Scenes from the Royal Court Theatre Saturday


220920072512, originally uploaded by Paul-in-London.

Theatre dust thanks to the sets being smashed by a rhinoceros... More later...

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Attending a late-night play during a public transport strike may sound unwise—certainly the choice of a diehard theatre fan, especially since it meant walking London’s streets at midnight to get home. Yet, as I recounted this on Friday to explain my tiredness, I found myself laughing about how funny The Sequel was. Lucas Closs, an emerging writer, fills the play with enough intrigue and absurdity to keep you enthralled—even as you wonder how you’ll get home. It’s currently part of the late show at the King’s Head Theatre. The premise is that Grace (Nisha Emich) returns to the cafe where she wrote her first book, which became wildly successful. The cafe has become a small museum, or shrine, to her work. It is completed with marzipan figures of the main characters. John (Jim Findley), who was a central character and poet in her book, is now a crusty old tour guide.  Some years have passed since the novel first appeared, and business isn’t what it used to be. Fewer tourists are making...
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Gods and Monsters , now playing at the Southwark Playhouse is a showcase of incredible performances from its terrific cast and an engaging story. Oh and there is a bit of full frontal nudity too. Based on the novel Father of Frankenstein (which was also the source material for the film of the same name ), the story is a blend of fact and fiction. Age, memory, fame, youth and loss collide in the story of the last few months in the life of English director James Whale. Whale director and creator of the first two Frankenstein films, had a moderately successful career in Hollywood which enabled him to live comfortably in Los Angeles. He was also openly gay. But following a series of strokes in his sixties, he lost his ability to prevent painful memories from his past flooding back. And without giving too much away, his most successful creation, the monster in Frankenstein, seems to become something far more personal.
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