Play: Laurel and Chaplin - The Feud

Tonight, Up in the Cheap Seats was off to Laurel and Chaplin: The Feud, at the Cambridge Theatre. Which I booked for. Mind you, I got a cheaper ticket on CT..

To eat beforehand, I decided to check out Seven Dials Market, which I'd passed before but never gone into. Wow, it's huge.. I eventually settled on the Truffle Burger stall, right at the end, downstairs. Turns out to be run on the same lines as Mercato Metropolitano, where I tend to eat when I'm headed to Southwark Playhouse. So, you order and they give you a bleeper, which goes off when it's ready. In the meantime, I got myself a white rioja from the bar.

I had the classic Truffle Burger - which is good, but really rich: and the chips seemed to be tossed in the same truffle oil they use on the burgers, as well as melted cheese and who knows what. There was a lot going on with them, and I don't think I'd have them again. As I say, the burger itself was good. I have to say, kudos to them for providing cutlery - something the burger stall in Mercato Metropolitano doesn't do!

Meantime, one of the group who'd also expressed an interest in eating arrived, and we took a seat in the centre. I went for another drink - got a Sauvignon Blanc this time, the rioja having proved a bit sharp. Interestingly, I noticed a notice behind the bar, warning that they don't serve alcohol unless you're having a meal - not that they checked. Indeed, my companion had a beer after his meal - and someone with a tablet actually came to ask whether we wanted any more! So, not quite a necessity to have food with it then..

And so, once we found the exit, we had a short walk to the theatre. I ended up with a lot of stair climbing - I had to go downstairs to the Stalls Bar to meet the others, then back up, and up again to my set in the Dress Circle! Well, what doesn't kill you.. The Dress Circle wasn't terribly full:

Ah now, this is a lovely show. It starts as it means to go on, Chaplin doing a visual comedy routine - and doing it well! The whole show is a reproduction of Vaudeville - Laurel, in particular, performs some impressive comedy sketches involving tumbling, with Chaplin proving an adept magician as well as a comedian. His mother gets to sing a few numbers - probably because she's considered not fully sane. And she is a beautiful singer.

Acrobatics are also performed by a clown at the rear of the stage - and yes, if you're in the front stalls, you should be prepared to be part of the action too! In a hilarious sequence, Chaplin - now in Hollywood - gets to direct a film. With cast members plucked from the audience! Who, I have to say, acquitted themselves admirably tonight.. better than I would have done! We even get a sketch from Laurel and Hardy at the end.

With a strong emphasis on the old-style comedy of the time, this is a hugely enjoyable show - highly recommended. Only runs for two more shows though - next Monday, and the Monday after. Turns out to be a father/son production - the producer was onstage tonight, where he says he normally isn't, playing the impresario Fred Karno, who gave both Chaplin and Laurel their break. Not only that, but it turns out that the actor playing Chaplin is his son! Really has the feel of a family production, this. Go see.

Outside, afterwards, the place was a riot of rickshaws - I couldn't think why, until I later realised it must have been because our show finished a bit earlier than the norm, having also started a bit earlier..

The rest of the week is all about cheap tickets. For the next two days, I'm on TAC walks - tomorrow, it's the Southwark Walk. Halleujah, one I can walk to!

On Wednesday, it's the Fulham Road Back in the Day Walk. As also advertised - slightly more expensively - with the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners.

On Thursday, I'm with CT, who have slightly cheaper tickets for the Backyard Comedy Club. First time I'll have been there in years! I always remember them being good, though.

Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. Film is looking like Haunted Mansion - well, my choice isn't huge - I'm hoping to see some decent SFX. Rosario Dawson is a single mother who moves into what turns out to be a haunted house. Owen Wilson is the priest she recruits to exorcise the place, Danny DeVito is a historian, an expert in its history, Jamie Lee Curtis is a psychic. Jared Leto is.. one of the ghosts, by the look of it! Limerick Odeon is showing it at decent times - but I'm waiting for Limerick Omniplex to release its listings; it's convenient for the biggest Tesco around!