored. And the schnitzel was very good - topped with a fried egg, unusually. Now, a couple of people had stumped up for wine, and I ended up having both red and white - in the interest of not letting it go to waste, you know! The conversation was good, and we eventually tottered out of there just before midnight. As I say, a most convivial group.

My chest was bad now - I had to stop a few times on the way to the bus stop. I think it gets worse after I've eaten. Anyway, wouldn't you know it, the bus again took forever to get there, the optimistic display forever telling us that it was only a minute away, then that it was due. And when it eventually dropped me at home, I had to hang back, I was breathing so hard, lest the poor person walking in front of me thought I was up to something strange, at that late hour. It is better than it was - I wish the weather would warm up and allow it to clear properly. (It has improved a lot today.. watch this space.)

I also wish I'd already moved out of here - there was a most unpleasant smell of urine in the downstairs hall as I arrived last night. Anyway, the writing of the blog went a bit late - given that I had a reason to be awake at something like a reasonable hour today. You might have noticed something about a certain wedding today? Must be the reason for all the bunting around town yesterday. Indeed, a live stream showed them camping out in Windsor, last night. Not much sleep was being got, by the sound of it - I had visions of the sing-songs keeping the royals up!

Ah, and didn't she shimmer? And didn't he look all weepy? Aw shucks. Well, I decided just to stay in and watch that - it's not as though there weren't plenty of venues showing it in town, but I couldn't decide, and finally what swung it was that I was home so late, and if I'd wanted to sit and watch it somewhere else, I'd have had to be there really early. No thanks, I'm appreciating the rest! Headed out to Tesco for food, was all.

Tomorrow, I decided to go on the Grime and Punishment walk, finally, that I cancelled a while ago. Funzing, of course, via Walking in London - and I used the code crazy_fun, as usual, to get 10% off.

On Monday, I booked with London Science Events for a talk at the Royal Society on Why Philosophy of Science Matters to Science. Then, of course, I remembered I have a meeting at 5.30! Doors open at 6, and you have to be there well in advance to secure entry. Blast. Well, the other Meetup events that appealed were either also on too early, or didn't have any decent tickets left. So I'm thinking film, at the moment. Watch this space..

Musical: Girl from the North Country

Tonight, I booked for Girl from the North Country - a musical based around the songs of Bob Dylan - showing at the Noel Coward Theatre. I'd heard good things! Collect at the box office again - it's ages since I've had to print anything. I had to skip a late meeting to go to it - nuts to that, it was only an all-hands, I wasn't integral to it.. and they can't force us to stay that late.

Arrived way too early, of course - over an hour and a half early, picked up my ticket - but the bar wasn't yet open. Tried another couple of local ones - I had to put myself somewhere - but they were crammed, so I ended up at Brown's, right next door. It was crowded too, but I got a seat at the bar, and bought an overpriced wine. Which I nursed for about 45 minutes - a record for me, I think! while I eavesdropped on the lady whose "dry January" lasted all the way up till the 9th, and observed the quite sloppy barman, whose shift was just finishing.

When it came time to leave, I needed the loo - knew they were downstairs, but be warned; there are two stairs, and the one you want is towards the front! Having safely managed that - no motion sensors in this toilet - I hopped next door and climbed some more stairs to the upstairs bar. By the time I'd queued for some Maltesers, the house was open, and I clambered up to the balcony (top of the house: no sweet sellers here). Then I clambered down to the front row of the balcony.

Comfy seats, good view, decent legroom - only problem is, the seats at this level don't tilt, and there's no space under them! So if someone wants to squeeze past - as they invariably do - better make yourself as small as possible.. just before the show started, I witnessed a fracas at the other side, where a young couple on the bench slips wanted to move to a couple of free seats, slightly more central. I've never seen such an officious usher, who spotted them and absolutely prohibited it! Bah humbug. The one on my side, however, while keen to remind me not to take photos, emphasised that it was ok before the show started. And then he took the trouble, as I was leaving, to ask me what I'd thought of the show!

