Film: Is This Thing On?, Musical: Ballad Lines, & Play: Monstering the Rocketman

Last Tuesday, I headed to see Is This Thing On? A comedy about a guy who, having marital problems, heads to a bar - only to find it's open mic night, and he can't get a drink unless he does a turn on stage: so, for the first time ever, he attempts a bit of stand-up comedy. Directed and co-written by Bradley Cooper, it stars Laura Dern as the wife - and as told to me by someone at The Cartoon Museum, it's inspired by the story of John Bishop! Nearest showing to me was in the Curzon Aldgate.

My go-to eatery around there is Cote St. Katharine Docks, so I booked - and then moved my booking time back by a quarter of an hour, because of course I wasn't ready! And when I headed out, it was absolutely pouring rain.. Seeing that a bus was due soon, I waited and took that - mind you, just for a couple of stops, to Tower Bridge. So I still had to walk most of the way - I was drenched and dripping by the time I got there. Well, my coat and bag were drenched - but they're waterproof.

It's a pity they no longer give a complimentary bread basket when you arrive - it would've been nice. But the food was lovely - I went back to the steak frites. Again, although they say it on the menu, they no longer automatically serve it with garlic butter. The sauce was good, but I would've preferred the garlic butter - I used to smear it on the steak, then let the remainder melt into the cup of fries. Worked well. Must ask for it in future. Ordered salted caramel ice cream for dessert - and he arrived with a flourish, bearing - salted caramel coffee! I sent that back pretty quickly - he looked quite hurt. Never mind, the ice cream was divine..

And so to the cinema, where I arrived just in time, settled into my comfy seat, managed to open the chocolates this time.. Well, this is a really good film. I see John Bishop is one of the executive co-producers. And Will Arnett does a terrific job of portraying the lead character. Caveat: it's more a relationship drama than a comedy - although he has a good stage presence, and is believable as a comedian. But the main thrust of the film is how his comedy gave him a new lease of life, improving his relationship with his estranged wife. Nicely done - and frankly, the funniest thing in the film are their annoying friends! Well worth a look though. So feelgood that I came out humming Under Pressure, which is the last thing you hear in the film - their boys are practising it for the school band. Oh, and on my way out of the cinema, I spied posters with inspirational quotes from filmmakers:

Things ran too late to blog that night..

The last two days have been with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - last night, Ballad Lines at Southwark Playhouse (SP), booked on their excellent (but now, sadly, expired) PAYG offer, where you paid £75 for access to up to five productions. I made sure to book another set before they expired! This was the "Elephant" branch - nearest eatery, Toulouse Lautrec, which I booked for beforehand.

It pays to leave in time.. they have a £30 forfeiture fee! So I was a bit dismayed to see the #188 leaving as I approached.. checking Google Maps, the only way I was going to make it there on time now was to take the #C10. I don't normally, as it's much more of a walk from home - but I was delighted to discover, when I got there yesterday evening, that traffic was also much lighter, that way. The bus was on time, and packed, but I got a seat. Got off in drizzle - wow, the rain is persistent these days - and made the restaurant five minutes early. I got a cosy seat in the corner:

Their ham croquettes aren't down as a starter, but as a "small plate" - I ordered them to start though, I do like them. There wasn't a lot else on the menu that enthused me - so I went with steak. And with a £2 difference between rib-eye and fillet, I decided to go for the fillet. With peppercorn sauce, and a side of saute mushrooms. And a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Wine was ok - not the best I've had. The croquettes were nice, although volcanically hot, with a scalding cheese sauce. The steak was good, although ever so slightly overcooked for my taste - I asked for medium, I think it more resembled medium-well. Needed the sauce, which went well with it. The mushrooms were ok, although covered in a peculiar, crunchy substance whose texture I didn't care for. I'd have ordered a second glass of wine, if I could have caught someone's eye - service is friendly, but peremptory. So, all in all, a bill of £74 (including service) was a bit high, I thought. Hey-ho, might go somewhere else next time..

