Play: The Dirty Thirty
Tonight, I was with CT - went to see The Dirty Thirty, Best of 2023, at the Rosemary Branch Theatre. Honestly, I didn't even know what it was when I booked it - turned out to be a potted version of the best 30 plays of the year! Crikey.. and then my erstwhile companion from Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) said she'd come too..
I misplaced my glasses as I was getting ready to leave, which delayed me slightly - and there are few more irritating sights than the bus you want, departing from the stop as you're trying to get there. So, another cold wait then, for the next - but the wait to change buses was far worse - it's one of those stops with loads of buses, and bus after bus streamed by as I waited and waited. Ah well, I got to see some cool Christmas lights:
They're apparently running a light show on loop on top of the Shard - this seems to be the snowman:
As I waited impatiently, my companion kept calling me - we'd arranged to meet for dinner in the De Beauvoir Arms, but she arrived early, and said it was closed. However, she'd found a cafe right by - she ordered a wine while she waited. Well, when I finally made it, I found the pub was, of course, open - she'd mistaken the De Beauvoir Deli, which was indeed closed, for the pub where we'd planned to eat. After a few minutes, I realised that the cafe she was talking about was Sweet Thursday - which is, indeed, right beside the deli.
Despite there being several empty tables, she'd been told that the only available seating was the table at the window - which is actually a ledge on the window, with high seats. I was frozen there, right beside the door, which of course kept opening - the place was really busy, people coming and going all night. A "table" - well, a barrel with seats - came available after a bit: but my companion couldn't sit on those seats, they weren't as comfortable as those we had, and she has a bad back. Apparently, this table had come free before I arrived, and she'd asked whether the seats could be moved to the other table - but was told they couldn't. So we ended up staying where we were. She did volunteer to sit by the door, though.
Damn, that wine was peculiar..
Wine, wine, everywhere - and not a drop to drink. Not worth drinking at least, I'd guess - this had a most unpleasant taste. I read some online reviews of the place later - a few remarked on the unpalatable wine, and one warned against complaining about it.. She had one glass, as she was driving later - I ended up finishing the stuff. Tasted kind of - burnt, is how I'd describe it. Oh, and that price on the bottles? Don't believe it - I don't know what it relates to, but we were charged over twice that:
And as for "Harry" being our server - I dunno, we did get served by a man at one point, but mostly it was the lady, who seemed to be in charge. When we got served at all - it was, as mentioned, very busy, and they were zipping back and forth. Anyway, I ordered minestrone and a margherita pizza - I'm not a huge pizza fan, I can hardly ever eat a full one, and it repeats on me something awful: but there's hardly anything else on the menu that I wanted. She had a salad and a "kid's" portion of pasta - she didn't want much.
She was a lot happier with hers than I was with mine - the minestrone was a bit crap, frankly. The pizza was basically good, but swimming in tomato sauce, which is no good for me - I wisely left 1/3 of it, I was beginning to bloat. We'd have had dessert, but it was ages before they came to us, so when she finally came to take the order, I remarked that it had run too late, and asked for the bill. I daresay the pizzas are good here, if you're interested - I won't be back. And caveat emptor with the wine..
A short walk down the road, then, and straight upstairs to the theatre - where they checked our names off the list, and gave us, ahem, little toy soldiers as ticket tokens:
It's years since I was last here - only remembered the place when I saw the picture online. They've decorated for Christmas:
They don't serve at the upstairs bar, and I couldn't be bothered traipsing downstairs again for a drink. Anyway, before long, the house opened - and we were given name badges. With unusual monikers:
Seating was unassigned, and we sat near the front. Where the enthusiastic cast of Degenerate Fox were setting up:
So, the idea is that each of these pieces of paper she's hanging represents a play - and as the night wears on, the audience shouts a number, and they grab that play from the line. With gusto. Now, as I say, they threw themselves into it - and for sure, many of the plays display real originality, and a clever sense of humour. They're all very short, start with the word "go", and end with the word "curtains" - which is the audience's cue to yell out another number. In fact, for one, they hand out "Bingo cards", so you can mark off the numbers on your card as the corresponding play is performed (plays up to that point don't count). The first (and only the first) winner gets taken straight downstairs and bought a drink of their choice.
It's all good fun, really - and for what I paid, I was well entertained. My companion, however, didn't get a seat filling ticket - and frankly, what she apparently paid was way overpriced. I don't know how that happened, though - if you can't get seat filling tickets for this, cheapest seem to be on Design my Night, which has them for £12. Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last night for this show - a good night out, if you're into quirky stuff. We didn't join them at the table they booked in the bar for after, though - even though the show is a short one: officially an hour, but they have a get-out clause whereby they managed to perform the last of them.
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