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No country for old women: Old Ladies - at Finborough Theatre

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The day after seeing The Old Ladies at the Finborough Theatre , I was describing the play to someone in great detail: about three old ladies who lived in a rickety house in southern England in 1935. Based on Hugh Walpole’s novel and adapted by Rodney Ackland, it is the sort of story with enough believability, humour and mild thriller to stick in your mind. Perhaps it is the lure of this dark, forboding tale of a life without money, to be alone and to be old, that makes you feel attracted to this poverty porn. But then again, given the state of the world, the cost of living, an ageing population, or just the fact that it’s a dog-eat-dog world, it might as well be an every little old lady-for-herself, too. It’s a well-acted and staged piece that moves at a brisk pace, so there isn’t much time to think about it too much. And in the intimate (or should that be claustrophobic?) space of the Finborough, there’s nowhere to avert your eyes. Even if you wanted to.  The scene is a grim Cathe...

Scenes from Soho Pride Sunday 16:50 at Soho Square. Today the punters came to Soho for a big gay street party. The weather even warmed up enough to make wearing a shirt unfortunately optional for many... Still there were some nice fit people out and about.

Walking home from the theatre on Saturday evening at this same location I saw some gentlemen who had featured in some straight-to-video films that are popular amongst the gay community. They were wearing t-shirts that proclaimed what Eastern European production company they belonged to. A was not familiar with Bel Ami so I had to explain their cultural significance... Posted by Picasa

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