Play: The Pitchfork Disney

Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for The Pitchfork Disney. Showing in the King's Head Islington, it promised to be a rather weird, and thought-provoking, look at the nature of fear. Goodee!

I headed off a bit early, planning to eat at The Bull - their food is always good, and I never need to book. Got a table near the bar, was served quickly - the wine was excellent, and I had chicken schnitzel; not the equal of Bella Italia, but still very nice. Service was friendly, as ever -I always strongly recommend this place, and it never disappoints. Dog-friendly, too.

A short walk to the theatre, then - and they found it impossible to scan my ticket. I'd booked with Love Theatre, and it seems their tickets always have a problem being scanned. They finally looked me up on the system, printed me off a physical ticket, and scanned that.

When I got down to the bar (the upper bar - they do have one at the lower, theatre level, but I don't know whether it's ever open), two of the others were already there, and we sat and chatted. With a vaguely horrific theme to the night's play, the conversation naturally turned in that direction.. and when the house opened, we travelled down flight after flight of stairs to it. I was sat somewhat apart from the others - tends to happen, as I tend to book later.. and in the front row: which was to prove - interesting..


Don't be fooled by the photo - the house was practically full by the time the lights went down.

The story concerns a twin brother and sister, whose parents died 10 years ago, and who haven't left the house since, apart from brief forays for necessities. And all the action takes place in their living room (pictured). They're terrified of the outside - but she seems to love scary stories, and he seems to have a knack for inventing them. Things take a more serious turn when a beautiful stranger is invited in.. and brings their worst nightmares to life..

Isn't it funny how an innocuous living room can host the most horrific occurrences? I love a scary story myself, but no longer expect to be scared, it happens so seldom. If I get an original twist to the tale, some kind of original effect, I'm happy. So it's rare that I leave the theatre breathing a bit quickly, as I did tonight. Watched the whole thing with my mouth agape. (Apologies, BTW, to the guy beside me, whom I kicked accidentally at a crucial juncture.) The killing thing is - I absolutely cannot tell you why I found this so scary; it's too much of a spoiler. Much as I'd love to. So you're just going to have to trust me when I say - it's a beautifully crafted piece of horror, utterly weird, gradually building to a crescendo. And as with the best horror, it's not until the very, very end that you figure out what the story was about all along.

In a quote from the play - "You know why the ghost train is so popular? Because there are no ghosts." Make of that what you will. This runs to the 22nd - 90 minutes straight through. Hands down, the scariest play I have ever seen. Disturbing on a number of levels, in fact. Got a standing ovation, which I enthusiastically joined in with - for one thing, it's quite a physical play, so they had to work quite hard. But mostly, there are some images - and sounds - that will stay with me. Go see - this is quite a unique thing.

Mind you, our poor organiser hadn't expected anything of the sort, and got an awful shock.. you have been warned..

Next, it's a Hideout weekend. Tomorrow, back with The Hideout and Movie Roadhouse London for the 50th anniversary showing of Jaws - at the BFI Imax! Now, that should be spectacular..

On Sunday, back with The Hideout for The Toxic Avenger, at the Prince Charles again - well, the organiser plumped for a free ticket for me, so..

On Monday, I'm headed to Every Brilliant Thing, a play about depression at Soho Place. Four different actors are taking the part in succession - I'm getting Jonny Donahoe. Eating at The Royal George, Soho beforehand.

On Tuesday, thinking film again - and top of the list, again, is the Palestinian documentary, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk - the photojournalist interviewed in the film was apparently killed the day after the film was released. This is the one I didn't get to on Monday. On Tuesday, it's in the Curzon Bloomsbury - not selling out yet, mind.

And on Wednesday, back with UITCS for Good Night, Oscar, at the Barbican. Eating beforehand in Cote Barbican.

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