So, this musical, written by Conor McPherson, is set in Depression-era 1934, and centres on the various inhabitants of a boarding house in Duluth - all down on their luck in one way or another. In short, I could take or leave the play aspect, to be honest. I found it a bit shouty - as you'd expect, from a cast comprised of people who were primarily there to sing! The various stories are mainly there as a vehicle for the songs - we could do without the play side at all. Kudos, though, to whoever plays the woman with dementia throughout - she has free reign to act as wildly as she likes!

The music.. is epic! Achingly beautiful renditions of many Dylan songs I didn't know - and later, ones that I did. Some of them are performed as medleys, familiar snippets coming though; for To Make You Feel My Love, they turn the lights on the disco ball hanging from the ceiling. Stunning performances. Tear-jerking. Voices to blow the rafters off. One thing it goes to show is how beautifully Dylan songs can be performed by people who love them - I never did care for his own vocal style, myself. But oh, this music is something you have to experience. I've just bought the cast recording myself - cheaper on Amazon Smile (5% of the purchase price is donated to a charity of your choice) than in the theatre. You really can't miss this - runs till the 24th of March. Afterwards, something I've never before seen - a standing ovation on every single one of the four levels, right up to the balcony! Well deserved.

Sadly, during the interval, I saw a post on Facebook that Helen's little cat - always had health problems - died today. Rest in peace, little puss.

Tomorrow, back with Meetup, and with Up in the Cheap Seats, for The Divide, at the Old Vic. Interestingly, I see that London Dramatic Arts has scheduled a trip to the same play on the same night! If she bought the tickets on preview, she's added over 50% to the price.. I don't dare mention to her that I'm going with Up in the Cheap Seats, of course - she'd probably only take offence. I hear the production is four hours long.. ouch, and I have to be up early next morning to buy more U2 tickets! Have now transferred funds. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

On Monday, I'm going to The Brothers Size, at the Young Vic this time. Again, I hear good things!

On Tuesday, Girls & Boys, starring Carey Mulligan, at the Royal Court, with Up in the Cheap Seats. Natch. Another that's supposed to be excellent!

Next Wednesday, The York Realist, at Donmar Warehouse.

On the 15th, my £3.60 club has got me a ticket - for that amount - for Orpheus Sinfonia, at St. George's Church in Hanover Square. About time I was back with them - they do offer excellent value.

And on the 16th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats - who else - for Frozen, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

Musical: Half a Sixpence

It was months ago that I booked Half a Sixpence, and it's a sign of how little there is for me on Meetup now that I didn't change for something else in the meantime. Hey-ho, a slightly earlier start than last night, but the Noel Coward Theatre is still only five minutes' walk from the office, so another late evening there. When the time came, I nipped quickly down West Street, right at the end onto St. Martin's Lane, and could eventually see it, ahead on the right.

I'd found the cheapest ticket with Amazon tickets - although I'd advise checking with the venue, because I don't think I saved that much. Anyway, they didn't require me to print out anything, and after a bit of a queue, arising from the more-extensive-than-usual bag search at the door, all I had to do was give my name at the box office, and the nice man was delighted to tell me that I'd been upgraded from the balcony to the next level down, the Grand Circle.

So, I'm guessing that the balcony was closed. The Grand Circle was fairly full, and from what I could tell, so were the levels below - to be fair, it is Tuesday! Couldn't complain of the view:

The show itself - well, frankly, I don't know where they got the energy! Bouncing around the stage, twanging banjos, singing to boot. (Actually, I didn't realise until the end, when they saluted them, that the orchestra was located on an upper level at the rear of the stage.) The show starts with a highly over-acted scene between two youngsters, in the countryside, making a sweethearts' pact by each taking half of a sixpence that's been filed in two. But then fate intervenes, when he goes off to find his fortune, has a windfall (spoiler), and falls for a Lady. Will true love survive? Will money wreck his life? Whadda you think? ;-)

That first scene was cringeworthy - frankly, both leads overact so much I was rather afraid they'd burst a blood vessel. They're not the only ones guilty of this. But, you know, as the story gets more serious, that becomes less obvious - and they're SO enthusiastic, and SO energetic, and the music is SO catchy that I defy anyone not to like it by the end. That closing number, Flash Bang Wallop, is an absolute classic! And when I was trying to remember where I'd heard it recently - why, it was at that Cockney Singalong! Which I went to not long after I booked this, actually..

