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Bear with me: Sun Bear @ParkTheatre

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If The Light House is an uplifting tale of survival, Sarah Richardson’s Sun Bear gives a contrasting take on this. Sarah plays Katy. We’re introduced to Katy as she runs through a list of pet office peeves with her endlessly perky coworkers, particularly about coworkers stealing her pens. It’s a hilarious opening monologue that would have you wishing you had her as a coworker to help relieve you from the boredom of petty office politics.  But something is not quite right in the perfect petty office, where people work together well. And that is her. And despite her protesting that she is fine, the pet peeves and the outbursts are becoming more frequent. As the piece progresses, maybe the problem lies in a past relationship, where Katy had to be home by a particular hour, not stay out late with office colleagues and not be drunk enough not to answer his calls. Perhaps the perky office colleagues are trying to help, and perhaps Katy is trying to reach out for help. It has simple staging

Overheard at Clapham Sainsburys Saturday...

Chav man: Shuddup you stupid cow... Don't make a scene... Woman: Y-y-y-y-y-your a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaastard....

Overheard at the gym Monday...

Man #1: I really enjoyed it on Saturday... Man #2: Yeah what's it like? Man #1: Well there's loads of guys. There are the muscle daddies... But they just play with themselves...

Theatre: Pygmalion

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Watching Pygmalion at the Old Vic this week it finally dawned on me why it has always felt a little creepy to think that Henry Higgins would end up with Eliza Doolittle. Well it isn't just because (in this production anyway) she is much younger. It is because he is just too camp. Henry Higgins already has a relationship with Colonel Pickering and so Eliza is simply left to pick up the slippers. She never had a chance with those two old poofs... There they were out all night drinking together, gambling together or hanging around in Covent Garden overhearing conversations... Not to mention all those contraptions in the study looking at the mouth... It all makes sense... It's a man's world in the Higgin's household... This version of Shaw's play goes back to his original version published in 1916. At times it felt like the production was using the original sets with its quaint production values and a taxi car that crawls across the stage (although the looked lovely an

Scenes from Leicester Square Monday

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80793732MT029_Premiere_Sex_ , originally uploaded by travelingapostrophe3 . World premiere of Sex and the City movie in London... I was in rehearsals but darn it would have been fun to be there to yell out to Sarah, "Sarah! The hat! WTF??"

Scenes from Waterloo Sunday

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12-05-2008 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . I didn't check if there was a body in the case... In London you never can tell...

Comedy: Dina Martina

Dina at Wigstock a few years back... We were treated to the fiddle as well... Thursday evening I was one of the "peeps" who caught Dina Martina at the Soho Theatre . Dina is part typical drag act and part something else. With a wig that looked like it was inspired by one of Liza's fights with Gest , makeup inspired by a clown, and a belly that was all his/hers, it was pretty out there (or as Dina would say, "Off the charts!")... But as the 80 minute performance went on it was clear that there was a real character in the making and it will be interesting to see her again in a few years. Best parts were the songs with forgotten lyrics, advice on how to deal with global warming (kill or the animals in the sea as that will make the water levels drop), and the mispronounciations of words. I particularly liked the soft "g" in her segment of the show called "gifts to give" which became "jiffs to jiv"... Thanks to Dina, I will try and work

Movies: Iron Man

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Iron Man , originally uploaded by Luffyd . Caught the movie Iron Man on Wednesday evening as on a warm sunny evening it seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides there are not enough super hero stories set against war-torn Afghanistan (with the occasional nice shot of Miami). While there was a lot to enjoy about it, after seeing it I had a few questions: Why were there so many product tie-ins for crap products ? Why did Robert Downey Jr's character go for models who had too much sun and dimply skin? Why do the agents from S.H.I.E.L.D look like they are from the gay mafia? Did Jeff Bridges shave his head and grow a beard just to look more evil?? Was that final battle sequence made up of out-takes from the Transformers movie? And just how the hell do you take a leak in that suit?

Bank Holiday Banter...

Man #1: Don't I know you from somewhere? Paul: Hmm I don't know you look familiar... Man #1: You from Australia? Paul: I'm from Brisbane are you? Man #1: I lived in Sydney for a while... Paul: Oh I see that doesn't help... Man #1: Ah man I'm sure I'll work it out but I'm buzzing right now...

Hot news this week in London...

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The Headlines from The Evening Standard , originally uploaded by robbyredbird . Don't panic...

Opera: The Minotaur

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I caught the last night of the Harrison Birtwistles's new opera The Minotaur on Saturday at The Royal Opera . It is a thrilling and slightly disturbing opera (not to mention bloody too). Mind you, before the interval an elderly couple walked out. Maybe all that blood and rape and horror and gore was a bit too much for them. But that's new opera for you... At times I was wondering whether I was watching a high culture horror show (although I could have done with more blood and more realistic killings if that was the case). The first appearance of the Minotaur (played by John Tomlinson ) was a pretty dramatic moment and for nearly three hours the show didn't let up. Still, there is a lot to like about this opera starting with the music . The production design and the costumes - particularly the bulls head - were particularly creepy. The final battle sequence (depicted above) literally had everyone in my section on the edge of their seats (although that was party due to the