He'd taken my sodden coat when I arrived, then promptly forgot all about it - although he knew I was leaving, and had taken payment, I had to go and find him to get him to give me my coat. Indeed, I needed it - it was still drizzling - but it wasn't a long walk to the theatre, where I got a nicer (and cheaper) glass of wine and a packet of Tayto cheese n onion. Because Tayto. The organiser arrived soon after, and we got a table down the back - didn't spot the other person who was coming. At showtime, we took our seats:

As you can see from the picture, I was right to the side - which was fine really, there was very little I couldn't see. Mind you, I had a moment of panic when I sat down - it was only when I was looking for somewhere to put my phone that I realised I had no bag! Raced back upstairs - there it was.. as I was coming back in, I explained to the usher what had happened, and she remarked that you wouldn't believe all the things people have left behind, but they've always got them back..

Well, as you can also see in the picture, there's an onstage band - a guitarist, a violinist who, at this point, was just coming in, and a synthesiser player, who at this point was playing a violin medley. It's a musical, of course, and music not only features prominently in this, but is actually the thread that holds the various stories together. In brief, a modern-day lesbian couple are excited to be moving into their own place - a new step in their relationship. The aunt of one of them has just died, and since they had a falling-out over her lifestyle, she's reluctant to open the box that has been bequeathed to her.

However, her partner persuades her - and when she finally does, she finds a set of cassette tapes. Her late aunt was a great one for music, and particularly old ballads - and as she listens, she learns about some women from previous generations of the family. There's Cait, who was married to Jamie, a minister in Scotland in what must have been the 1700s, we figured, although we don't get an official timeline. Then, 100 years later, we get the young lass in Northern Ireland, Jean, who falls pregnant to a sailor she never hears from again, and figures her best bet is to set sail for the new land and opportunities of America. And so on to this lady who's just died - and to her niece, who's just learning her heritage..

Both Cait, in Scotland, and Jean fall pregnant when they'd really rather not - their pregnancies, in different ways, determine their destinies. Question is - how will their stories impact on their modern relative, in her much different situation..?

As it says in the blurb, a contemporary score is blended with traditional Scottish, Irish, and Appalachian melodies - and it was absolutely fantastic. Real tub-thumping stuff for the most part, beautiful singers, and I was only sad the audience wasn't inspired to clap along. Rather a large cast, and as one of our group remarked, the venue therefore seemed a bit cramped for them. Oh, but I thought the show was terrific - highly recommended. You can listen to samples of the tracks on the show site. Runs to the 21st of next month.

(As we came back after the interval, the lady in front of me was doing something with her phone - stopped when the lady playing the main role, currently sat at the edge of the stage, turned and looked daggers at her! Then turned back to the action, then turned to look daggers at her again, just to make sure nothing untoward was going on.. you have been warned..)

Drizzle on the way home again, but happily, I was early enough to shop. Again, it ran too late to blog though.. I was booking ahead. And then I was in the office today, and really did try, but couldn't quite get it over the line..

Tonight, we were at Monstering the Rocketman, in the Arcola - the true story of the biggest libel suit in British history, with Sir Elton John suing The Sun for falsely claiming he'd used prostitutes. As I went for the bus, would you believe, two passed that I'd just missed! So imagine my surprise, expecting a long wait, when another was along in just a couple of minutes..

Mercifully, it wasn't that full, what with the two on the same route having just gone and hoovered up all the stray passengers. So I got a seat - for what was a long trip, in the rain, all steamy windows. Quite cosy. In the wheelchair space was a guy in a wheelchair - would not stop talking to the chap in the seat beside him, who turned out, from the conversation, to be his carer. He wanted a doughnut. His carer said it wasn't healthy. And so on.. give him that, he was persistent..

When I eventually got off, my destination was the local Nando's - what a relief to get in from the rain, and get the damn laptop bag off my back.. and yay, I'd earned enough points for a free meal! Well, that made up for last night's expensive one.. Sadly, no time for dessert. I schlepped back down to the theatre, where my companions for the evening were at a table in the bar. I ran to the loo first - which was perfectly serviceable, but honestly seemed to be held together by sticky tape. Back at the bar, I got one of their medium glasses - they don't do large here, annoyingly. And the £8 I paid for a medium glass here compared unfavourably with the £7.50 I'd paid for a large glass in Nando's..

And then, when we went in, of course I would be on the side that enter from the street. I have to say, it was pretty full..

In this one-man show, Henry Naylor (who also wrote and produced it) plays an idealistic young hack who comes to work for The Sun in 1987. He got into the profession for the noblest of reasons - his dad was an investigative journalist, shot dead on assignment. And he accepts that while working for The Sun doesn't quite live up to that, well, he has to work his way up the ladder.