Tomorrow, back with London Literary Walks of course - and I'm looking forward to this one more than most - it's The Chaucer Walk, and I do love things medieval!

Thursday is a red-letter day, with the last scheduled Meetup of the Man with the Hat. Both groups (London for Less Than a Tenner standing, and Let's Do London- for less! in seats, as usual) are headed to the Globe for Romeo and Juliet. It'll be poignant.. but the production itself will be controversial, from what I hear, being - shall we say, avant-garde. As usual, I'll reserve judgement till I see for myself. Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend.

On Monday and Tuesday, I'm off to Pint of Science - following a theme, given my background, I'm headed to a talk on Small Is Beautiful (quantum physics) on Monday and one on Across the Universe (cosmology, and now sold out) on Tuesday. Rock on..

On the 17th, London Literary Walks is off to Highbury. And so am I.

On the 18th, I'm booked for free comedy in Hammersmith, with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon & Greenwich, Random London, and London Live Comedy. Something, frankly, that I usually cancel, but you never know - nothing better has yet come up for this night!

On the 19th, I saw that London Social Detours (a side-shoot of Ken's Events) were charging £3 to go to the free jazz concert at the Royal Academy. So I was going to go on my own. Free. But then the London European Club (LEC) advertised a Norwegian Dixieland concert at Jamboree.. well, that sounded like more fun, so now I'm going to that instead.

On the 20th, I'm doing something local - a guided walk on Residents, Rascals & Riots, in Holborn. With London for a Tenner or Less.

The 21st, London Dramatic Arts (LDAM) is headed out of town. We're going all the way to Northampton, to see a couple of Shakespearian plays, one directed by one of her members. Richard II, to be precise, with Titus Andronicus to whet our appetites. No-one has signed up apart from me, but what the hey I've never been there, so it'll be interesting.

On the 22nd, I'm off to Ugly Lies the Bone, at the Lyttleton.

On the 23rd, I'd booked with Funzing UK for an Infinitease Burlesque Show. In Leytonstone, so if anything better came up in the meantime, I was up for it! That's a terribly long way out. Anyway, just today I got an email about cheap tickets - apparently there's a burlesque festival on - in Hackney, which is a bit closer. And a lot cheaper. So now I'm going to that instead - Funzing can be cancelled up to 48 hours in advance without penalty.

The 24th was supposed to be the Man with the Hat's last event, but he had to cancel. Instead, I discovered that the UL Alumni Association (UL is my alma mater) is holding a talk on Brexit that night. And I was going to go to that - but lo, Funzing came up with something better! So now I'm going to Urban Legends of London. And they had a 24h-only code - 25funzingagain.

The 25th, Crick Crack is back - at Crouch End Arthouse again, unfortunately. It's just so far! Still going, of course - the more especially because it's Michael Harvey! He's worth the trip. Then I'm back to Ireland for the Bank Holiday weekend again - and taking the bank holiday, this time!

On the 30h, LDAM are at the Olivier to see Common. So am I.. on a cheap Travelex ticket, which I booked direct with the venue. So I'll be avoiding them, since they don't appreciate that.

On the 31st, free comedy in Hammersmith is up again (temporarily, at least), with the above groups, plus London Art Comedy & Culture Lovers (another offshoot of Ken's Events).

On 1 June, I eschewed the free comedy in Hammersmith for the Ghosts & Executions Tour, with London for a Tenner or Less - even though that guide wasn't great the last time, so I cancelled this previously, he's better than that free comedy! Oh, and I forgot to mention, the code WELLBEING30 got me 30% off this. How it qualifies as "well-being" I don't know, but I'm not complaining!

Then I'm off down to Helen for the weekend - she told me about this Living History Festival, and I said yes please!

The 5th, I'm back to Soho Theatre with the Crick Crack Club, for something called The Frog Princess - Punked. Ben Haggerty, the mc and co-founder of the club, told us last night that there's going to be a full punk band - goodness, who would've thought that Sally Pomme Clayton had a hidden punk side!

And the 6th June, I'm with the LEC, to see the Images Ballet Company at the Arts Depot.