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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

Concert: Follies

Sunday evening I caught the Starlight Foundation's Charity Concert of Follies. Some jaded theatregoers had warned me over the weekend it would be a bit dire with its stunning array of B-list stars front lining it, but actually it was quite entertaining. There was something perversely amusing watching the punters in the packed-out Palladium go ape over a series of world famous (well, world famous in Britain) ladies in the 55 plus age bracket. Most I didn't recognise.

The show lends itself well to a concert version, as (much as I expected) while the music is great, the story is dire. Two hours of two couples - middle-class, middle-aged has-beens - bickering does not make a night of entertainment, even if that is the point. As a concert version it feels easier to ignore the story. But fortunately the piece has , and with the full orchestra on stage and even the odd cameo by ITV newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald...

Even sitting in the cheap seats it was a lot of fun, although I didn't hang around for the charity plug at the end of the evening... I had seen enough. Besides the people sitting either side of me seemed to both have a bad case of halitosis... Talk about that ticket being a false economy...

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