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Still here: While They Were Waiting - Upstairs At The Gatehouse

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As the song goes, time heals everything. Or as another song says, it's time after time. Yet waiting—for a moment, a minute, or even a while—can feel like a chore. In Gary Wilmot’s slightly absurd and silly While They Were Waiting, the focus is on waiting and wordplay. No opportunity is missed to find more than one meaning in what is said. A debate arises about the difference between a smidge and a whisker. There's a playful riff on how you can be here and over there at the same time, depending on your standpoint. If this piece has a point at all, it depends on what you find funny. The concept of waiting-related language is, in itself, amusing, and there is plenty to laugh about in this show. It’s currently playing at Upstairs at the Gatehouse . The premise is simple: Mulbery (Steve Furst) arrives for an appointment and is kept waiting. What the appointment is for, we are not clear about but he is waiting for a yellow door to open. Nobody answers when he rings. He’s joined by th...

Buffering and biding: Waiting for Lefty @twolinestheatre

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Waiting for Lefty, Clifford Odets depression-era agitprop theatre piece gets transformed for the covid-era in this fascinating production that gives you a chance to both enjoy the work and immerse yourself in a post-show discussion about what you've just seen. It's an excellent concept for theatre streams and recreates interval moments of passing conversations (albeit curated with knowledgeable experts). By the end, you feel you appreciate the piece its context. Streamed through Zoom, there's a thirties-era look and feel to the piece. Yet as the drama unfolds, it is within modern homes. The anachronistic treatment suits the material well. It calls for minimal staging, and so having actors perform within their own homes takes this to a new level.  The piece starts with a group of cab drivers (and the audience) at a union meeting. The drivers are debating whether to strike for a living wage. And they're waiting for Lefty, their elected chairman, to give them an idea about...