Today, I headed with London Social Detours to a talk on Shakespeare and the Wandering Mind, at the Wanamaker Playhouse - my first trip there in over a year, goodee! The talk sold out a while ago.. Cash payable on the day, so I got some out on the way into work.
I had to leave quite early - our organiser was of the opinion that they would overbook, so instructed us to be there in good time. Which I was, despite my bus being diverted! and then I had to figure out a way across the road.. and then down onto the road under the bridge.. once that was done, it was quite easy, and once I was on Southwark Bridge, I was on familiar territory.
Nice classical music to send me on my way, under Southwark Bridge as usual. I made my way straight to the actual entrance to the playhouse, but as it approached the appointed time, I couldn't see anyone I knew. When I got the Meetup page to work on my phone, I realised she'd said to meet at the front entrance, which sounded as though she meant to meet outside - sure enough, I looked and there they were. When she'd sorted out her dues, there was a kerfuffle as one person wanted to wait for her friends - but the people at the desk were very nice, gave us as many tickets as we needed straight away, and said whoever was left over could get theirs whenever was convenient.
We actually all ended up in the Lower Gallery, a level I'd never been on. Since no-one was beating down the doors to get in, we had a scooch around the gift shop - a terrific range of things related to Macbeth seemed to dominate the stock, but as I remarked to someone, since it isn't Hallowe'en, I didn't feel inspired to buy anything blood-spattered. We were duly let in at 6 - the talk wasn't until half past. And wow, were we close to the stage!
More photos here. We were very early, but in due course the lower two levels filled up - the Upper Gallery seemed to be reserved for staff, although I'm not sure they weren't letting in the overflow by the end. The speaker, Dr. Raphael Lyne, is a Reader in Renaissance Literature at Cambridge, a writer, and a blogger. So, he's as eloquent as you'd expect - it's just a shame that he has such a soothing voice, because after the week I've had, I had to struggle not to drop off! particularly as I was in the front row. Which would have been embarrassing.
His thesis was that a wandering mind has its purpose - events or speeches in a play might spark some train of thought in an audience member, which allows them to perceive the play from a new angle. Someone asked a very interesting question in the subsequent Q+A, along the lines of whether some wandering thought processes are more worthy than others: for instance, is it less acceptable if, instead of considering the play from a new angle, your mind wanders towards lunch? Considering this, he mused that considering your lunch was an example of fitting the play into the structure of your life - so, interesting from that perspective. (Very diplomatic.)
Apart from him and the mc, a third person was on stage, sitting at the back. I wondered at first whether she was there as a sign language interpreter - and wondered even more when she failed to do any interpreting! No, when he took the podium, he explained that when he enquired, he was informed that, owing to the nature of the building, there were no AV facilities whatsoever. However, he was promised that he could "borrow an actor"! So he did, and she was there to read - in a most accomplished manner - selected Shakespearian passages to illustrate his point. I enjoyed her delivery, but did wonder at the point of the passages, to be honest; at first, she was reading from The Tempest, where Prospero wondered whether Miranda was paying attention. I got that connection. However, when he moved to Much Ado About Nothing, and started to consider all the different interpretations of the word "well", as spoken by the different characters.. It was very interesting, but I'm still trying to see the relevance of that.
The Q+A afterwards had some very well-considered questions from the audience, and indeed revealed him as quite a wit. Yes, I can heartily recommend these talks - would happily go to another, especially in this venue.
Afterwards, some of us repaired to The Anchor, which was quite busy - we ended up on the second floor of this maze of a place, where we pushed two tables together and had a drink or two. I was hungry, so ordered food - never again here! except the chips, which were the best I've had in an age. It took a while to come, then the waiter had the misfortune to take it to the wrong end of our table, where he was told that hadn't been ordered, I couldn't get anyone to listen to me as I was trying to grab their attention from across the table, and it therefore took longer than it should have for me to get fed. Sadly, I can't say the wait was worth it, as (apart from the chips) everything on the plate was either tough or tasteless. The staff are friendly though, and I had some fun ordering my second drink, when the French lass behind the bar, who had to have everything repeated, told me that sadly I couldn't pay in cash, it'd have to be card.. because she didn't have the key to the till..
And so home, after a most convivial evening.
Crossing to St. Paul's, I came across an unusual sculpture, which you can walk through, and which frames the cathedral as you do!
