Play: Jab
Today, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for the matinée of Jab, a lockdown drama at the Park Theatre. And may those days never return. Anyway, a few of us planned on lunch beforehand at Palmyra's Kitchen. But I woke early this morning - and although I had no intention of getting up yet, something made me look at my phone. Lo, if the organiser hadn't come down with something, and lunch was cancelled! Well, sorry to hear that - but also delighted to have an extra hour in bed!
When I was finally ready to leave, bus didn't seem feasible - it was too far. This'd normally mean a Tube journey instead - and then I noticed that Thameslink was an option! Five stops, direct from London Bridge to Finsbury Park, same price as the Tube, but faster. Not to mention nicer, with a view, and comfier seats.. I'm really going to have to start thinking about trains more in future. Anyway, that's what I did, and arrived a good bit before we were supposed to meet at the theatre. Not before the stand-in organiser though, who'd saved a spare seat in a very busy bar.. happily, once the other show started, it cleared out a good deal, and everyone who arrived got seats, and chatted for a while before going in.
Unreserved seating, but it was quite full - we were in the smaller theatre space. We managed to get seats together in the back row. On stage, four chairs - which we remarked at, for a two-character show - but of course, it does give more of a sense of it being a living room, where pretty much all the action takes place. A backstage area, behind a curtain, serves as kitchen and storage area, among other things. "Outside" is represented by the ramp leading to the theatre door. As we went in, we were asked please not to walk on the rug - I guess because it's a pale colour, and dirties easily.
Not a cheery play this really, although it starts lightheartedly enough - with our characters, a married couple, watching the first news of the pandemic on the tv. She works for the NHS, and is more worried than he is - he says, "it'll never last three months". The course of the thing is mapped through a series of sometimes rapid-fire vignettes, where we get a tally of the dead, and a brief exchange between our characters.
The writing is tight enough that that much interaction provides us with a pretty good description of the breakdown of their relationship. When I was asked, afterwards, whether I enjoyed it - well, of course, "enjoy" isn't the right word. It was depressing, for one thing, to be plunged right back into that awful time, when nobody could go anywhere, nor knew how long this was going to last - or how serious it was going to get, everyone looking daggers at anyone who coughed. But also, what starts as a good relationship between this couple duly turns sour - for one thing, because he turns out to be an anti-vaxxer, which she definitely isn't: but also, of course, simply living in each others' pockets for so long is bound to provoke stress.
It's a pretty good map of a fairly typical path through the pandemic - but not a comfortable watch. There's an interesting scene at the end, in which she draws a curtain, revealing a light-filled window; it's a scene of celebration, of release. I had to wonder, though, what she was being released from: the virus, or the toxicity of this relationship..? Runs to the 26th, if you're curious.
We repaired to the bar again afterwards, where we now had a table all to ourselves, and it was great to get chatting to these folks properly, first time in a while - and lo, if the actors weren't at the next table, sharing a pizza! I managed to catch a shot as I left..
Not having eaten properly beforehand, I was looking for food afterwards - and well, I rather fancied Nando's, which was just up the road. Yes, I know, I know, three days in a row - well, think of all those lovely loyalty points I'm accruing! A very friendly manager made sure I got a seat - and while service was, again, a bit slow, it was quicker than yesterday, and could be attributed to a huge birthday party, taking place at the next table. Food was great - but again, the slow service put me off having a dessert, or a second wine, and I took myself off, shopping on the way again. So handy when I can do that! Thameslink back again, of course. I tell you though, it was a chilly evening - I was glad to get home..
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