Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! at Richmond Theatre

So often when I book a theatre show it is a no-brainer but very few are such obvious choices as an update to Drop The Dead Donkey written by the original team, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, and staring many of the original cast.

Quickness got me my preferred seat, Dress Circle A24, for £37.5 on the very first night of the long tour. Quickness was necessary as the week was completely sold out, though it has already been booked to come back again in June.

The premise was simple, the original Globelink News team had been recruited to start a new algorithm-led TV news channel on the lines of Talk TV or GB News.

The cast came on stage one at a time to loud cheers from the audience and a chorus of "Oh Fucks! from those already there.

After that it was pretty much Drop The Dead Donkey as we lovingly remembered and loved it with the same characters behaving in the same way and saying the same sort of things. 

The dialogue was constantly funny and the one-liners came thick and fast. There were topical jokes too, such as a reference to Marcus Rashford who had been in the news just a couple of days previously.

There was some good physical jokes too, like George's run-ins with a voice-activated coffee machine, and with a light switch.

Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! was everything that I hoped it would be, and more. It was genuinely funny in its own right and being an update on an old favourite was a nice bonus.

The Hills of California at Harold Pinter Theatre

A few things had to fail and to work for this evening to happen.

It was my birthday so I was looking for a special show to see and my default option, a Matthew Bourne ballet at Sadler's Wells, was thwarted by the show finishing earlier in the month. I was rescued by a new Jez Butterworth play opening on my birthday and ATG offering club members decent prices.

I was quick to book and secured three seats in the centre of the front row of the Royal Circle for £55 each. Clearly a good deal.

Of course I had to find a suitable venue to eat beforehand and with my sister joining us the usual vegetarian Indian across the road from the theatre was not an option. A quick search came up with the swanky and moderately priced Masala Zone on Piccadilly Circus. It proved to be an excellent choice, the food was superb and different, the service was exemplary and the ambience was perfect. I will be going back!

The view from my seat was very good and I settled down for a show that was expected to run to a little over three hours, with breaks; hence the 7pm start time.

The scene was the private quarters of the Sea View Guest House in the wrong part of Blackpool (it does not have any sea views) where four sisters are gathered on the imminent death of their mother. As they reminisce they talk about when they were girls and their mother was building them into a singing troupe modelled on the (three) Andrews Sisters.

After a while the stage rotated and took us back in time to the same room when they were girls.

And that is about it.

As with the other Jez Butterworth plays I had seen (Jerusalem and Ferryman) there was a lot of talking, some of it funny some of it dark, but little in the way of action. That may sound like a thin meal but then nothing happens in Waiting for Godot either. The Hills of California relies on its dialogue and with Butterworth the dialogue is more than enough. The two and a half hours or so are thoroughly engaging, helped by excellent performance all round from the women and the girls.

I wanted something special for my birthday treat and The Hills of California was just that.

Memento at Hounslow Sports and Social Club (6 Jan 24)

I was aware that Hounslow Sports and Social Club was on the local covers band circuit and I had walked past the place a few times on my walks but I had never been there before. What took me there this time was Memento, feedback from other people who had been there and confirmation that some mates were also going. 

 I have targets to reach so I walked there, the route I chose was 9.5km, took 1 hour 45 and added a few more roads to my CityStrides Lifemap. My timing was good too and I arrived at 9pm just as the band started playing.

The venue had a lot going for it. While it cost £3 to enter (it is a members club) that was quickly made up with the cheap beer, at £3.4 for a pint of Pravha it was almost a steal. And being a social club, it was well set up for concerts with a stage, dance area then tables then a long bar. It was busy too which always helps.

The stage was well and truly set for Memento and they used it very well. They are excellent musicians and play some great songs, e.g. Stairway to Heaven, and a few not so great songs that are still good to hear, e.g. Final Countdown.

With a short break, they played until well gone 11pm, stretching the value of the £3 investment even further. It was a superb evening and I strongly suspect that I will be back to Hounslow before too long.

I'll see Memento again even sooner. Friday.

I averaged 27,080 steps a day in 2023

I averaged 27,919 steps a day in 2020, 26,128 in 2021, 29,142 in 2022 and now 27,080 in 2023. While this is a fairly massive 2,000 steps a day down on last year it is broadly inline with the previous two years so I am happy with that.