Play: Never Let Go

Tonight, I was back with CT for Never Let Go, part of the Fringe Fix at Underbelly Boulevard. It's a comedy, one-man, gay retelling of the film Titanic. Walked from work, with an idea of getting food somewhere.. ended up in Bistro1, as usual. Where I'm delighted to say they have a new staff member.. and wow, service is now quick! I skipped the calamari I never like, and had a lovely meal. Was early, so treated myself to some ice cream as well.

At the theatre box office, I flashed my ticket - which they emailed me this afternoon - and was sent straight to the bar upstairs:

And in due course, we were sent upstairs to the Stalls - we could sit anywhere we liked. I, coming with my laptop, chose an end seat, as usual:

Have to say, I loved this.. it is an hour long, and it's funny - but it's a pretty faithful rendition of the movie by someone who's patently a fan, and is lovingly told. I'd forgotten much of the detail of the film - well, I was reminded tonight. And he got us to join in a singsong of My Heart Will Go On at the end. Before a gushing tribute to London, the "birthplace of theatre" (he's American, and sentimental about such things), and a speech about how honoured he is to be here. Really sweet, actually. I don't think it's playing again, but highly recommended.

And tomorrow - with a last-minute reschedule of what I was supposed to be doing - I finally have a weekend free to get back to Ireland, phew! Took me ages to get the flight booked, mind - the Ryanair app was down, I had to use the browser. And both Ryanair and Stansted Express have forgotten my account, I book so seldom any more.. hopefully meeting the friend I usually lunch with when I go back. And ooh, it's National Cinema Weekend, with all tickets €4! It'd be a shame to miss out.. if the timing suits, De Gaulle: Résistence is a biopic, highly rated.. and showing in Ennis, where I'll be anyway.

On Monday, I'm thinking of film again - and might as well (finally, given that The Hideout saw it ages ago) head to Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, starring Gillian Anderson, whose only showing that evening is in the Cinema in the Arches, at Battersea Power Station.

On Tuesday, no fewer than three Meetup groups (none of which I want to join) are headed to the Science Museum late for Star Trek's 60th anniversary! Well, there's nothing to stop me going on my own - I've booked a timeslot late enough to allow me to grab something to eat.

Then it's five Meetup days in a row. On Wednesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Darkling, a play about an ecological disaster, set in Bhopal and playing in the Bush Theatre.

Next Thursday, back with London Social & Cultural Meetups to see Pressure in the Vue Wood Green. Dying to see this, as it stars Andrew Scott (my favourite actor, although I don't think his 'tache in this suits him) as Capt. James Stagg, the meteorologist tasked with predicting the weather for the proposed D-Day landing. I saw the stage version of this back in 2018, would you believe, at the Park with UITCS.. and have remembered it ever since as one of the best plays I've ever seen. He disagrees with Eisenhower, you see, predicting terrible, stormy conditions on the day originally chosen - and really has to fight his corner. (He's played by Brendan Fraser in the film.) Damian Lewis plays Gen. Montgomery. And we're headed for drinks beforehand.

And on the 11th.. flying to Aberdeen for another London Museums A-Z Dracula event, yay! An early flight from Heathrow is an unpleasant thing to be doing, but it does mean we'll have most of the day up there..  the idea being that we'll be staying in the Kilmarnock Arms Hotel in Cruden Bay, where Bram Stoker started writing Dracula! (The hotel is now full for the night of the 11th.) Now, as it happens, I'm co-hosting, JW is hosting.. and we're the only two on the trip! at time of writing. So, I guess we'll be hosting each other.. anyway, looking up public transport options to Cruden Bay, I discovered that public transport is a palaver, so I'm hiring a car - feasible with just the two of us. I'd rather not trust to Uber, or even taxis, in what seems to be quite a remote area. It'll be me driving, as he's still learning - which is fine, won't be the first time I've driven in Scotland. I found a great deal with Planet Rental Cars. It'll also be handy, given that he's ordering a kilt, and needs to swing by there..

As to activities, well, nothing to do with the area at all, but The Uprising, a film about the Peasants' Revolt and starring Andrew Garfield and Jamie Bell, is out that weekend and we both want to see it, so we'll be doing that in Aberdeen.. also in Cruden Bay is Slains Castle, which is rumoured to have provided inspiration for Dracula - will want photos of that, at least. Supposed to be generally creepy. Also, JW apparently has ancestry in the area, so I suppose that'll come up.. and there's a lovely, long beach. Anyway, we're flying back on the 13th.