And I got there just in time for my bus!
Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. On Monday, I really didn't see anything on Meetup (again!), so I'm back with my £3.60 club - for safety, I picked the classical concert they're selling cheap tickets for, in Wigmore Hall. Can't really go too far wrong with that.
Tuesday will be interesting - I'm going to Return to the Forbidden Planet, at the Gatehouse. What's most interesting is that I'm signed up with both North London Friends and Up in the Cheap Seats, who are both there that night! Maybe I can introduce them to each other..
On Wednesday, back with Let's Do This for another Turkish meal at TAS. The last was excellent, so they're doing it again! which I think is a very good idea. And the second host is attending, for the first time in ages..
Next Thursday, London Literary Walks is taking us for A Night in Knightsbridge - sure to be as good as ever.
And on the 18th, North London Friends is going to Quiz, at the Noel Coward Theatre. This is based on the true story of an audience member who coughed at the right answers from the multiple-choice selections, in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, thus enabling his co-conspirator to take away the top prize. Well, the group have onstage seats, which they sold themselves - they had sold them all 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.. no response yet. Hope they're still talking to me after Tuesday..!
Aw gee, the first signs of summer! Lighter clothes.. sunnier days.. and back to The Globe! A favourite venue of the Man with the Hat, who always has a comprehensive offering of events there.. last night was the first of the season, with a trip (for both his groups) to see A Midsummer Night's Dream. As usual, I'd love to stand - but I'm a terrible stander, and these are long plays, and so I sat. Therefore with Let's Do London - for less! Those who wished to stand could do so courtesy of London for Less Than a Tenner.
I wasn't best pleased to find I'd be working in Guildford that day - I've been late for just the one thing so far, coming back from Guildford, but it's always a risk - and always stressful. And I really, really, didn't want to be late for this - even though our diligent organiser promised to wait outside for latecomers. So I started nagging my boss the day before, saying that heads would roll if I were late. And then - the night before, there was a fire in Vauxhall.. which is on the train line between Clapham Junction and Waterloo.. which is my fastest way to the Globe!
Cue mild panic, and worried updates to my boss about the current status - lines closed, services delayed or cancelled. As I remarked to him, I could take the bus, if I were back in time! Instead, I formulated a Plan B whereby I could take the Overground to Canada Water, then the Tube back to Southwark and walk from there. To top it all, I called my mother from the office at the end of the day, and explained to her how I really wanted to go, how I'd booked it as soon as I saw it.. now, that might have been the clincher for my boss, or maybe he just didn't fancy the drive home otherwise, but.. he suggested we leave early! :-)
Dire warnings on the radio on the way back, advising against any non-essential train travel to Waterloo. But hey, you know what? We were back early enough for me to take the bus, after all! Mind you, I was lucky in where I got on - it didn't take long for the bus to fill completely, and I was glad of my seat. Of course, the buses were crammed because of the trouble with the trains - something of a Blitz spirit prevailed, people in better humour than normal. One little girl begged her mother to sit upstairs, but her mother wasn't keen - when she finally realised they'd have to do that if they wanted a seat, her daughter shrieked "At last! My dream has come true!" The whole bus laughed.
Most only wanted to travel to Vauxhall, and got off there - so it was more comfortable after that. And despite terrible traffic as we turned onto Lambeth Road, we arrived at my stop before 7. The Man with the Tickets had asked us to aim to pick them up by 7:15, so I was relaxed during my five-minute stroll to The Globe. He's moved his stance - used to wait by the river, but now has moved around the corner, to the entrance to the ticket office. Even posted a picture of where he'd be standing, on the Meetup page, just so we'd know!
I know the spot well - I've come to The Globe independently several times, when I always come in this way. As I approached, I couldn't yet see the Hat.. and then I noticed this huge crowd of people, apparently clustered around a single point. Yep, there was the Hat, with the Man underneath, and I joined the fray. These groups are growing to mammoth proportions - he had over 100 people at last night's event, between both groups - and thick wads of tickets stashed on his person. In case you didn't realise - and there would have been a lot of first-timers, last night - he had a Meetup sign posted to the wall behind him. Someone remarked that all he needed now was a table with three cups on it.. Anyway, the consummate organiser, he was his usual, genial self with absolutely everyone. Which is why it took a while for me to get my ticket.. never mind, I was in plenty of time!
