A Normal Day

This week has been a bit of a holiday for me and whilst I usually find it quite difficult to relax, I have managed to do quite well. I can’t help feeling I should have exercised a bit more – c’est la vie! Well the holiday is well and truly over and I was back to work with a bang. First stop was the Guildhall Art Gallery in the city where portrait artist June Crisfield Chapman was showing a collection of her theatrical portraits. If you are even slightly unsure of where the venue is, take a cab. I foolishly assumed it was somewhere near the Barbican Centre and naturally once you enter said building at any given point, you are destined to spend the next twenty minutes trying to get out. Eventually me Julie finally sorted out a route through the building and we made it to the opening with minutes to spare.

It does seem a little bit of an odd venue to display this work but the wine was sweet, the portraits lively and we got the chance to meet the artist herself, who gave some insight into her working methods. The image here, is of Henry Goodman as Shylock.

After this I dropped me Julie off at Euston and headed for the Shaw Theatre where I was reviewing Chita Rivera – The Secret of Life. Rivera is one of those strange creatures of the theatre who – for reasons only history can explain – never made it on the big screen. Rivera was Anita in West Side Story (an Oscar winning role for Rita Moreno in the movie version), she created the role of Velma Kelly in Chicago (an Oscar winning role for Catherine Zeta Jones in the movie version)…..you get the picture. Rivera is one of those women who seem to have been around for ever, and I could count on one hand the number of people who knew who I was talking about.

Anyway, suffice to say that when one talks of legends on Broadway, Rivera is a living one.

The evening was delightful – what a hoot to have Dame Ian McKellen in the audience again. My date seemed to enjoy himself immensely and we then headed back to the hotel for my night shift. I think it’s pretty safe to assume, the holiday is well and truly over!