Play: The Little Foxes

Tonight, I was at The Little Foxes, starring Anne-Marie Duff, at the Young Vic - booked the local Bar + Block beforehand. Nom-nom-nom.. Unfortunately, Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) is going tomorrow, but what can you do..?

Starved of work (sometimes happens), I headed off early. The buses were being weird again, the #381 stopping short.. but happily, the #188 wasn't as scarce as on Wednesday, and I got that. And then that stopped short too.. but mercifully, it took me to where I was headed. And I got there on the dot of when my booking was for. And then was kept waiting some minutes before the maitre d' got around to me. He initially thought I was on the "Saver Deal" - I shrugged in confusion: turned out it's for residents of the hotel where the restaurant is based.

I took a central seat, rather than the side one he suggested - familiar with iffy service in the past, I wanted to put myself in the way of the table staff. So, I had sirloin (the smaller one), and again lamented the lack of that beautiful red wine and mushroom sauce they used to have - in fact, someone at the adjacent table actually asked for it! My server was given the job of telling people what wasn't on the menu - apparently, they have delivery problems. Happily, none of the extensive list of unavailable items was anything I wanted..

The steak was tastier than last time, I have to say. And noting that the mushrooms weren't great on that occasion, I'm glad I didn't think of them tonight. But I'm being a bit unfair - the meal was excellent, the wine particularly nice. The low point of the meal was when the maitre d' asked whether I wanted a dessert, and I asked for the bill. I knew he wasn't listening.. twice, I tried to get across that I wanted to pay. Finally, when I'd finished, I stood up and started to put on my things. Lo, he appears again, asking whether I want more wine! (Tone deaf, eh?) I said "No, I'd like the bill I've already asked for twice, please." He heard me this time.. I was actually asked whether I'd like to leave a tip, which is unusual - and for once, I refused. Which is a shame - it was the table server I was refusing, whose fault it hadn't been at all..

Ah well, off to the theatre. I'd had a second glass of wine at the restaurant, specifically to avoid the theatre bar, which is always rammed.. I took myself straight into the auditorium, where I had a decent seat, upstairs to the side - and on the aisle, which was handy for exits:

And yes, that is a lovely, voluminous stage curtain! I actually found myself sitting beside a couple from California, who - would you believe - were in the habit of coming over regularly to look at what was on in London, as research for their amateur company back home! Well now, sounds like a fun occupation..

I do believe they knew more about the play than I did. I hadn't heard of it - looked up a synopsis, and discovered it was about family members fighting for control of the family business, in the deep South of 1900. Anne-Marie Duff stars as Regina, the ice queen who's the one to watch; not entirely villainous, she might have the best business brain of the family, but - being a woman - was excluded from her father's will in favour of her brothers. The wife of one, Birdie, is the polar opposite of Regina, an unhappy and abused wife who seems the source of the family's wealth - in this production, she was played by an understudy who'd just stepped in this morning, and spent the play reading her lines from a tablet. For all that, I thought she gave an excellent performance.

Some of the audience were confused by the staging - the attitudes, both towards women and towards the black servants (and black people in general) are firmly from 1900, but the costumes are more modern (plenty of glimpses of stocking). Now, it's a great play - terrific tension is heightened by ominous background music. The plot is clever, the family members Machiavellian - and as I remarked, I always love to be a spectator at a good fight - but.. the female characters aren't quite strong enough, in my opinion. To be fair, as I say, Birdie was played by an understudy.. but for what it's worth, I think she was supposed to be more of an alcoholic. As for Regina - yes, for most of the play Anne-Marie Duff actually does an excellent job of portraying her as a strong and manipulative woman. It was just really the very end that didn't work for me.

Which isn't to say that I don't recommend the production - it is a terrific play, and is portrayed very well in this. Runs till the 8th.

The next two days are looking like film again - tomorrow, I'm thinking of The Girl with the Needle at the ICA. A Danish film, it's apparently based on the story of Danish serial killer Dagmar Overbye.. and described as a psychological horror. The trailer certainly looks intriguing..

And on Wednesday, I'm thinking of A Real Pain, a comedy where Jesse Eisenberg finds himself travelling around Poland with his really annoying cousin as a travelling companion. Showing in my closest cinema, Curzon Aldgate! Two showings I can make - we shall see which suits.

On Thursday, delighted to have managed a cheap ticket for Dara O' Briain! See, he's touring later in the year, but is doing this warm-up show in the Pleasance Theatre.. now sold out. I jumped at the chance as soon as I heard of it.. Eating at The Depot beforehand. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

Next Monday, back with UITCS for Tarantula, at the Arcola.

And on the 21st, I'm back with CT for Stage Time, the improvised comedy show at Shoreditch Balls. Eating at The Blues Kitchen Shoreditch beforehand.. ooh, looking forward to that!