During the show, headlines from both The Sun and The Mirror are projected on the walls - a good reminder of what kind of writing we're talking about here. As I explained to my companions afterwards, when I first came to London and saw the headlines on newspaper stands, I was shocked.. quite literally, they're not the same in Ireland, you don't get the same vitriol, the racism, the right-wing approach.. and of course, as shown in this play, the homophobia..

He does a great job of portraying the different characters, not to mention the cut and thrust, the sheer excitement of the job, the one-upmanship over rivals. You can see what attracted him to the job - and naturally, he wants to please his boss. But how far can/should you go with that? When you just whack something up on the front page, ruining people's reputations, perhaps endangering their livelihoods.. and what you're saying isn't even true..

His boss in the play considers what they do to be entertainment.. that's the end result, hang anyone who gets in the way. But oh wow, does he get his comeuppance. It's not a long play, but it beautifully creates a mood, tells a story - and yes, issues a cautionary note.. he finishes by pointing out this happened in 1987: that nowadays, 75% of people get their news online. How much of that is fact-checked? And what comeback do you have if you suffer in a similar way..?

He has something very important to say, and says it well. Highly recommended. Only runs to the 21st.. run and see it, if you get the chance.

Wouldn't you know it, my bus home came immediately as well. It's as though they knew..

Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend- a good weekend not to be in London, with Valentine's Day in the middle.. Thinking of seeing Send Help, which - speaking of horrible bosses - has Rachel McAdams suffering under one such: until the private plane on which they're travelling to a conference crashes, and the two of them are washed up on a desert island. He's injured, and spends a couple of days unconscious - by the time he comes to, she's in charge. Heh. Very much wish fulfilment, this..

Back in London, two more nights of UITCS beckon. On Monday, at SP again, and again with PAYG, for Beautiful Little Fool, the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, as told by their daughter. This time, it's the Borough branch, so I won't be heading to the same place to eat.

And on Tuesday, we're going to Bird Grove, the story of George Eliot, in Hampstead Theatre.

On Wednesday, back to Winter's Night Wonder Tales, at The Palmerston. Tickets from Eventbrite.

Next Thursday, a Meetup group called LGBTQ Culture Lovers is headed to a performance of Bruckner's 8th symphony by the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall. Now, I don't want to go with them - I don't swing that way - but hey, nothing to stop me going on my own! Heading to The Archduke for food beforehand.

On the 20th, heading with a friend to the Menier Chocolate Factory to see Fallen Angels, by Noel Coward.

Now, the 21st was supposed to be our monthly ex-colleagues' get-together. But the cat is strolling among the pigeons as we speak, because the organiser of my film groups wants to do something for his birthday. He's only in town temporarily, with family business, so it's kind of important - might be able to combine them, depending on what this celebration looks like..

Then, four nights of Meetup. On the 22nd, I'm with The Hideout again at last, for Psycho Killer (stars Malcolm McDowell).. location and time TBA, but it'll be around Leicester Square for sure.

On the 23rd, when I saw UITCS were going to Dracula, well.. showing in the Noel Coward Theatre, by the time I came to book, "cheap" seats were in short supply. There was one left in the Balcony - £50, and predictably, no legroom. There was one left in the Grand Circle - decent seat. £85. I got that one. Eating beforehand in The Salisbury, nearby.

On the 24th, I'm trying out a new Meetup group; London Music Showcase - Gigs & Drinks specifically exists to promote the Piano Smithfield bar. So I'm trying out the gig there that night - cheap tickets on TAC. I'm eating in The Old Red Cow beforehand - gee, seems you know there's a place for you if they respond immediately to your booking enquiry; if you don't hear, it's a no.

And on the 25th, back with UITCS for I'm Sorry, Prime Minister in the Apollo Shaftesbury Avenue. Eating in Bella Italia Strand for that one.

On the 26th, going to see Dara O' Briain, yay! Booked ages ago - he's in the Hammersmith Apollo.

And I'm finishing off the month with two more Meetups - on the 27th, back with La Isla Flamenco Club, ole! Back in the gold Bar in the Colab Tower for a show called Identidades.

And on the 28th, back at last with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies for his rescheduled Southwark: Seedy and Sublime walking tour.