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Prayers and thoughts: The Inseparables @Finboroughtheatre

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The Inseparables brings Simone de Beauvoir’s posthumously published novel to life. It traces a lifelong friendship between Sylve and Andrée, two unconventional girls who grew up in a stifling world where being a woman meant getting married or entering a convent. With a quick pace and engaging performances from the two leads, it is a journey back into the 20th century that captures two unconventional women trapped in a conventional world that will have you reflecting on how much or little things have moved on in the last century. It’s currently playing at the Finborough Theatre .  We’re introduced to Sylve praying for her country, France, to be saved from the war and indoctrinated into the world of faith and obedience. But too smart for all that, her life was full of detached guilt and boredom. But when she meets Andrée, a new arrival at her school, she is struck by how different she is from everyone else. She was burned in a fire and had a passion for life that nobody else she knew...

Theatre: La Cage Aux Folles

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271120072894 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Sometimes you can't keep a good polyester down... First preview at the Chocolate Factory the curtain had a mind of its own. And so did the costumes... Sitting in front row I got a lap full of beads during a particularly vigorous number... Then there was the occasional firm grip of Philip Quast on my shoulder... Was all this intimate production of Jerry Herman's big gay musical worth it? Well as a musical it is a pretty dated show. It isn't called La Cage Awful for nothing. Back in the eighties it was no doubt all very daring so you could probably overlook the incoherent story and weak characterisations. On the plus side (and unlike the new Priscilla musical that will be making it's way to London) it is an original musical and not some jukebox of crap disco tracks. And it has a few nice numbers. In this production where I was sitting so close to the stage in such an intimate space there were a few nice touch...

Scenes from an office kitchen Thursday

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221120072880 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Office tip: Don't defrost your soup in front of colleagues. They may make interesting comments about it...

Rehearsals: All Week

I was informed this week that gay men are famous for their taste in clothes and interior design, but definitely not their music. When I suggested that it wasn't all that bad and that I was rehearsing the song "True Colours" they said that only proves their point. Well whatever the merits or otherwise of the song, I am singing it with twelve other men from the chorus for the Accentuate The Positive concert. This week we workshopped how it would play out... Complete with choreography... I can never tell how these things sound or look but since nobody was screaming "Oh the horror, the horror!" that can be only a good thing (in fact we were getting compliments on it)... Mind you, after singing and moving for three hours True Colours my mind started to wander about the lyrics... You who are oversize Don't be discouraged With your thunder thighs It's hard when your obese... The rest of the week was rehearsals too... Hmm this singing is becoming a bit of a lif...

Scenes from Ausralia House 17 November

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171120072869 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Voting in Australia is a favourite pasttime. Voting often (in the same election) is also popular so they ask you if you have voted before... Still not as many people were around to vote this time as there was in 2004, and there were no lamingtons in sight . Maybe they realised it wasn't going to be close with Kevin07 ... Particularly with an amazingly dud campaign by the Coalition

Overheard at the Tower of London

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161120072792 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . American Boy: Mum, what's torture American Mother: That's when you hurt someone to get information from them American Boy: Oh... Is it justified? American Mother: Yes I think it is in some circumstances...

Hot News in London this week

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South London Depress , originally uploaded by Ronald Hackston . According to the South London Press , the ritual dog-burning in Streatham takes place every Tuesday. Sometimes they mix it up a little and put it in a car on fire...

London is changing indeed...

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Took a quick look at St Pancras station which opens later this week as the new Eurostar terminal... Looks rather good but rather than show my photos I thought it would be much nicer to show the current ad campaign from France...

Scenes from Lewisham Friday evening

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091120072732 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . London is home to much wild life... Pigeons, squirrels, foxes and shopping trolleys can all be seen on its streets... This one looks like it has come from a giant Tesco (it was that sort of neighbourhood)...