Plays: Knocking on the Wall
Tonight, Scottish in London were off to a trilogy of Scottish plays at the Finborough, called Knocking on the Wall. Well, I'm not Scottish, so didn't join them - but I booked my own ticket. Tube required again - and at rush hour! Still, I've seen it worse. Close to the theatre, I spied an Italian restaurant called La Pappardella - so thought I'd try there. (Italian two nights in a row..) They don't seem to take bookings - just as well, considering I arrived a lot later than expected! partly due to someone on a train in front of us pulling the passenger alarm. Anyway, I had no trouble getting a table - it was pretty empty when I arrived. It's an attractive place - I really should have gotten a photo.
I didn't see a starter I fancied - I wasn't in the mood for minestrone, and there wasn't a garlic bread without tomato, so that removed my staples, and there wasn't anything else I wanted. So I moved straight to the main, for which I had Scallopino ai Funghi (veal escalope with mushrooms, in a white wine sauce). Again, I was looking for something without tomato sauce - they seem keen on it, here. Also had a large glass of white wine - they only do one white by the glass, and one red.
The staff had pretty much nothing to do for most of the time I was there - I quickly got the wine, and my main course took only 10 minutes to arrive! Wow, if only I could always be guaranteed such service.. the veal was a teensy bit chewy, but it was basically very nice. And this meant I was finished at 6.50, with the show starting at 7.30, a five-minute walk away. So I had a look at the dessert menu (yay!), and was tempted by the option of ice cream doused in a choice of three liqueurs - mine was limoncello. The poor waiter didn't know how to make it - I overheard one of the others explaining it to him! So anyway, it arrived as an ice cream sundae - and bless him, he didn't stint on the limoncello! The dessert had a real kick to it..
I just left enough time to trot down to the theatre. At the box office, a sign proclaimed that this evening was completely sold out - unsurprising, when you see the size of the place!
The set is essentially the same for each - there are actually three floor coverings; after each play, they roll back one. And in each, the sofa and chair are the main props - just with different upholstery. In each play, each acts as the base for one of the two people who start out at odds with each other, to some extent, but end by coming to an understanding..
Ah, this is some of the best writing I've come across in a long time. I've been to so many mediocre plays - it is truly delightful to go to one that reminds me why I go at all! Each of the three plays depicts a woman who is frustrated in some way, confined indoors.. and over the course of the play, we come to learn why, and - hopefully - some kind of resolution is reached, even if not a perfect one. They're all cleverly written - some of the dialog is Scots, so it helps to be comfortable with that. And in each case, it just takes some carefully chosen lines to describe a full character. Three vignettes, entertaining, thought-provoking.. and the last one, which gives its name to the trilogy, is downright hilarious! Runs till Saturday, and I couldn't recommend it more highly - except that the run is completely sold out. Keep an eye on these, though - they're too good just to disappear.
Tomorrow, London Social Detours is off to a lunchtime talk about Chanel, at the V&A - and so am I, still being unemployed. Jeez, it'll be nice to get to bed at a decent time, for once!
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