Wicked Wonderland: Burlesque Cabaret

Tonight, with CT at The Bedford, for Wicked Wonderland: Burlesque Cabaret. Unusual for me not to be doing a walk on a Sunday - hallelujah, a lie-in! Much needed.

There seemed to be plenty of eateries out that way, so I headed straight out there - by Tube, it being all of six miles, and unfeasibly long any other way. Thankfully, I got a seat - had to remind myself not to be surprised, because it wasn't rush hour, being a Sunday. Sure enough, when I finally got there - restaurants lined up, one beside the other . Now, I'd gotten a lovely whiff of curry as I left the house, so fancied an Indian. And so I headed for The Indian Room. Could see it across the Sainsbury's car park, so I took a shortcut that way.

It was practically empty - I took a table inside. And service couldn't have been more attentive - nor could I have asked more of the food! It was light, it was tasty - portions weren't too large, so I'm glad I ordered a few different things. A choice of wines, unusually for an Indian. I noticed they display a number of recent awards in the window.. I'm not surprised. Finished just in time for the short walk to the pub.

In The Bedford, a large room at the back had club-type lighting, and looked like my destination - I ordered a drink at the main bar first, which took some time. Mind you, the queues at the bars in the show area were as bad. By the time I got through to the ticket desk, the ground floor was pretty well full - I got sent upstairs. Decent view, though!

The show started quite late - lasted about two hours, I guess. Our MC for the evening was a past winner:

Now, burlesque can have a tendency to be same-y.. but some acts did add a touch of glamour:

Throughout the night, we had a variety: the traditionalists, the one who used sex toys.. there was one man, doing a sketch based on Matt Hancock! There was a highly erotic act, and one that demonstrated hula hoop skills. I wouldn't have chosen the one that won, but she was inventive, for sure - the only "drag king" of the night, she came on dressed as a music conductor, and her routine was based around music. After the competition proper was over, we got an act based on fire-eating! All good fun, in the end - pity they didn't extend the vote to us upstairs, is all!

Outside afterwards, the streets were full of pubs with people hanging out of them, singing - Balham certainly was buzzing! I shopped there before heading home, realising I wouldn't be in time for the shops back home. And took the Tube again, as it was getting late - we had fun en route when an unattended toddler decided to drag her pushchair off the train when the doors opened! The passenger beside me noticed, and grabbed her, and it, just in time. Just as well I did take the fast option, considering I was no sooner in the door than my mother decided to ring..!

Tomorrow - which is yet another bank holiday, but the last for a while - I'm with Discover London for a walk entitled The Great Plague 1665: The Full Story. Certainly makes a change from the Great Fire.. and another group I don't get to see often enough!

On Tuesday, having tried several sold-out shows, I finally plumped for Dixon and Daughters, at the Dorfman. Got the last cheap, restricted-view ticket in the pit..

On Wednesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats at last! Well, I couldn't resist a performance of Aspects of Love, with Michael Ball - I've never seen it. Showing at the Lyric - there have been cheap offers, but the best I could find were with the official website. Aisle seat, for the legroom - thanks for the advice, Seatplan!

And yes, film on Thursday - and I thought I might finally get to see The Blue Caftan! It's Moroccan, and again showing at what is still, for now, my local cinema. Although, checking the listings again, I found a new one - A Crack in the Mountain is a documentary about Hang So'n Doong, the largest cave in the world, which is in Vietnam. Looks gorgeous - but it's only on in the Curzon Wimbledon, at 5.40, which I'd never make in time if I stay at work as long as I should! However, it is on their Home Cinema.. which would also save the fare.. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

Comedy: Crown the Knave

Comedy, comedy - I'm drowning in comedy. Seems to be 90% of what Meetup is throwing up these days - well, if you don't count fitness bootcamps (yeuch). I'd said I'd go to the regular, multi-advertised one in Hammersmith.. but then Crown the Knave (courtesy of London Live Comedy) advertised a show in The Bedford, which is half the distance. Both were free, of course. So I cancelled the first and signed myself in for the second. Cue a helpful message from the organiser to clarify that, this being in the side bar, the entrance was on Fernlea Road.

It's a short journey, so it didn't matter that I was kept late in the office again. Still, good job I gave myself about half an hour - it took most of that, especially since parking was tricky, for once, around the pub, and I ended up having to park past it and walk back. Also just as well she'd let me know about the entrance - there is a completely separate entrance for the side bar, and when I've been here before I've been in the theatre, upstairs.

The side bar turned out to be quite small, chairs packed into the space - I took one. The bar, predictably, wasn't serving, but I didn't feel the need for a drink. After some considerable trouble fixing the large spotlight at the back,so it didn't shine straight into the performer's eyes, they deafened us with the mics. Seems this was only their second performance at this venue - they were thrown out of their previous venue, which was located near an eatery, because they were disturbing the diners. Also seems they're having some set-up problems here.

The first act was good - a blues guitarist, accompanied by a couple of singers in succession, one of whom turned out to be one of the comedians, Siobhan Dodd. Who, as well as being a good comedian, turned out to be a fantastic blues singer! After a brief concert, but which provided a nice interlude before the comedy, the organiser passed around the room with a box of free raffle tickets, and we were into the comedy.

More than other comedy nights, I think this particular gathering tends to attract the same performers over and over. Andy Gleeks, who I thought spent far too much time bantering with the audience, was followed by Rakhesh Martyn, and another comedian whose name was more conventional (so I'm afraid I've forgotten it). Both very good. And followed by Siobhan to finish out the first set, with an enthusiastic - if rather scattered - show, possibly a bit distracted by the fact that her mother was sitting in the front row.

