Ah, I never thought I'd get on to this post, I was so far behind. But here we are.. and up to date at last!
As soon as I heard Darkfield was bringing its latest show, Arcade, to London, it was a must-see. And with it starting on Wednesday - but with me booked already for Land of the Free for that day, last night was my first chance to see Arcade. So I booked - as I told the lady when I arrived, I'd have waited for Hallowe'en, but it's not showing then.. with it running several times each day (it's only 25 mins long, with a 15-minute briefing), I booked the very last show. As always. Later the better, for spooky stuff.
Now, 45+ Not Grumpy had a boat social last night, which I could have come to for a while before going to this. And which I was considering - but my main interest would have been meeting the people from the trip I was just on. And they weren't coming. So I cried off - decided I could do with the extra time to catch up with stuff myself, anyway. So then I had to book somewhere to eat - I tried to get into the Archduke, but they didn't have a suitable timeslot: so I was back at Black & Blue again. Which I made just about five minutes late (yes, there was another bus driver change). And the bus finished early - but never mind, it took me where I needed to go.
Well gee, the maitre d' recognised me! Complimented me on my nice, warm coat - I have the heavy one on these days, it's suddenly got so cold. I was shown to a table in the middle, and he asked whether that was ok - I reassured him that it was. It was even more manic than usual - they were setting up for a table of 14! stealing single tables from all over the restaurant to make up the numbers. I was lucky to get served before they arrived..
In fact, service was like lightning. I was delighted to find out they had mushroom soup, and ordered that to start - it came with bread and butter. Sadly, it wasn't over-hot - was it left standing somewhere, getting cold? Even the soup itself could best be described as lukewarm, and the bread had only the faintest hint of having once been warm. But it was all tasty, and I wolfed it down. The steak - much the same issue: the fries and sauteed mushrooms fared a bit better. And I was very well fed. As he cleared away, the waiter asked whether I had space for dessert - "space, but not time", as I told him.
Anyway, a short walk took me to where the show was happening - en route, passing something of a media circus to do with the BFI London Film Festival!
Darkfield live shows always take place in a shipping container - my ticket showed the location of tonight's, at the main entrance to the BFI. I had no trouble in locating it:
Two ladies sat outside were obviously the people in charge. Confused at the lack of others hanging around though, I moseyed over to where some people were standing, near the back - they seemed to be chatting to one of the backstage crew though, and I soon moseyed back the way I'd come. Where I sidled up to the people in charge, and was greeted by one, who remarked that it was a small group for this show. She was waiting for all of two more people - she said we'd give them a grace period; I said fine. Meantime, we were mildly entertained when a friend of hers got all excited because she'd just run into
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, heading into the BFI..
After a bit, as the person still sitting remarked, it was as well to get on with it - it was now 10 minutes past the advertised start time, and those people obviously weren't coming. So she started to read me the blurb - about how I might feel claustrophobic, about how I might not like the complete darkness. Same as ever. I was offered the chance to read the page of trigger warnings, but was warned that it contained spoilers - I passed. And I was led in - to a double bank of arcade machines! which I had all to myself. It soon became obvious to me that I'd be standing - the first Darkfield show where I'd have to do that! She indicated a couple of lower machines by the door, complete with chairs - but I agreed with her recommendation to stand. I was to leave my bag and coat in a nearby bin. Just for the duration.
So far, pretty much the norm - but this show does have some unique touches. Like the standing - and the fact that you have to find things in the dark! There's a button you have to press to indicate "yes" to questions you're asked - you only get one second to do that, and failure to press is taken as a "no" answer. And there's a coin slot - into which you have the choice, at various stages, to place a token, which is dispensed in a coin tray at a particular part of the story. The coin tray, sneakily, is covered in a soft fabric, so you can't hear the coin drop - so you're groping around in the dark quite a bit! I found it expedient to keep my hands on the button and the coin slot - had to take my hand off the slot to get the token, of course. Adds to the fun.
So, in this, you're an avatar in some kind of war game. As you'd expect, it is interactive - your choices (indicated by pressing that button, or not) determine how the game progresses. And, as you'd expect, you have three lives..
As I told the lady outside afterwards, despite mixed reviews, I really liked this! The standing adds to the sense of vulnerability - and it mirrors what your avatar is doing (no rest for the avatar)! I went through my three lives - I bet that's standard - and each time, the experience was indeed slightly different, although you could recognise the scenes from the previous turns. And it was unnerving, it's so
long since I did one of these.. She did suggest that I do the experience again sometime, make different choices - very much following the game model! Nah, don't think so - but I do highly recommend this, if you're into immersive audio. Runs till the 27th, several showings per day.
All righty! A preview at last.. so, tonight I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again. Film for tomorrow in Ireland - well, lots are showing that I haven't seen and would like to, but mostly too late in the evening for me! So I'm going to the remake of '
Salem's Lot, based on the
book by
Stephen King. Never actually seen, or read, this story before - I'm sure it'll be interesting. His vampire book, appropriately for where I'm just back from! Showing at a convenient time in the
Omniplex, handily enough.
On Tuesday, film - and now that I finally have next week's film list done as well, and have eliminated what I don't like from the top of it - I'm headed to
The Teacher. Based on a true story, it's about a
Palestinian teacher who begins a relationship with a UN worker stationed there. Closest showing to me is in
The Garden Cinema - and late enough that I should be able to make it!
On Wednesday, I'm back with UITCS for
A Face in the Crowd, about what happens when someone is plucked from obscurity to become famous. A warning about the dangers of idolisation of celebrities. Showing in the
Young Vic - so I've booked the nearby
Bar + Block, yum yum!
And on Thursday, it's looking like film again - I'm thinking of
My Favourite Cake, a comedy from
Iran (and I love Iranian film) about an old lady who never found love, but has an altercation with the religious police when they stop a young lady for having hair showing under her scarf. In the course of this, the old lady meets a taxi driver - invites him home, and they have an evening to remember.. Closest showing to me is in the
Curzon Bloomsbury - the booking system is down again, as usual, but hopefully I shouldn't have a problem getting in.
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