Play: The Pillowman
Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - was really excited to see The Pillowman, by Martin McDonagh, at the Duke of York's Theatre, starring Lily Allen. Now, the fallout from my lost phone continued today when Tesco refused to deliver to my 91-year-old mother - said I hadn't paid them. I had - but with a UK debit card, as my Irish one is still waiting on the new phone being verified, which requires them to send a PIN to my Irish address, which they'll hopefully do by the end of the week. The UK bank verified, Tesco indicated no problem - the delivery never arrived. Words cannot describe the contempt we both feel for them now - still waiting for an answer from them as to what the problem is. Meantime, she's surviving on apple pie and ice cream, and begging favours from neighbours to do her shopping for her.
So, again, my whole day was gone - I grabbed a quick bite in Pret before leaving. Had another of those sharp-braking bus drivers en route - the lady beside me got quite a knock when he screeched unexpectedly to a halt. Arrived in time to get a seat in the Upper Circle bar:
Here's a tip; the sauvignon blanc only costs £1 more than the pinot grigio, and tastes much better. Anyway, there was a large group of us tonight - largest in a while. And wow, it occurred to me, it's a while since I was last here.. sorry, without access to the inner workings of my old blog, I can't say exactly how long - but it's been ages.
I was actually a level down, in the Royal Circle - which, for future reference, is at entrance level:
Funnily enough, was sat beside someone from Swinford, who was complaining about her seat, and the lack of view. I found mine fine, with the odd lean forward to see something happening in the near corner..
Right. With Martin McDonough, you're guaranteed a weird and wonderful ride. This play is set in a totalitarian state, where an author has been dragged in for questioning because the plots of her short stories mimic a recent series of child murders..
I felt the first scene dragged, actually. I hadn't a feel for it yet, and as the police got more brutal, I struggled to see where it was going. Oh my, I was to find out though.. as someone remarked at the interval, she didn't usually like storytelling - but this was something different. I, on the other hand, adore storytelling - and to me, that's the genius of this very, very dark play. We get to find out a few of her plots, you see.. her very dark, rather sadistic, plots..
This play goes to very dark places. Seriously though, I had to laugh when they brought out a box - shades of Robin Hood: The Legend - Rewritten. Maybe they watched this..? Oh, and a small spoiler - if you've seen The Banshees of Inisherin, you might just wonder whether Martin McDonough has an obsession with, er, digits..
Truly, there is a sense of magic in the darkness. The story of The Pillowman itself - which does make an appearance - is a beautifully dark, yet sensitive, piece, and rightly gives its name to the production. A play full of stories, then - it's no wonder that, at the end, the writer doesn't care what happens to her, as long as her stories are preserved. I joined in the standing ovation at the end. Stunning, actually. Runs till the 2nd of September - v highly recommended. Sadly, they didn't have any of the black t-shirts left - I'd have bought one! This play has left an impact..
Afterwards, a couple of us felt like food - we had trouble finding anywhere open, and ended up in Sheekey's. Which turns out to be a high-end seafood restaurant - the waiter recommended, if we wanted a basic fish n chips, the haddock fillet. So that's what we had! and a carafe of muscadet for me. Honestly though, you need to be careful here - we chose practically the cheapest on the menu, and ended up paying nearly £50 per head.. we could easily have gone much, much higher. Service is excellent though, and so is the food - I strongly recommend even the breadrolls they served us, which were as delicious as the fish. Portions are decent too.
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