Paul in London

A hold on updates to this blog while I am on vacation in Australia... I'll be back in London at the end of the July, but my news continues at http://paulincognito.blogspot.com.

24062007920 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . People watching in the afternoon...

23062007894 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . As the London Gay Mens Chorus prepares to go on stage for its half hour set as part of West End Live , there was time for topping up on the fluids... Well those lights and all... By the way despite appearances above, it isn't essential to be bald to be a member of the chorus...

Bears of the city will be delighted to know that the annual Manshear event takes place near Liverpool Street Station tomorrow... Apart from shearing body hair by trained shearers from New Zealand, there will be give-aways and fundraising for charity... Oh and anyone with body hair can sign up. It all happens in London...

source http://esales.roh.org.uk/ Upon arrival Tuesday evening to the Opera House studio to see the current production of Into The Woods , I couldn't help but notice the over-representation of gay men. Ok musical theatre is known for its over-representation of gay men, but this was ridiculous. Then I began to wonder, has Into the Woods become the new Wizard of Oz ? Sure there is no Dorothy and no rainbow. But there is the baker who has unresolved issues with his father, the princes who keep looking for the next best thing, a wolf with an incredible sexual appetite and a wicked witch. It all seemed rather like another night on Old Compton Street. Oh and not to mention a set that looked like parts of Hampstead Heath . This all could explain why it is sold out and barely a straight person in the audience (although there was a family sitting beside me but I was in the cheap seats). Into the Woods weaves the stories of several fairy tales together and then proceeds to tell what happens ...

Scenes from SW8 Sunday 11:40 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Hmm cawfee...

Woman: I had my wedding reception here... Man: Your first, second or third wedding? Woman: Oh first. After that who can be bothered with all that?

Friday evening I found myself in a packed and warm theatre to watch Fiddler on the Roof. I figured now was as good as any time to catch a production of this classic musical. The last thing I saw at the Savoy was Porgy and Bess and looking at the set before it began, I noticed it was all rough wooden planks. I thought I was still on Catfish Row. I had no idea a shtetl looked so similar to a South Carolina slum. As the show began, the set was so big, hideous and imposing, that it kept distracting me from the rest of the show... Watching it spin, things pop up, things got added to it. Only when the pogrom began towards the end of the first act (with real fire), did my spirits lift... Perhaps they would burn the silly thing to the ground? Darn, those cossacks just set a picture and a wooden box alight. Oh and they threw a pillow about. Hmm... Some pogrom... Sets aside, Fiddler is a great musical with its core story of a family and a community. The production managed to keep life in the ol...