Shake It Up - The Improvised Shakespeare Show

For these two days - yep, a small Meetup drought again - I'm with CT again. Improv both nights - tonight was Shake It Up - The Improvised Shakespeare Show! It's at the Hen & Chickens, first Monday of the month - and phew, I still have my membership card, given out automatically at every show there, and good for a year. After all, I was there for horror films at Hallowe'en.

Another breezy day.. all day, I could hear it from inside, and then in the evening, it wasn't the pleasantest to be out in. Dinner beforehand was, as before, at La Pasta - no need for a reservation, certainly on a Monday! I ordered my usual - forgot, mind you, that the garlic bread is treated as a side here. Well, it is listed with the sides.. anyway, as I waited, a student came in, obviously a regular, and started chatting to the guy in charge. Who turns out to be Albanian, interestingly! As I ate - and it was good as ever - who should come in, and take the table at the end, but the cast of tonight's show! When they left, I figured I probably should too.. one of these days, I hope to avail of dessert:

I'd cut it fine - I only just had time to take advantage of the 10% discount on pre-show drinks (with that card), what with the queue at the bar. V nice wine it is too. And I see they now have a bar across the stairs leading up to the theatre, with a very fetching sign telling you that's what's up there. She was just raising it for me when a chap in Shakespearianesque dress popped down the stairs to give her the thumbs-up - warning me to cover my ears, she rang the bell for the start. I needn't really have worried about being late - I was literally the third person in there! I took pity on that guy, who was now urging people to take the front row - I was the first person to take him up on the offer. Well, as he said, there wasn't a splash zone..

It's actually a large cast for such a small space! And I have to say, decent improv - I don't always get the impression that performances are truly improvised, but tonight I did. They asked us, first, to choose from comedy, history, or tragedy - comedy won, natch. Then they asked for a "first kiss" story, which was taken from someone in the front row, as it happened (not me), and plagiarised shamelessly for inclusion in the show's plot. The name of the protagonist thus became Matthias. And finally, they asked for a setting - Bangkok, someone called out. And therefore, the play became Matthias of Bangkok!

I'm sure Shakespeare would have been delighted. And being in the front row, I could see them watching each other for cues - and sometimes being bemused at what the other person came up with! It's about an hour long, and kudos to them for taking the daftest ideas and running with them. Nothing was too OTT, everything was used. They often worked in pairs, when each would mirror the actions of the other. Really, it was a masterclass in improvisation - not that I have a clue. But it was lovely to see decent improv in action - and to aid them, particularly as the hour wore on and the plot wore thin, they had pre-prepared notes, chosen at random from an appropriate tankard at the start, and stashed on their persons, which they used when inspiration ran dry. Very enjoyable! And I was glad to be here again.

Tomorrow, I'm at Stage Time - an Improv Variety Show at Shoreditch Balls. Tickets generally available through Eventbrite.

Two nights with Meetup then - on Wednesday, I'm back, for the first time in most of a year, with The Horror Book Club! They always either clashed with something else, or were reading something I didn't fancy, you see.. well, I couldn't avoid this one, where they're reading Ramsey Campbell. I don't like everything he's written - but he was responsible for my favourite horror book ever, Incarnate. And I see he's still writing - the book they're covering on Wednesday is The Lonely Lands, written just last year! I just bought the Kindle edition - and couldn't resist reading the first chapter, which consists of just one sentence:

"When he heard his wife say 'I'm not alone' he thought at first she meant to reassure him."

Ooh, I cannot wait to get into the rest of it - thanks, book club, for reintroducing me! Better get a wriggle on though, I'm still not halfway through.. As usual, they're meeting in the Prince of Wales, Covent Garden - and I can eat there.

On Thursday, I'm with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - another group that never appears in the general Meetup listings, despite being one of the busiest - for Northanger Abbey, in the Orange Tree Theatre. Another place I haven't been in nearly a year..

Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. On the 12th and 13th, back with CT for the Bitesize Festival at Riverside Studios - next Monday, it's for Second Temple, a Jewish comedy.

On the 13th, it's for All the Men Are Going to Hate Me, another comedy, about a woman trying to write the century's great (female) novel!

Then I have five (!) days of Meetup: the next three with UITCS. On the 14th, we're at When You Pass Over My Tomb, at the Arcola. A "story of love and lust beyond the grave", as described, it sounds like an interesting way to spend Valentine's Day.

On the 15th, we're at Double Feature, at Hampstead Theatre.

And on the 16th, we're at Hir, a transgender comedy at Park Theatre. My companion of Friday is coming to that as well.

On the 17th, 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 on the 18th, 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"..