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A little less conversation: After Sex @Arcolatheatre

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According to research, millennials in rich countries are having sex less these days. But they were prepared to talk more about it. So, it is no surprise to see a story about what happens when a series of no-strings-attached encounters start to become attachments. And the conversations arising from it. Such is the premise of After Sex, Siofra Dromgoole’s two-hander of the conversations afterwards. It’s not particularly sexy or erotic, and the snappy pacing and short scenes sometimes make you wish they stayed longer to finish the conversation. Nevertheless, it is still a funny and, at times, bittersweet picture of single lives in the big city. It’s currently playing at the Arcola Theatre .  He is bi and works for her in an office job. She is neither ready for a commitment nor to let the office know what’s happening. He isn’t prepared to tell his mum there’s someone special in his life. He doesn’t speak to his dad, so his mum is his world. It’s a perfect relationship/arrangement. Or so it

Opera: Faust

Friday night I caught the opening night of Faust, featuring Angela Gheorghiu and Piotr Beczala. It is a fantastic production, although at three and a half hours it did test not only one's concentration but one's glutes. Gheorghiu reprising her performance from 2004 was probably better suited to this role than the one she attempted earlier in the summer with Tosca, but the jury has to be out on the blonde wig she wears in the role. It was however Beczala's night and the audience saved the most applause for him…

I did get the feeling that the best parts of the opera are all in the first half. Particularly in this production the ballet dancing through hell in the fifth act felt way too literal. All told however the production was lavish and there was plenty to take in…

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