Much Of The Same

OK, I'll admit there has been another large gap in my blog but to be honest the situation has not changed. I am at the theatre every night, it seems, sometimes witnessing moments of unadulterated pleasure and sometimes wishing I hadn't bothered. The last show I wrote about was Heroin(e) For Breakfast at the Croydon Warehouse. Since then I have had tea at Harrods, travelled to Northern Ireland, made a fancy dress outfit, partied Above The Stag, visited four hiterto unseen theatres and got a new bike. More of those things later, here are the links and further comments to productions I have seen.

The Fool by Edward Bond featured as part of their Bond season and was actually directed by the man himself. Running at 2 hours 45 minutes it was ridiculously long in such an uncomfortable theatre and desperately needed cutting but I guess that's the last thing a writer/director will do. Adam Spreadbury Maher should have regarded the whole and demanded the cuts of the director. The design reached depths that not even the Union Theatre had sunk to. This was supposed to be a double night of Bond but because of the new running time, I had to reschedule The Under Room for the following Sunday. Another well crafted play given a shameful treatment, staging it in the beer cellar of the Cock - I suppose that's five new venues I have visited then! Uncomfortable, noisy and ill-suited to performance, I would love to know how they got the venue past the Fire Officer's checks. I had no idea where the emergency exits were.

The Missionary's Position at Jackson Lane, used an end-of-pier pastiche to tell the true story of Harold Davidson, the original 'naughty vicar'. This show seems to have been touring for a while and whilst I thought it was rather fun, the audience nearly brought the house down with laughter. The Blues Brothers was rather sad. One wag quoted that the Arts Theatre was the 'Theatre of Broken Dreams'. I would be fascinated to know why it consistently fails it's hirers. Here, I would imagine it was the producers who are at fault, as litigation before the show meant that the billboards were painted over, pending the legally correct title for the show. No programme, poor bar service, mediocre script, good performances with a lively band and a house that was a third full on Press Night. Some tickets you can't give away, I suppose.
The Landor Theatre brought it all back to normal with a sublime production of Tomorrow Morning. Tom Hopkins production was wonderful, the design intriguing and the casting excellent. If there is a criticism, the sound was unbalanced quite badly and judging from other reactions to the show, has yet to be adjusted.

Fascinating Aida at The Pheasantry was my second attempt to see this show at this venue, after walking out last time. Thankfully the service - it's a Pizza Express too - was much better, not great but better and was more than made up for by the show. Here is a link to their one of their numbers, which sadly, I have not been able to extricate from my head. La Soiree followed the next evening, at a mirror-tent on the South Bank. Featuring acts from La Clique, it was rather good, but there was little new going on. Thankfully the English Gents supplied us with two new solo routines but the rest, as fun as it was, was a repeat of La Clique at The Hippodrome.

Follies at Ye Old Rose & Crown was a bit sad. Badly designed and staged and featuring some fairly OTT acting, the pub seemed friendly and supportive enough but those running the venue really need to go to The Finborough, The Stag or even the Union to see how FOH is done properly. Finally in this three week marathon I went to The Blue Elephant to see Mervyn Peake's The Cave, which was both interestingly structured and well performed.

Today, I have spent the day thinking I would have to head out again and I don't. In fact, I got my dates mixed up and don't have to be at the theatre until tomorrow. A bit of a rest I think.