Play: Backstairs Billy
The rest of the week is theatre - none of which was listed on the Meetup page when I did a search for each day! I had to look on the individual group pages to find these, knowing that these are busy groups. So, these two days, I'm finally back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), and tonight it was for Backstairs Billy, a comedy set in 1979, based on a real character, a page to the late Queen Mother, played by Penelope Wilton. Playing in the Duke of York's Theatre.
This isn't the Duke of York's Theatre, it's the Coliseum - their decorations are nicer!
And I do love the theatre-inspired Christmas lights on the street:
Prezzo is just down the road, so that's where I ate. No problem getting a table - in fact, it's where I was sitting last time I was here. Had garlic bread again to start - very moreish. For my main course, I thought I'd try the saltimbocca. Funny thing though, it sounded a lot tastier than it was - the menu claims it is cooked in a "buttery white wine sauce", but I saw no evidence of that, nor tasted it - it was dry as a bone. I wouldn't have it again. Might have had dessert, but as usual, didn't have the time - oh, and they no longer have the QR codes on the table, which were so handy to pay by. Ah well..
And so to the theatre bar, where I met some people for the first time in quite a while, and we had an interesting chat. I had medicinal reasons for having wine after wine - the infection I picked up on Saturday is moving to my chest, and I have an annoying cough, intermittently. Heading into the auditorium, wine in hand, I fell slightly foul of the steps, one of which, in particular, is a bit high - my scarf bore the brunt of that spill!
Well, yes, a corner of the stage is cut off from there - but I didn't miss too much. And while I was somewhat at the mercy of people in front of me, gee, most of the side seats in the Upper Circle were unoccupied from the start, so a couple of us moved further in. And what's more, the entire section of the row in front of me disappeared after the interval - so that was handy! (Speaking of the interval, the toilet cubicles have the most interesting, double doors..)
I expected it to be funny - and it did start off that way. In fact, it started off with a corgi running across the stage - yes, they have real corgis. Well, at least one. And as Billy breaks in a new trainee page, they're preparing for a reception - there are a couple of these through the course of the play, which are very revealing. Billy presides over it like the Lord of, well, the backstairs.. he has to run the gamut of a new superior, but generally, this is Billy's fiefdom, and he loves his job, and is loyal to the Queen Mum.
Ah, if only things went on like that. He pushes things too far, and there's an increasingly ridiculous escapade with an uninvited guest.. and a humiliating scene near the end puts the whole thing in a completely different light. Let's just say, this isn't a job I'd ever want - nor one I'd ever recommend, despite my interest in the royals. Also, there's a flashback scene - to the day she moved into Clarence House, following her husband's death and her elder daughter's accession - which really should have been better flagged, somehow; I figured it out, but it shouldn't have been something I had to figure out.
So, the production had its problems - not sure I know whom I'd recommend it to. It felt, to me, like a show that tried to be a comedy, then changed its mind and went anti-establishment. Never a good idea to change your mind midway. People also wondered, afterwards, where the commentary was on the issues of the day. Well, it's running until the 27th of January, if you're interested. The corgis seemed to enjoy themselves, though.
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