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The agony and the misogyny: Banging Denmark @finborough

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Banging Denmark, the comic play by Van Badham, answers the question, what lengths does a misogynistic pickup artist go to date with a frosty Danish librarian? It may be an uneasy farce given the subject matter, but it is made more palatable by the cast assembled to convince you of it. It's currently having its European premiere at the Finborough Theatre .  It opens with Guy DeWitt (Tom Kay) at one end of the stage. His real name is Jake, and he's a part-time podcaster whose expertise is misogyny and playing the role of the pickup artist. That is, someone who attempts to coax women into having sex with a mix of flattery or manipulation. His podcast attracts a variety of involuntarily celibate men (or incels), so call in asking for advice. And while he gives the impression of living the high life, he is in a grimy flat strewn with empty pizza boxes.  At the other end of the stage is feminist academic Ishtar (Rebecca Blackstone). She lives out of the photocopy room, losing all her

Scenes from N1 Saturday 19:10

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Scenes from N1 Saturday 19:10 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Post match patriotism flying from a Georgian Terrace.

Scenes from N1 Saturday 15:16

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Scenes from N1 Saturday 15:16 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . It is going to be a quiet month if England do as well as expected in the World Cup . England's first match yesterday afternoon against Paraguay emptied the streets and filled the pubs. It also closed shops (such as this one). I was in a pub where the match was only on a 42" CRT television set so it wasn't quite such a focus of attention (a true sports pub should have nothing smaller than a standard issue plasma television nowadays)... Interestingly England's performance yesterday wasn't as crash hot as everyone was expecting . Their victory (thanks to an own goal by Paraguay) wasn't really celebrated on the streets of London. The reaction was more like relief... Assuming the team picks up their game, it is going to be a long month...

Scenes from SW4 Saturday 13:43

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Scenes from SW4 Saturday 13:43 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . If you drive a really crap-looking car in London, then the chances are that you will have St George flags protruding from the back windows of it to show your support for England in the World Cup . The flags are sold everywhere and are really cheap. This makes up for the extra £10-20 you are likely to spend on fuel consumption due to their drag if you have them up for the entire duration of the cup. To be fair to England supporters, now that the cup has started other flags have appeared as well. On Friday I saw a Merc sporting both English and Mexican flags...

Scenes from the V&A Museum Wednesday 17:32

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Scenes from the V&A Museum Wednesday 17:32 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . If there is something Londoners love, it is boring looking chairs on display in a museum as part of a justification of modernism . Politics, design and cheap mass production all combined made up for an incredibly dreary and mind-numbing exhibition. Nevertheless the punters are flocking to it, as afterall why wouldn't you pay big money to see a chair like this? Much more interesting (and quicker to get through) was an exhibition on Che Guevara based around his iconic photograph taken by Alberto Díaz Korda on March 5, 1960. It is considered to be the most reproduced image in the history of photographs and whether or not it is true, it has become a symbol of pop culture. The original photo (and contact sheet) is on display along with the countless t-shirts, posters, ice cream wrappers, handbags, album covers that either used the image or were inspired from it. What is it about that scruffy-looking revolut

Theatre: The Drowsy Chaperone (in New York)

Another postcard from NY… This time a review of The Drowsy Chaperone ...

Scenes from Soho Sunday 19:23

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Scenes from Soho Sunday 19:23 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . All the sun and drink was a bit too much for some who had to take a quiet nap on Old Compton Street. He was just resting. Paramedics helped him to his feet shortly afterwards...

Scenes from Clapham South Sunday 15:21

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Scenes from Clapham South Sunday 15:21 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . This weekend was one of those glorious sunny days that we have had so many of in 2006. Before this weekend May 4 was warm and sunny and that was a Thursday. So everyone was on the common wearing as little as possible.

Scenes from the tube Saturday 00:37

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Scenes from the tube Saturday 00:37 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Waiting for the last southbound Northern Line... It was 20 minutes late...

Scenes from Tate Britain (late at Tate) Friday 19:43

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Scenes from Tate Britain (late at Tate) Friday 19:43 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . A (un)fashion show and cheap alcohol got the punters in... There is too much art in London to see on a weekend that is glorious and sunny (like today) so Late at Tate is a good way to it out, and be under the influence of something as well...

How to get on Broadway...

Another day another postcard update from New York. This time it's how to make an appearance on a Broadway stage . First of all, you buy a ticket to the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee musical. It is worth it…