Icons of London: Bus stops

250820088463, originally uploaded by Paul-in-London.

That Olympic handover ceremony in Beijing yesterday was really a chance for an overlooked London icon to have its moment in the sun: the bus stop (not to be confused with the bendy bus in the background). While a bus stop looks like a needle in haystack in a large stadium, in its natural habitat it seems to be of sensible enough proportions... Looking forward to seeing other pieces of public infrastructure on display for the opening ceremony such as, double yellow lines and burst water mains...

Theatre: The Year Of Magical Thinking

Saturday night I finally caught up with The Year of Magical Thinking which has been playing since April at the National Theatre. Featuring Vanessa Redgrave on a chair, it tells the story of American author Joan Didion and how over a year she lost both her husband and her daughter and the process she went through in dealing with it (or more to the point not dealing with it). The play is based on her book however it exapnds the story to include the loss of her daughter as well. There is such a frank honesty to this story that even with the subject matter you can't help but be drawn into it. Perhaps it is the way it constantly asks the audience to reflect on this story as it will happen to all of us: the details will be different but the end result is the same. It was certainly was a novel way of reminding us all about our own mortality and how dealing with it is part of life.

Perhaps the subject matter (people die), the fact that it was the bank holiday weekend and people may not be up for death, or the dire state of the economy forcing people to cut back on trips to the theatre were reasons behind why the theatre wasn't very full. But for those of us there to see Redgrave's performance, we were all very grateful. A production that once it finishes its run at the National will no doubt continue to tour. And yet another enjoyable monologue to see in London this summer.

Overhead conversations of the summer...

Woman near Soho Square: I don't even say knickers any more; I just say, "get your daks off..."
Homeless man on Oxford Street: I 'ope your 'ouse 'as been buuuurgled...

Movies: Wall-E

Earlier this week I caught Wall-E at the movies with Francois. I was keen to see what all the fuss was about. After watching it Francois told me that the central message of the film really was that it is okay to like musicals. I thought that was a fair assessment but added that given that Hello Dolly is central to the love story between Wall-E and Eve (the sexy female robot), it is reassuring that Jerry Herman musicals can appeal to heterosexual robots... Worth catching even if you don't like musicals as it is not a bad film... And there are a number of sci-fi film references too...

Hot news this week in London...

Meanwhile, in Kilburn..., originally uploaded by LinkMachineGo.

Well in Kilburn anyway... At least there is still the Tricycle Theatre for entertainment...

Scenes from Soho Pride Sunday

Soho Pride Sunday 17 August 2008, originally uploaded by Paul-in-London.

Pectorals galore too... Soho Pride isn't anything other than an excuse to close streets in Soho and have some drinks and a good time... Fair enough... Of course there was competition with the Olympics on television...

Trends in London this week...

Giant Lasagna, originally uploaded by pg73.

The growing threat of giant lasagne attacking the London population this summer has been underestimated...

Hot news this week (even outside) London...

Popcorn Ban, originally uploaded by gerry balding.

Not a lot happens in Norwich... But the Picturehouse chain's plans to get rid of popcorn from its arthouse cinemas was big news Sunday... Of course in Clapham the biggest problem at the cinema is the sound of clinking wine glasses... Well it was last night anyway...

Office banter

Paul: You know he's very Web 2.0

Colleague: I don't even know what that means...
Paul: Well... What's it matter... It sounds impressive...

Trends in London this week...

Class: someone has it!, originally uploaded by Carlo Nicora.

Shaving is so last month... Grrr...

Movies: Man On Wire

Monday night (after getting over a weekend of stomach flu) I caught the doco Man On Wire about Philippe Petit's high wire walk between the Twin Towers in New York City. There was something nauseating about watching Petit on screen. He wasn't the most likeable of subjects, and irritating to the point that you would want to punch him... But even assholes have their purpose. In the long planning for this stunt, they shot some fantastic footage (including of the World Trade Centres) and it is the slice of life from the times that makes it worth watching. The story about the reaction of New York to the feat is interesting as well (although much more brief)... Now if only we knew why none of the conspirators talk to each other today? Or why that Australian man was semi-nude in one scene? And in the days pre-cheap flights, how did they afford all these flights? At least the title was explained by the end of the film... Worth catching while it is still in cinemas, if you can stomach the subject (not the heights)...

