Rehearsals: The view from the back

The first rehearsals for the London Gay Men's Chorus started Monday evening... And it was a packed house... The concerts are at Cadogan Hall on December 19 and 20.

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Street Art: On leake street

Amongst the debris, there is some interesting street art...

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Is this the end of the Caped Crusader?, originally uploaded by paulbrannan.

Holy W7 Batman...

Sights: On the underground

Down in the underground, you'll find someone true... Down underground...

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Front door conversation stoppers...

Pushy man from Npower: You know we are so much cheaper than British Gas
Paul: Yeah but what are your kilowatt hours like?
Pushy man from Npower: Uhhhhhhh....

Sights: On oxford street...

The men are workin' it...

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Theatre: Joan Rivers A Work In Progress by a Life in Progress

I asked my friend Adam if he wanted to see Joan Rivers in her show and his response (in his best Joan voice) was, "Doo eye??? Doo eye ever???" Such is the pull of Joan Rivers with gay men. They love her. Can't get enough of her. Well, it was a silly question for me to ask.

So there we were on Wednesday night in the Leicester Square Theatre watching her new show. The show is part drama, part autobiography, and part stand up routine and it is great from start to finish. Joan doesn't quite look like she does in the picture when she first walks on, but that is part of the story as well. Being Joan Rivers she doesn't hold back talking about ageing. And she goes into every detail about things that drop...

I always love a filthy mouth and as Joan herself says (to paraphrase of course as I was laughing too much to really note the line), "When you reach 75 why can't you say motherfucker if it gives you enjoyment?" Well she says a lot more than that during the course of the show... She also mixed things up a little during the course of the evening including berating the audience for being a bit retarded, getting a gay man in the front row to help her with her zip, took the piss out of her actors, and she even let two members of the audience ask her questions (I think they thought it was a masterclass)...

All told it was a hilarious evening with Joan and she made the show her own. I was not as familiar as Adam was with her routines or her life (I think he should consider doing her act as he even corrected her chronology of events - although I shudder to think how he would look in one of her wigs), so the show was an extra treat for me. It runs through September, and then there are repeat performances in December and January. Definitely one to catch.

Incidentally I was impressed by the newly refurbished Leicester Square Theatre. It is a different sort of space (which the West End needs) and has two bars in the main theatre as well. There are also some fantastic acts coming up over the next few months that will also be worth looking out for...

At the theatre: joan rivers

She was gorgeous, great and at 75 still getting a great reaction from the audience... And when she didn't she told us what a lousy audience we were... Memorable moments included pointing out what a dump the west end is... Well those paving bricks look like they have been there for a while... More later...

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I don't know about you, but I can't wait to piss on the high street...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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)...