Play: Life With Oscar

Back to London, and back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Life with Oscar at the Arcola.. £10 tickets with the code OSCAR10, when I booked! The "Oscar" in question is the statuette - this is a comedy about making it in Hollywood.

Ah, the Arcola.. you know, you can order pizzas from the bar. But I can't eat pizza. Not a full one, anyway. I'm not surprised that's what they offer, considering the number of pizza restaurants round abouts! Well, unwilling to return to the Pret across the road (with its unfriendly staff), I consulted Google Maps - and found the nearest Nando's, five minutes' walk up the road. So I headed for there.

I noticed, coming back last night, that the bus indicator screens were working again.. sure enough, one came before too long. Damn blustery day, though.. and as I approached my destination, I literally whimpered, looking out the window - wind, blowing people's umbrellas around: rain, lashing: hail, bouncing on the pavements! Amazingly, it had completely exhausted itself by the time I got off.. although it was still blustery. I got safely to Nando's, though.

Inside, it was practically empty - and with the host apparently busy chatting, I took it upon myself to choose my own seat. Which you're not supposed to do, but what harm.. the app wasn't taking orders at this branch, so I ordered at the counter, and to be honest, she couldn't have been friendlier. She gave me the option of having my wine in a glass (poured from the bottle) or a can! Really, I didn't know what to say - she ultimately gave me the can. Food came quickly, and I was well fed - so much better than Pret.

A breezy walk, then.. a trip to the theatre's ultra-modern, green toilets, and I was first in the bar. Poor barmaid, I had to disturb her from what she was doing. Wasn't long before someone from the group joined me, and the others were along in due course. Overall though, a very quiet night in the Arcola..

This one is in Studio 2, downstairs, which - unusually - had reserved seating. Not respected tonight though, where we were told that, honestly, we could sit where we wanted (he said he'd limited audience numbers), and so most of us chose to sit directly facing the front. My goodness, if you arrive early for this, be prepared for a chat - he's not one to pace the wings, running over his lines! Oh no, this solo actor loves to engage people in conversation - when I came in, he was asking people what (Oscar) category they were running in. You could make your own up, if required..

Running at an indeterminate number of minutes over an hour, this seems to be the actor's autobiographical story of trying to get a film made in Hollywood. (On a side note, hmm - I see he seems to have a pedigree in horror! He does mention one horror film during the play, but he has more..) Well.. we were wondering afterwards whether it was exaggerated. Possibly - but somehow, it rang true. I've never (yet) actually been there, but I did spend just over a week in Vegas, which isn't a million miles away.. and considering what that's like, I can't say I'm massively surprised at anything I heard about L.A. during the play! 

It's a very physical show, quite OTT.. definitely interesting, quite enjoyable. Glad I came.. we stayed for a while in the bar afterwards (and a drink, for me) - and he came in, to join some friends. Between our two groups, we comprised a substantial section of tonight's audience. Anyway, if you're curious, it runs till Saturday..

Got buses back, and as we had just picked up some people in Shoreditch, some irate person banged on the central doors. Hey-ho, all in a night's entertainment.. I tell you though, as I waited to change buses, it was too cold to sit! Brr, what a change in the weather..

Tomorrow, back with Over 40 Living the Life for another dinner at Greenwich Yacht Club.. and after last Tuesday, I know what not to order!

On Wednesday, with London Literary Walks.. he's BACK!! Great stuff - and he's starting, appropriately for me, with the James Joyce Walk. I was actually supposed to go last Wednesday, but it transpired that his popularity is proving a hindrance - he had too many people for that night, and asked his regulars to switch to another date - he was actually doing the walk twice more: last Thursday, and on Wednesday. So I'm going then. Hope the weather has improved.

And on Thursday - back with UITCS, for a new take on A Midsummer Night's Dream (perhaps a bit early) at Wilton's. Wow, Meetup seems to have woken up at last..