Theatre: Elaine Stritch at Liberty

I thought it might have been anti-climactic to finally see Elaine Stritch at Liberty, which is on a limited return run at the Shaw theatre. I have had the album of the show for about many years, and the DVD of it too. But to see it live... Well... That was still something else... Ok so the show is a tightly scripted piece of work, but it also is the gold standard now for solo shows; self critical, great anecdotes (including the above one about working with Ethel Merman) and hilariously bitchy... It was worth seeing the 82 year old broad in tights belt out songs and show how a real pro does it... And she does it for two-and-a-half hours.

Going with Mark was interesting as (unlike me), he was well aware of Stritch from her television work in the UK, but normally we have totally different taste in theatre. He hated Sunday in the Park with George for instance and has taunted me about it ever since. So I was surprised that he was speechless at intermission, and it wasn't just because he had been sitting in the theatre for ninety minutes without a cigarette...

For me, being so familiar with the work it was almost tempting to want to help prompt her with "Agnes De Mille!" while she was struggling with the name of who choreographed the musical Goldilocks... I left the audience participation to others however... My only quibble with the show was the fat queen behind me who decided that "Why do the Wrong People Travel?" from Sail Away was a sing-along... That's the trouble with these shows... It isn't the performers but the audience you have to be wary of...

Stritch had an afternoon session today with Elaine Paige as well which surely must have been fascinating to have witnessed and hopefully somebody has blogged about it. Stritch's show runs through to Sunday at the Shaw... And it is worth seeing more than just once...

Idle banter Wednesday...

Paul: A mate of mine thought the Brazilian in the photo was his ex from Luton.
Mark: Um... Luton doesn't do it for me in the same way as Sao Paulo does...

Trends in London this week...

., originally uploaded by Alta Vista.

Men are picking smoothies to match their ties...

Scenes from Brighton Pride Saturday

020820087988, originally uploaded by Paul-in-London.

There was much dancing and carrying on in Preston Park... There was a fair amount of eye candy too...

Hot news this week in London...

Evening Standard - record fall in house prices, originally uploaded by hubbers.

Another week another fall in house prices, and another Facebook party that gets out of hand...

Overheard at Marks and Spencer Waterloo

Mumbling woman (looking at the chocolate): Oooh I just want some chocolate... I just want some chocolate...

Movies: Savage Grace

About twenty minutes into the movie Savage Grace - which I saw last night with Grant at the Curzon Soho - a couple in the row we were sitting decided to get up and leave. The seats aren't wide enough to let somebody pass easily so it was a bit of a drama to let them by. We both mumbled something along the lines of "furfukssake". I wasn't sure whether they had had enough of the unsettling content, or they were just in the wrong cinema. I settled on it being the latter as everytime I go to this cinema I find myself surrounded by freaks. But there was also something unsettling but still rather smashing about this film.


The movie is based on the book of the same name, which is an interpretation of the true dysfunctional and incestuous relationship of rich (but slightly disturbed) heiress Barbara Daly Baekeland and her even more disturbed son Antony. Julianne Moore plays Barbara and gives her a sympathetic bent. She also looks great too. Maybe the real Barbara Daly wasn't anything like this, but it was a relief she was in the film. I suspect the film could have been a lot more disturbing, but thankfully the movie only focusses on a few key scenes and a whole lot of gorgeousness...

The film is a tragedy, although my mind did wonder to American Pie during the final seduction scene. This incest may or may not have been Barbara's attempt to prove to her son that he wasn't gay (although for the first 80 minutes he had done a good job at proving that he was)... Certainly a unique film... And one that I found difficult afterwards explaining to mates in the pub over a few beers without them being very disturbed: "She notices her sons new suit and starts rubbing it going, 'I love this fabric' and then she moves her hand into his crotch and goes, 'And I love this too...'" Maybe it was the timing of the delivery... Either that or they have mother issues just like Anthony...

Scenes from a sectional tug-of-war

280720087786, originally uploaded by Paul-in-London.

It isn't just singing and touring in the London Gay Men's Chorus... There are the games too... Like tug of war...

