Play: Heart Wall
Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) to see Heart Wall, a drama about a woman returning to a home where she no longer feels she belongs. Karaoke begins 15 minutes before the show, and audience participation is welcome. Showing in the Bush Theatre. Problem is, there's a Tube strike, so getting there promised to be tricky.. Google Maps said I could get there by buses in an hour and a half - assuming they weren't too packed to board, and assuming the traffic wasn't crazy. If it was too bad, I'd just have had to cancel. As it was, I had to leave early.
I was getting peckish as I prepared to leave, so popped into the shop first for a snack, which I took with me. Wouldn't you know it, the bus arrived shortly after I did! I ate my snack pretty quickly. I was impressed with the progress we made, mind - not much traffic, and the bus not too crowded either. I then had to change buses - contrary to predictions, the second one didn't take too long - although it was one of those that kept us guessing, the bus number scrolling through the options. I kept an eye on it though, and was one of the first on when it finally settled down.
Good job I got a good seat - everything that didn't happen on the first bus happened on this one. By the time we got to Hyde Park, the bus was rammed, and traffic had slowed to a crawl. And it stayed like that until I finally dragged myself off the bus at my destination - following a 2.5 hour journey. I was afraid I wouldn't remember how to walk. Made my way to the theatre, and straightaway got a packet of crisps at the bar - sweet chili flavour - which was later followed by another - cheese n onion, considering I couldn't manage two sweet chilis in a row. The wine washed it down.
Our organiser was there already, the others gradually arrived - those who hadn't been put off by the strike. And we chatted until it was time to go in - with, from 15 minutes beforehand, the strains of karaoke wafting across the bar..
I was in the front row, but to the side - and yes, that pillar did obstruct my view on occasion - not really enough to bother about. Much of the action is set in our protagonist's local pub, almost everything else squashed into the area at the front of stage, which is empty of props.
The basic story concerns a young woman, an only child, who has moved to London with her boyfriend, and is now back for a visit. She finds, however, that not much is as she remembers. And right at the start, it looks as though one of the karaoke participants from before the show is brought up to do a number! I'm guessing they have to agree to that in advance - but you have been warned.
I thought the characters were well-drawn - but I had a few problems with this. Firstly, it's patently obvious, as she bluffs and fudges questions about her life in London, that not all is rosy in the garden. She's utterly blase about her boyfriend missing her, her job being unhappy that she's taking so much time off.. she's keen to revive her childhood idea of sharing a place with her best friend.. but none of this is explored at all; the most she offers is that she could stay there and work remotely, not have to return to London.
I did like the changes she had to deal with - the changes to her room, her pet rabbit going missing, her friend now having a boyfriend, and she not being the priority in her life.. and the new distance between her parents.. fair enough, these are all plausible, and her petulant reaction to them makes her quite dislikeable. But the addition of another plot element feels unnecessary, a pat solution so that she can forgive everyone for not being how she remembers them. The end result is, "oh well, that's all right then". I suppose you could argue that it is an example of how gaining distance from a situation can allow you to see it in a more truthful light - but it felt a lazy way of explaining so much that went before.
Watchable, but unsatisfying. Good soundtrack though. Runs to the 16th, if you're interested.
Runs straight through without an interval, so afterwards I needed the loo - and by the time I got back downstairs and found them, the group had decided they'd discussed enough among themselves, and it was time to go. So, off we went into the cold - where hosannah, my bus was right there! Except.. it was stopping short, at Marble Arch. So I had to wait, for nearly an hour, for the next one. Tensions were running high in the ever-increasing crowd - and it didn't help when first, a bike (the rider saying "excuse me" constantly as if it conferred privileges) and then second, a scooter (the rider dinging his bell constantly) rode along the pavement, through the cold and irritated crowd..
Didn't think I'd manage a seat on the rammed bus, but did get one - and then the PA announced it was finishing in Parliament Square. Off we all got again - but a couple of buses with the same route number were following along behind, so I finally got a bus to Elephant & Castle. And had another long, cold wait for the final bus of the evening. And was begged from by the same person no fewer than three times. Nearly as bad as what used to happen to me at Liverpool Street. It did occur to me, having come across a lot of confused foreigners on the journey, how much of a nightmare this strike has been for tourists, forced to take the bus.. the Underground is always the easiest way around a strange city, particularly if you don't have the lingo!
The journey back took as long as the journey there - primarily because of wait times for buses. And annoyingly, although I'd had a cheap journey on the way out, with the Hopper fare covering both buses because I'd tapped in on the second bus within an hour, even though the total journey took so long.. well, of course, the longer section on the return journey was the first bit. So by the time I tapped in on my last bus, I was over the hour, and ended up paying two fares.. ah well, dinner was cheap..
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