Posts

Showing posts from October, 2008

Featured Post

Heavy meta: Why am I So Single? @sosinglemusical

Image
Being young and single never seemed so fun, full of energy, yet full of contradictions in this high-concept meta-musical, Why Am I So Single? The fourth wall is not so much broken as endlessly pummelled as the cast talks directly to the audience. Frequently. But essentially, it’s about young people with neuroses and smartphone addiction exploring why they can’t find love in present-day London. Told with a series of spectacular songs and dance scenes in this new musical from the creators of Six, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. But while we don’t necessarily get an answer that rings true to the question posed by this show, you are likely to be distracted mainly by the energy and the songs. It’s currently playing at the Garrick Theatre.  A new musical based on an original idea, the premise is that Oliver (Jo Foster) and Nancy (Leesa Tulley) - which are not their real names but names taken from their favourite musical, Oliver - have to write a new musical but are stuck for an idea. So, after e

Movies: Burn After Reading

Sunday evening I caught the Coen Brother's latest film Burn After Reading . For me it was a great film where cock-ups and sex rather than conspiracy drives the world. Some people leaving the Barbican afterwards were commenting that "it was just farce"... As if that should be a problem with the film... Well I guess these are serious times we are living in but they are also f***ed up enough as well to appreciate a laugh... Particularly when there is a potty mouthed John Malkovich on screen... Frances McDormand's attempts to get automated voice recognition service of her health insurer to understand her voice reminded me of my attempts to pay my EDF energy bill. In the end I gave up speaking the commands to it and made up my own less than complimentary ones. I always enjoy the parallels with real life. Of course the film wasn't all the real deal... She worked in a gym where all the instructors were over 40... What gym would ever do that???

Hot news this week in London

Image
Another inflated story , originally uploaded by tonypraxis . Well... Nobody is buying 'em... Nice fashion shoot in the background too...

Overheard at the gym Sunday

Man #1: But what about (whisper whisper)? Man #2: No that's beef bourguignon... Man #1: But then isn't that (whisper whisper)... Man #2: No that's stew and it's much more watery... Man #1: Oh I thought it was stringy...

Scenes from the British Museum Saturday

Image
Scenes from the British Museum Saturday , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Hmm... Nice golden ass ...

Saturday at the British Museum

Image
A little bit autumn... Posted by email from paulinlondon's posterous

Scenes from the back row rehearsal

Image
The last two weeks the LGMC has been rehearsing at a school at the Barbican which what it lacks for space to socialise it makes up for convenience of getting home afterwards... While we have been busy beavering away at rehearsals the shows have been selling well... So much so that there is now a Saturday matinee on sale now... Posted by email from paulinlondon's posterous

Irony in London

Image
Fitness First , originally uploaded by Sim Dawdler .

Scenes at the Serpentine

Image
Taking in Frank Gehry's pavilion on a rather sunny day that felt like summer's last gasp... This pavilion is Gehry's first project in England and it will open to the public for another week... Posted by email from paulinlondon's posterous

Theatre: Two Gentlemen of Verona

Image
source:http://www.newstatesman.com It was a long and fascinating story as to why I found myself at the Barbican Friday evening to see Nos do Morro's production of Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona . For the purposes of the blog I can attribute it to Dame Fortune and the fact that when I saw AfroReggae with Felicity she had a go at all those white men in the audience trying to dance which turned out to be a source of cheap laughs. After reading my blog, Paul suggested I should go and see this production. I should point out that Paul is another Paul and I am not writing about myself in the third person. It's not that kind of blog... Anyway, Nos do Morro's production of Two Gentlemen of Verona is a real treat and full of so much energy that you can't help but like it. It is in Portuguese as well which means that I had no idea what they were saying (and the surtitles weren't a direct translation but rather the original Shakespeare text). But I wasn't going

Scenes on Clapham High Street Saturday

Image
A sure sign the economy is tanking... You can get a table at lunchtime at Breads Etcetera ... Without waiting 15 minutes... Now I have never seen that before... The coffee and food is great and so is the view usually (except when I was taking the pictures at this point, what was I thinking?)... Posted by email from paulinlondon's posterous

Scenes from a Rehearsal

Image
The view from the back row... Again... Posted by email from paulinlondon's posterous

Technology: iPhone

Image
I now have an iPhone which means that I can take more photos like this and in a very obvious way. No more sneaking a photo when people aren't looking. Taking a photo with the iPhone is a very obvious act... Still the best thing about it everyone is telling me is that they can see me at a party and then go home and see themselves on the internet... Well that's web 2.0 for you. One can take a photo and upload it via Posterous , Pixelpipe or Shozu so fast that you can totally disturb your friends and unnerve acquaintances... Of course I will miss my Nokia n95 . Sure it was even slower than the iPhone and had a rubbish web browser, awful mp3 player and did odd things with your contacts, calendar and task list, but over my last 18 month contract we learned to get along... After using it for a week I think the iPhone has an average phone, average camera, but an amazing browser and is afterall an iPod mp3 player... It could be the begining of a blurred but beautiful friendship...

Comedy: Tina C Tick My Box

Image
source: http://www.tinac.net/ Not content to see just one show this week at the Leicester Square Theatre , on Wednesday night I was back there with Richard to see Tina C's show Tick My Box . Having seen Dina Martina with Richard, I think he is becoming my drag act buddy. Well since neither of us are English we don't get so uptight about seeing men dressed up as women as much as some of the young gays on the scene seem to do... Anyway Richard is a bit of a Tina C fan and couldn't believe that as a gay man in London I had not seen her show before. Fortunately for me rather than suggest I should have my pink card revoked, he got me a ticket to her show. The premise of this show is that Tina C - a self declared country music icon - is running for President of the United States of America and is after your vote. She isn't red (Republican) and she isn't blue (Democrat) but purple, and she want's everyone to vote purple. Hmmm... Sprinkled through the act are a smatte

Hot news this week in London

Image
Global Warming meets Toxic Debt , originally uploaded by Andy Beez . This time Literally... Well at least the Circle Line will be chilled...

Comedy: The Kransky Sisters

Image
The Kransky Sisters tea towel , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . I went to see the Kransky Sisters Tuesday evening at the Leicester Square theatre and all I got was a lousy tea towel. Well actually... Being a boy from Brisbane I couldn't resist the cultural references. I'm sure growing up I saw that sign countless times on those long (and driving anywhere in Brisbane was long) family drives to dams. Of course you don't have to be from Brisbane to get their weird act, it only helps at the margins... Such as I saw the show with Stephen who is from Glasgow, and I had to explain that it was Wivenhoe Dam not Wife and Hoe Dam. He's going to Australia in a few weeks for a holiday so I figured the Kransky's were a good way to get him used to the place. The Kransky's act starts with a montage of photos to take the audience on a journey to the place where they are from... Esk to be precisely (which is best described as a few hours west of Brisbane rather than a