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Grief and fluff: Tiger @OmnibusTheatre

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Death is something we all will face. After all, nobody gets out of here alive. But how do you get past it when grief is all you can feel? And this is the premise of Tiger, currently playing at Omnibus Theatre . It's a fascinating exploration of the stages of grief. And with a terrific cast to take you on this journey, it's an endearing and sweet story that has you engaged from the start, wondering what will happen next.  We are introduced to Alice (Poppy Allen-Quarmby) as she gives a stand-up routine. It's not particularly funny and starts to veer into the topic of dying. Something isn't right. She used to be good at this but can't move forward. Soon, she is back in her London apartment with her partner Oli (Luke Nunn), discussing that they need to get a lodger to make ends meet.  Oli is a doctor working night shifts at the local NHS hospital. Alice is not ready to face a return to stand up or anything. So when the first potential lodger arrives (Meg Lewis), looking
Music: What I'm Listening to - Kristen Chenoweth

Downloaded a Kristen Chenoweth album off iTunes last night. She's showy and she's brassy and she's loud... But her album had many songs I weren't familiar with so it was aIt has this wonderful little ditty written by Comden & Green called "If" with lyrics that include:


IF: you had been on the square, and had treated me fair, and we'd not had a tiff…
IF: you had not said I should go and jump right off the nearest cliff!
IF: You had stayed off the make, and you never had taken to coming home stiff.
IF: I hand not smelled perfume with a nasty unfamiliar whiff!
I'm gonna miss you baby
Things could've been teriff!
Ah, what's the diff…


...Amen to that honey!

Actually while we are on the subject of music that I listen to, a colleague at work saw me on the tube a few weeks back in my own little iPOD world. He had his own music so I didn't interrupt. We don't work together so that was fine. Time passes and then just this week he came into the office and asked what I was listening to that day he saw me on the tube. I had no idea what I was listening to. When you have an iPOD it makes you very odd in that you shuffle tracks from Brahms to Britney. Of course in reality I am sure what I was listening to was A New Brain - which is a musical about a NY gay Jewish man who gets a brain tumor - so to sound more mainstream I said I was listening to Rufus Wainwright. This led to a whole discussion on Vic Chesnutt, Tom Waits and various other artists he likes and I am quite partial to as well. The conversation ended with a promise of a "mix tape" or CD of some his vast record collection...

Being a suspicious person living and working in very suspicious times I made some discreet enquiries into the motivation here. Haven't come up with anything yet, so will have to wait and see whether I get a CD I suppose...

Sunday working hard

Today I Finally joined a gym. It took a while to get it all together, but now will have to make it a regular activity. I will also try and find a place to live that works in well with the trip home...

After 25 minutes cardio I have realised that a year and a half of non-gym activity has taken its toll. I am not very fit. Fortunately I was not alone in that department so I wasn't exercising in shame...

It is a fantastic gym as well full of great equipment and the rest so that is enough to spur on the motivation I think...

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