Play: Safe Haven

Now, four more days of Meetup. Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Safe Haven, at the Arcola - the true story of Operation Safe Haven (1991), which protected, and provided humanitarian aid to, Kurdish refugees in Northern Iraq after Saddam Hussein defeated the Kurdish rebellion.

I was coming from work, which made bus feasible - I left a bit early, and lo, there it was, conveniently just arriving! Getting on so early, I got a seat, and was nice and comfy for the next 40-odd minutes, until I had to get off into the rain again. Made for the local Nando's, as always there - got a seat, and lo, the app was back working again! Had the same as yesterday - and it was even more delicious. Skipped dessert though - I was full enough: but I did have a second glass of wine.

Which made me slightly late to meet the others at the theatre! Plus, I had to run to the loo. Never mind.. we were in Studio 2, in the basement, where the initial caption was slightly unfortunately positioned, relative to my seat anyway:


This is a very different beast from the other play we saw this week set in Iraq - Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo. This one is very fast-paced, as we follow events in the heady atmosphere of the Foreign Office, where an idealistic young woman hears about the plight of the Kurds, and persuades her superior to help, in the face of strong American opposition in particular. In parallel, we see a young Kurdish woman, heavily pregnant with her first child, staggering through freezing mountain passes seeking refuge from Saddam.

Well, we know this political operation had a happy outcome - but it's hardly edifying to see how close it came to not happening, and how hard those who believed in it had to fight. The individual Kurdish characters help to make it more relatable, and it is heartwarming to see the reunion with family at the end. Spoiler - the young idealist loses her job - of course. No room for that sort of nonsense there. It is interesting, however, to see the inner workings of backroom diplomacy. Runs to the 7th, if you're interested.

On the way home, Google Maps informed me that I could get the #242 - it wasn't, it was the #243, and I was left some way off my route. Tut.

Tomorrow, back with La Isla Flamenco Club, olé! This show is called Light & Shadow, and is happening in The Gold Bar in the COLAB Tower (walkable, lovely.. as long as the weather warms up a bit) - tickets from We Got Tickets. I managed to get an Early Bird ticket, but they're now sold out - regular and student tickets available.

On Saturday, that postponed trip with The Hideout to see 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.. where, doubtless, we'll find out what the deal is with the weird, tracksuit-clothed people who popped up at the end of 28 Years Later, led by Jack O' Connell. Again written by Alex Garland, and again it stars Ralph Fiennes as the doctor studying the plague that has struck humanity. The venue has finally been announced as the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square - thank goodness, there was talk of it being at Picturehouse Central, and after the last time, I'm not keen on a repeat! Eating in Bella Italia beforehand, as usual - brunch, we're meeting so early! And we're apparently headed to the rather deafening All Bar One after the film.. ick.

And on Sunday, back with Rewind Tours of London for his Death, Disease and Fire Walking Tour. We shall see how similar it is to his Hallowe'en walk..

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