10 May 2017

BCSA "Get to Know You" Social (May 2017)


Another month another excellent BCSA "Get to Know You" Social.

The evening started with a shock, the layout of the beer taps in the bar had changed. The main impact of this was that they could pour two pints of Pilsner Urquell at the same time, something that I asked them to do a couple of times. That apart, it was a fairly typical BCSA "Get to Know You" Social and I had a fantastic time.

The conversations were a little more serious than they sometimes are, inspired by me mentioning a picture that I saw on Instagram of a protest in Brno. We did not discuss the protest itself but we had a lot to say in how the Mainstream Media ignored events like this to leave most people ignorant of the situation in other countries, including some quite close to home. I pride myself that I am better informed than most in world news and I only learned about the Czech protests thanks to a photo from somebody by somebody that I follow because of their photos of pretty Czech towns.

Technology was talked about, as it often is, and I found myself alone in not wanting, or needing, to work surrounded by several large computer screens.

One person there was having major work done to her flay, about six weeks' worth, and it was fun to look at pictures of the plans and of the work in progress. The enthusiasm she had for the project was infectious,

I was there just before 7pm and left not long before 11pm, and loved every single moment in between.

9 May 2017

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at Donmar Warehouse entertained but failed to excite


My main reason for going to see The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui was Bertolt Brecht though, as is often the case, the main theme of the play's publicity was its star, Lenny Henry. His presence did help my decision to go and I forked out a meagre £30 for Circle  Row A  Seat  5.

It was obvious that something was different about the performance as soon as I arrived and was approached by one of the cast who engaged me in friendly conversation. Audience engagement was a large, and successful part of the production. The front row downstairs was set up with tables as if in a bar and during the evening a few people were enticed onto the main part of the stage, mostly to be killed or abused.

Arturo Ui dabbled with comedy, music and menace but never seemed quite sure what it was really trying to do and in doing many different things decently it did none of them brilliantly and it failed to find a winning spark in any of them.

I would have liked more menace and more music and more of the other things that made the recent production The Beggar's Opera at National Theatre such a success. Arturo Ui paled in comparison to that production and while it was undoubtedly fun it was never any more than that.

8 May 2017

Fracked at Richmond Theatre was a pleasant surprise

I went to see Fracked! with modest expectations and left pleasantly surprised.

I was expecting a comedy by the numbers, which I quite happily paid £26 to see from my usual seat Dress Circle  Row A  Seat 25, and that is very much what the first half delivered.

It felt like watching an ITV sitcom with some simple characters of which the Public Relations consultant to the energy company was the most prominent as he oozed smarminess. He was definitely the man we were all meant to hate. The two named stars were the ones we loved, she (Anne Reid) accidentally became prominent in the local anti-fracking team and he (James Bolam) was the hapless husband struggling to keep up with her and with the modern world.

I went for my ice cream at half-time happy with what I had seen but not particularly stretched by it.

Then in the second-half added some bit and significantly lifted itself above the ITV sitcom level. The stakes became higher, the PR consultant became a lot nastier and the drama became a lot more political. Then there was something for my brain to do as well as my funny-bone. The PR consultant, played brilliantly by Harry Hadden-Paton, became the star of the show to the extent that I saw his name on later posters for the play.

I was expecting Fracked to be a light comedy and I would have been happy with that. It turned out to be darker and deeper and I was even happier with that.