Now, these chairs were loose on the floor, and I had the misfortune to be sat behind one of those guys that always seem to need more space - so his chair gradually crept back towards mine. I eventually had to move, or be squashed - and when, during the interval (while the organiser and another of the comedians desperately tried to get the sound system working for his multimedia show, later), the guy I was now behind started moving his chair back as well - I gave the whole thing up as a bad job and left. The comedy was ok, but it was just kind of hard work in this venue, and it was small and nearly full, so there really wasn't anywhere else to sit.

At least I was out nice and early. Sadly, the street I was parked on was one-way, so I had to go around, which involved getting slightly lost, and my phone would pick this moment to decide that my fingerprint wasn't a match for its database, which meant trouble getting my phone to turn on. But I did make it out eventually, coming back via Asda, which meant I could do a very much-needed shop.. I even had time to cook myself some dinner!

Tonight, I'm back with London Dramatic Arts, who unusually had the cheapest tickets for something, would you believe! Showing at the National, this time it's Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, a riotous schoolgirl comedy set during a choral competition. In the Dorfman, which is that one around the side.. always pays to check, with the National. Third time lucky, for something decent to go to this week?

Tomorrow, the Man with the Hat makes an appearance - his second outing to Macbeth, at the Globe, in fact; I loved it so much the first time that I'm going again. The music is by the same composer who wrote the soundtrack for Eyes Wide Shut, and I adored it - I'm a sucker for a good soundtrack.

And on Friday, I'm back to Ireland again, for a long weekend - it's a bank holiday here on Monday.

Performance: Contactless

Having secured a cheap ticket for Contactless, I bravely set out this evening for pastures new. The postcode of SW12 suggested - and Google Maps confirmed - that this was closer to Clapham Junction than to my old place; indeed, I'd have to pass through that station to get there. So it made sense to stay there tonight, which is what I'm doing. Which did also mean that I was dragging a lot of luggage around with me all day - all the things I was likely to need for the night, plus the clothes I want for tomorrow.

Handily, Theatre N16 is above The Bedford pub, which - of course - does food. So I headed off in good time, intending to eat there. I needed to catch a train to Balham - two stops past Clapham Junction - so headed from the office to Kensington Olympia, the nearest Overground/train station. The first train to come was an Overground - which I could take, but would have to change from at Clapham Junction. Well, that was a moot point - there was no way I could cram onto it, and it took forever to leave, with all the passengers determined to squeeze past the line that, if they crossed, the doors would detect and wouldn't close..

Ten minutes later, a Southern Trains train arrived - much less crowded, and going straight to Balham, as it happened! (I had to wait until I was on the train to see that - I was much too far from the indicator board to read it, but all the trains from that platform headed the same way anyway.) Not only did I have room to move onboard, but I even got a seat after three stops, when everyone got off at Clapham Junction! Sheer luxury..

The short walk from station to pub is easy - just make sure you exit on the Station Road side. Turn right, and the pub is visible at the end of the road. After a complicated crossing - the junction is busy, and not all crossings are light-controlled - I got to the pub, which was festively festooned:

I came across a menu on the bar, and chose what I wanted. Service wasn't the quickest though - they don't seem to have come across the concept of multitasking, and have to finish completely with one customer before dealing with another. So I waited 10 minutes for someone to take my order. I asked what the soup of the day was, and he had to ring the kitchen to check.. the answer was there wasn't one, I had an old menu! So he got me a new menu, then left me for another 10 minutes, finally returning to ask me with a grin whether I'd chosen - as if I'd been the one causing the delay! They didn't have the steak I wanted on this one, so I went for the Cajun chicken burger, and a large white wine. And chose a teeny table in the corner of the quickly filling bar.

The wine was towards the lower end of the price range - I hadn't specified - but was delicious. The girl who brought the food was a bit ditsy - she was pointed in the general direction of the corner, but I don't think anyone pointed her to a specific table with whatever she was carrying, so she kept getting mixed up. And completely forgot to bring me cutlery with my condiments! She apologised very sweetly though. The burger was served on the ever-popular wooden platter - a ridiculous idea, they must be a nightmare to clean. The burger itself came in two halves - the chicken and sauce on one half of the bun, the salad on the other - which was handy if you wanted to pick anything out! And although it wasn't really what I'd wanted, it was very nice. The chips were enormous, and well done - crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Couldn't ask for more..

As I ate, I noticed the sign opposite, pointing to the theatre, which is upstairs. By the time I was ready to head up there, it was about 7.15, and 15 minutes before start time. My word, I'm glad I wasn't rushing - there are a lot of stairs up there. It was well signposted - it'd have needed to be. And when I finally got to the top, I found it was an eclectic space, with quotes on wooden boards on the windowsills, and a Darth Vader Christmas tree..!

(the latter to advertise a Star Wars thing they have coming up.)

We were finally admitted - to an odd little space, two rows of chairs facing each other. Rather like a Tube carriage, appropriately - this show was all about travelling by Tube. The title of the piece is quite clever - referencing both the "contactless" payment method they're so keen on, and the lack of contact that passengers have with each other on the Tube. The solo performer - well, solo apart from her companionable double bass, "Nancy" - treated us to a number of lovely, and amusing, ditties about Tube travel, peppered with anecdotes. And the whole thing was quite delightful - she has a lovely voice, Nancy sounded quite mellow, and the performer, Nina, has a way about her. So we didn't even mind - much - the interactive element, sparked off by the photocopied Tube station names we were each given on the way in, with our tickets:

Recommended. Runs until Thursday.

As for me, for the rest of the week my entertainment seems set to be closer to my old flat, so I'm moving back there tomorrow. For tomorrow, I got another cheap ticket - this time to a classical concert in Wigmore Hall..