It was nice to be in the back row for once, with the wall as support - I didn't need it so much, but it's nice to have the option of leaning back. And OH! It was great to be back in The Globe! That's the real start of summer for me. You know, the Man with the Hat was saying afterwards that he had a spare seat, and sat for the second half - and that it gave a great view of the groundlings. Well, yes - he's absolutely right, and I find exactly the same thing for U2 concerts, where I also always take a seat; the atmosphere is better on the floor, but in the seats, you can see the crowd reaction. So you're not missing out so much!
I was surrounded by fellow group members - some new, some of long-standing. As always, someone whose first time it was at The Globe - I do love to see people's reactions. Our immediate, joint reaction was - yup, this is a rather different production. The stage was strewn with large, round tables, laid out as though for a banquet - there were a couple in the crowd, as well. Indian-style beading decorated the entrance to the backstage area. And.. the open, roofless centre of The Globe was filled with.. enormous, round white balloons. Long, green, gauzy tubes hung from somewhere above us, and the whole effect was rather unearthly. Can't say I've seen The Globe decked out like this before - but I believe they have a new artistic director.
Nobody could have predicted what was to happen next. To sum up - I've always thought this play was bonkers. Star-crossed lovers escape to the woods, where they stumble into the realm of the fairies, and end up being given love potions. A hapless troupe of players stumbles across the fairies too, and the daftest one of them - called Bottom - becomes even weirder when he's turned into an ass (well, his head at least) - and the fairy queen falls in love with him (one of those potions, again). It eventually resolves itself, with just a trace of fairy dust left behind to tweak circumstances a bit.
Aw man, this is freakin' fantastic! As I explained to someone on the way out - The Globe always mixes the productions up a bit, but not usually this much. It's got a bit of everything.. We start with Globe "ushers", explaining to us the rules of the house. (They play a more prominent role later on.) We continue with Bollywood. There's a good smattering of well chosen modern songs. Some nifty dance moves, and some impressive acrobatics. But oh.. where it really shines is in the fairy realm, where they've really created an otherworldly scene, weird music from behind, moody lighting. And - spoiler - the fairy queen, who makes her first entrance from above, suspended on cables, in the most fantastic garb..
I've seen some terrible comments about this on The Globe website. And when I realised it was a new and different production - well, that explained much. So I decided to see for myself - because, you know, some people don't like other people tinkering with what they consider classics. We had this discussion afterwards, where someone made the point - with which I wholeheartedly agree - that if you can understand something well enough to distill it to its essence.. and present it to people anew.. it can make an audience understand it in a different way, and perhaps see something new in it. For me, last night was the first time this play made sense.. it never did, played straight.
The play is bonkers, and so - appropriately - is the production. Someone remarked that their favourite was Bottom - mine had to be Puck (Katy Owen), the capricious sprite who meddles in everything and is responsible for much mischief. This one is a hyperactive lass, who bounces about the place in an Elizabethan ruff and spectacularly sparkly, flashing shoes. Runs on the spot frequently - I think it helps the magic.
It is hilarious - it is the most fantastic fun. The end came as something of a relief, just because this is a long play, and the benches, while comfortable enough, are wooden, and this was my first time back this year. But what the end also brought was a standing ovation - from me, among others - and the most thunderous, seat-rumbling applause and cheering from all of those at The Globe. I loved it. They loved it. Anyone with an open mind and a sense of fun will love it. Runs on selected dates until 11 September - some sold out, and booking essential. Go see.
Afterwards, the 100+ people had vapourised, leaving about nine of us (+ our Fearless Leader) to wend our way to The Anchor. Off he scooted, to find us a suitable nook to chat in, and we ended up in a corner all to ourselves, in this complicated warren of a pub. Where we just about had time for one, but at least they didn't chuck us out until 11:30, so we had time for a decent chat as well. Great group(s) - I'll usually try and get to the Man with the Hat's events, but it just isn't always possible.. I am away every second weekend, and sometimes they do clash with stuff that I really don't want to miss. What the hey, looking forward to the next one!
Tonight, it's back to Ireland for the weekend, and my mother and I are off tomorrow to a violin concert called One Night in Vienna, in Glór. And back in London, on Monday I'm back with the Crick Crack Club, for Kali - in Soho Theatre again.
