Play: The Years

Today, the start of three Meetups in a row. Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats at last - we headed to The Years, at the Harold Pinter - cheapest tickets from the official venue, as often happens. They were in the Balcony - I don't trust the legroom up there, so I was in the front row of the Stalls; I'd rather a neck ache than cramped knees! and it's the same price. Another one with no interval, I see - that's really becoming a feature. Booked at Bella Italia Cranbourne Street this time - there's never been a problem with service there, and it's much more relaxed.

What's happed to TFL?! They're actually providing buses now! Today, as yesterday, the buses were not only available, they came straight away - were they always like this, everyone would be on them in preference! It's almost as though they have a tracker on me, and send exactly the bus I want, to where I am, exactly when I want it.

And so I arrived early for dinner; she asked me whether I'd like to take a seat upstairs - it was rather busy downstairs - and since I wanted the loo, and that's where it is, I said that was no problem at all! Upstairs, I found my regular server too, who asked straight away whether I'd like a large glass of the Pinot Grigio, and served it while I was exploring the toilet. (The bins need emptying, BTW.)

It's my very first time upstairs here:

I was waiting a little while for food - and sure enough, starter and main arrived together. She apologised, and asked whether she should just take back the main - I told her not to bother, it was fine. Actually, the dough balls turned out to be a bit hard and burnt - I should have gone with my original idea, the chicken strips for starter. Never mind, the main course was delicious. She persuaded me to a second glass of wine, but when she asked whether I'd like a dessert, I had to tell her I didn't have time.

It's about a five-minute walk to the theatre from there:

I did actually climb all those stairs to catch the others at the Balcony Bar - but when I saw how crowded it was, and where they were standing, I could see it didn't make sense, and made my way down again. Where I got another drink, and some chocolates - interestingly, she asked whether I was in the front row, and when I said yes, was going to give me my drink in plastic until I said "..of the Stalls". Whereupon I got a glass container! However, would you believe, she gave me a plastic container for the chocolates - so I wouldn't be rustling the wrapper. "What an excellent idea!" as I remarked.

I completely forgot to take a photo from my seat, frazzled as I was by having to manoeuvre chocolates and drink, then take off my coat before I sat down, simultaneously having to protect my drink. Made it safely, I'm happy to say, and was just about finished the chocolates when the play started. The view was pretty good - except for anything happening backstage, of course, and if anyone lay down, or sat on the floor, we had little chance of seeing what they were doing either.

It runs straight through, without an interval - and this is one of those plays that could do without the interruption. Simply, it's the life story, in vignettes, of a middle-class Frenchwoman, depicted at five stages of her life, and by five different actors - although they all play other parts, too. The only one I recognised, the second oldest (depicting her post-divorce), was Gina McKee. Without exception though, the acting was top-notch, and those who sang in the show proved themselves terrific singers! 

But oh my, what a story. Very simply told, no massively dramatic occurrences, just an ordinary life, really - a post-war child: a teenager working at a summer camp: a young woman who is a student, protests, has an abortion, gets pregnant again and marries the father this time and becomes a suburban housewife: a divorcee: an older woman, a granny. Other characters are mentioned, and we mainly notice the years pass through the descriptions of the ageing children. Oh, and she's essentially never without a man - as a kid, she's curious, but from her teenage years on, it's a catalogue of love affairs, some more lasting than others.

"Abortion" - yes, that appears in the trigger warnings, and that scene is quite graphic. This was in the days before it was legal in France, you see, and well, there's a lot of blood. It's a heavy scene for anyone to process - not least the blunt description that accompanies it, because the actors are speaking throughout this play, explaining the events on a stage pretty much devoid of props. I wasn't at all surprised when the Front of House Manager had to come on and stop the play briefly because someone in the audience had been taken ill. That actually happened twice, the second time quite a bit later, and I don't think it had anything to do with that particular scene. But I bet this happens a lot! The actors stand patiently to the side for a few minutes until it's resolved - I bet they're used to it, and certainly, they were very professional in resuming the performance from roughly where they stopped.

The bluntness of the speech is possibly what lends the play a lot of its appeal - it's very honest. Very simply one woman's experience - and with a really moving ending, as the sheets that form one of the few props on stage are cleverly hoisted, in a lovely piece of stage management, to give a reminder of the scenes in which they were used. A really memorable play indeed, and certainly the best play I've seen in months! Runs until the 19th of April - very, very highly recommended. And the standing ovation at the end afforded those of us near the stage the chance to get a proper look at it..

I did meet the group afterwards, outside. And lo, the buses were still running perfectly to bring me home. :-)

Tomorrow, I'm back with the 45+ Not Grumpies for Paul's February Pub Crawl. We're starting at the Lion & Unicorn in Waterloo Station, where we'll also eat, then heading - well, towards home for me, finishing at London Bridge! Very convenient.

And on Thursday, I'm with a new group, 45+ Solos Socializer, for a comedy night at Candlemaker Smok'd, which is a pub with a BBQ menu. Anyway, they do comedy too on Thursdays, Saturdays, & Sundays, and are offering 30% off bookings for both comedy and food until the 16th. Apparently, the organiser is booking a table for us all - we just have to worry about booking the comedy. I did ask to confirm that with him - no response yet..