Musical: Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder

Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) again for Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder - a musical comedy about the presenters of a murder podcast, finding themselves in the position of sleuths! (Unfortunately, their press night was rained out - a sprinkler malfunctioned, and they had to cancel!) Showing at the Ambassadors Theatre, cheapest tickets from the official source, with a promo code! Stupidly, when I was booking it though, I forgot all seats would be the same price - could have got a better one, never mind. And I booked Bella Italia St. Martin's Lane again.

Except then, my sometime dining buddy from the group - who came tonight as well - let me know he had a voucher for a free bottle of wine from Pizza Express, expiring tomorrow. So I agreed to go there instead - nearest branch to the theatre being just down the road, I booked that.

Well, it was showery all day.. there was a cloudburst when I was changing buses, complete with thunder! So glad I had cover while I was waiting - and wouldn't you know it, the rain stopped just before any bus arrived that I could take! So I did not drown. Walking the last stretch to the restaurant, I passed the soup kitchen that's always set up at the end of William IV Street.. huge queue, today.

Well, chat over dinner was convivial, and my companion kindly acceded to my request for white wine. We had the Sauvignon Blanc, which was lovely. And a large plate of dough balls to share - one difference from Bella Italia is that they provide multiple dips, here. Unfortunately, for main, while the pizza is tastier here, I know I can't finish a whole one - so I tried the pollo pesto, which I remembered as being decent. And I can't say I really liked it tonight. But hey, maybe I should just have had something else..

We didn't rush - walking to the theatre, we passed another food queue: this time for Dishoom. Interesting juxtaposition. We arrived at the theatre not long before showtime - and as we were meeting in the Stalls Bar, and I had to schlep up to the Circle, I grabbed another drink and headed straight up there. Where I was to discover that I'd chosen my seat well!

Nice and close to the stage, albeit at an angle - I missed very little of the action, though, and I daresay nothing of importance. Not to mention that Seat B1 in the Circle is separated from the rest of the row, so I sat in glorious isolation, with plenty of room on the floor around my seat, for my stuff. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to put anything on the ledge beside me, which would have been very handy. And as for legroom - I had steps in front of me, so all the legroom I could have wanted! Really, a fantastic seat.. I could hardly have asked for better.

Now, someone at the interval produced a very bad review of this show. Well, each to their own - he found it brash, silly, "oafish", I found it.. fun! I'm not going to say it's high art, but who ever expected it to be? Can't we have fun once in a while, without it having to be profound, without opera-standard numbers? Sure, there were themes that could have been explored more deeply - given that the characters have a podcast, and therefore highly value their online reputation, there's plenty that they could have dealt with. But that would have been a different play/musical. Nah - the score was catchy, the singing good, the story, while a little daft, was endearing. A good night out - I'd recommend this. Runs till the 14th of September.

Tomorrow, Buddies on a Budget in London is off to the Yamato Drummers at the Peacock Theatre. Their tickets were sold out by the time I came to booking this, but it's the best thing on Meetup for the day - so I booked my own ticket. Eating in Cote Covent Garden.

On Wednesday, back with UITCS for The Finellis, a musical in Wonderville. I remember the food not being great there - will see what my options are nearby.

And on Thursday, back with CT for a talk on The Peasants' Revolt, at Southwark Cathedral.