Play: Hir

Tonight, we in Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), some for the third night in a row, were at Hir, a transgender comedy at Park Theatre. My companion of a while ago came to that as well, and we, at least, would probably head to My Cottage Restaurant afterwards. So I didn't eat beforehand - which afforded me more time to put in at work. Which is not a bad thing..

Tube, tube, tube. How I miss being close enough to bus it to this.. At least, leaving a bit later than usual, I avoided rush hour. Got a seat almost all the way. Got to the theatre, got a drink, met the others - and when a table came free, we took it. And chatted, and went in when it was time. Handily, a couple of us were on the same level as the upstairs bar, where we were meeting..

Bench seating upstairs, so I got chatting to the bloke on my seat. I remarked to him how I'd never seen a messier stage.. Sure enough, it's deliberate. You might take umbrage at the messy stage.. you might take umbrage at the treatment of the family patriarch, who's had a stroke, and whose wife keeps him doped up. Certainly, their son does, when he comes back from the military. But..

This is the story of two worlds colliding: in one (the dad's and son's), things are orderly, things are as Dad wants them. The son, he says in due course, went to the military to learn how to deal with his aggressive father - in fact, he seems to have learned how to be just like him. His arrival - he keeps throwing up in the sink - brings him a terrible shock, at the state of the house, at the fact his sister is now transgender. His mother and sister, meanwhile, are enjoying a bright new future, now that Dad's incapacitated, and in no state to object. Until his son and heir comes home..

In the queue for the bar at the interval some guy behind me was remarking to his companion, "yes, he was abusive, but.." . Hmm. I, happily, haven't been a victim of it, but I tell you.. I would not blame the wife in an abusive marriage for ANYTHING she did, given the freedom, either to escape, or to take her revenge. I haven't been a victim of it, but I have seen it. So, well, you know which side I was on. Years of systematic abuse.. probably drip-by-drip.. can annihilate a woman's self-esteem. I don't blame that woman for a single thing that happened in this play. Anyway, it's a discussion point.. Ooh, and as the guy beside me remarked, how handy a method they have of redecorating the stage for the next performance - just.. release the large pile of clothes suspended above!

Runs till the 16th of next month. Recommended.

Also in the queue at the interval, who was behind me but William H. Macy, husband of Felicity Huffman, who plays the wife/mother in this..

That's him outside at the interval.. sorry, best shot I could get!

Afterwards, just the two of us repaired to My Cottage.. where we were very well fed, with excellent service, as ever. A very useful oasis after the theatre..

Tomorrow, I'm back (whee! at last!) with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners.. I've been persuaded to redo his Dickens walk. Well, it's months since I was on one of his - and he now only does one Saturday a month, says there's no real demand! And since I can no longer go on the midweek ones, in general.. well.. it'll be great to be back with them anyway. And I really should be in bed already..

On Sunday, back with Discover London - History Walks and Events: it was a while before I thought to check that website to see whether there was another walk, and there is, that day! So we're off to Discover London's Oldest Market and Original "High Street"..

 

On Monday, I'm headed to film - I'm finally seeing The Zone of Interest, a recreation of the story of the Höss family, living a normal family life in the shadow of Auschwitz (Rudolf Höss was the commandant). Showing in my local cinema - not that the film listings tend to include the Curzons, generally.. but, as usual, I know to check separately..

On Tuesday and Wednesday, back with UITCS. On Tuesday, we're at The Merchant of Venice 1936, in the Criterion Theatre. This production, in association with the RSC, is based around the Cable Street riots. Got the very last ticket, as I recall.. Funnily enough, on Monday, a couple of Meetup groups are going to a musical about the same thing - I'd have loved to have gone, but it was completely sold out by the time I came to think about it! My companion of tonight and I are headed to Brasserie Zédel afterwards.

On Wednesday, we're at Nachtland, at the Young Vic. Three days on roughly the same theme.. and it seems appropriate these days.. this is about a family who find a painting, stashed in the attic. It's by, as described, a failed artist who abandoned his original vocation for Nazism.. The thorny question here is, what exactly to do with it..

On Thursday, there's a concert at King's Place that sounds rather good. Worksongs is part of their Scotland Unwrapped series, and has the Maxwell Quartet playing a mixture of classical music and Scottish traditional. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

On the 26th, I'm back with CT for Magic Monday at Americana! This is a magic show, which I can't even see advertised on their website - but anyway, the booking fee is discounted from dinner, so this sounds good!

On the 27th, back with UITCS for An Enemy of the People, at the Duke of York's Theatre - got the very last cheap ticket for this from London Box Office!

On the 28th, back with CT again - and back to Backyard Comedy at last! This is for Joke Thieves, where people tell each others' jokes.. Gee, it's weeks since I've been there, it'll be good to be back.

And on the 29th, I have a Crick Crack Club event.. this is online from the Oxford Story Museum, and is Dark Tales from the Wood. As told by the excellent Daniel Morden.