Theatre: They're Playing Our Song

It was one of those theatrical experiences that I love. Before the second act started of They're Playing Our Song, a revival now in preview at the Menier Chocolate Factory, the man next to me apologised for blocking my view in the first act. "It's just that I am having trouble staying awake watching this truly awful show...". He did add that he loved Connie Fisher. Well... What is there not to like about Connie Fisher? She does have a star quality about her and that cruel audition on TV to win the role of Maria in The Sound of Music (which I missed) and losing all that weight during the run shows what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger. In this show she was just great as Sonia... The nice Jewish girl with the Farrah Fawcett ginger wig...

Still, I was surrounded by people who just hated this preview. The West End Whingers at intermission were ready to walk out, and I would like to take some credit for keeping everyone returning to the theatre for the second half... Even if it were on the basis of the argument that the second half had only three new songs and all the rest were reprises so the worst was behind them... Anyway amongst all this hostility from bloggers (including bloggers we just met) I didn't want to mention... That... I still kinda liked the show...

Prior to the start of the show, I was discussing with the Whingers whether we knew any of the music. We didn't except for the line "Oh they're playing our song oh yes they're playing our song". After that we didn't know any of it. It became evident why in the first act of the show why that's all we knew as the next line goes "Sh! Sh! Sh!" and who the hell would think that up as a lyric? Still it is an irritatingly catchy tune... And when the overture started it was so funky and retro I had high hopes for this show...

Alas the music, by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager is not their best work... But what makes the show tough going is a Neil Simon's book, which even for its retro interest is pretty dated. Between songs I was waiting for the dialogue to stop as I would rather Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager on a bad day than these poorly set up scenes of neuroses. The ongoing references to Leon, who is Sonia's ex boyfriend are incredibly excrutiating...

Still, given what they have to work with, this production breathes life into the show with crazy wigs, fantastic polos, cardigans and a great disco scene. And of course there is also Connie Fisher...

As the run continues I hope they loosen it up further and make more of the shows limitations (such as a piano doubling as a car). I was a little bit alarmed that this production builds on the new trend in London productions (started with Gone With the Wind) in having a pointless revolve, but I am hoping this too is irony. Although I was fearing ankle sprains when the cast jumped on the stage for the finale... That looked kinda scary...

There is potential for this show to be quite a fun distraction for the summer... Providing you don't think too much about things like "why is this being revived?" And if only they could get those bubbles out of the floor of revolve... It looked like a bad home improvement job... Surely even the Menier theatre-going public deserve a little bit of glitz and glamour? Now to get that "Oh they're playing our song oh yes they're playing our song..." out of my head...

Theatre: Nocturne

I found myself at the Almeida on Friday night watching Nocturne, thanks to some some spare tickets Sue had because she had to go to a summer barbecue.

This is a one-man show written by Adam Rapp and performed by Peter McDonald. There was something slightly unnerving about sitting in a theatre on a warm summer night watching a monologue about a man who accidentally kills his sister. It wasn't exactly summer fun and that might have explained why the theatre was a little empty. Perhaps it was the night for barbecues and drinking rather than monolgoues. Still the performance and story was strangely captivating. At times it was like you were at the edge of your seat, knowing you were about to hear something awful but keen to hear how he accidentally decapitated his younger sister.

I have been wary of watching monologues ever since I endured the pretentious and coma-enducing one-man Macbeth. Fortunately there was none of that here and McDonald's performance was incredible to watch. At times still all this guilt and memory and impotence was heavy going (which may be the production's fault), but overall there was something still quite remarkable about it.

I dragged David along to see it and after the show we had quite an intriguing conversation about all the ways you could lose your head. None of which included going to see monolgoues on a hot summer night so I am assuming he didn't mind it either. It is now off to Edinburgh Fringe.

Movies: The Dark Knight

At the London Premiere... It's all about camera phones...

Thursday night I crammed into a hot, sweaty cinema to watch the new Batman movie The Dark Knight. There is something about this dark, unrelenting film that people just wanna see. Perhaps it hits the mood of the times, even when it is so bright and hot outside.

The Dark Knight was worth the discomfort of The Ritzy to see it, and probably one of the better comic book adaptations. It doesn't keep up the momentum to the end, and there is a sequence about the good of the people of Gotham that will have you want to yell out, "WTF???" But its visuals and Heath Ledger's performance are good enough reasons to see it. My only question would be, why does Batman speak like Patty or Selma Bouvier? I am waiting for the cigarette tie-in...