Posts

Featured Post

The agony and the misogyny: Banging Denmark @finborough

Image
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

Sunday phone conversation

Paul : Just what do you say to someone with a Prince Albert? Ad : How about, "Would you take that out for me please?" Paul : Yes it's good to remove the earrings before dinner...

Scenes from Clapham Common Fish pond Saturday 13:37

Image
Scenes from Clapham Common Fish pond Saturday 13:37 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Afternoon light...

Scenes from Elephant & Castle Saturday 00:15

Image
Scenes from Elephant & Castle Saturday 00:15 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Waiting for doors to open...

The Week by location

Monday : In Sydney having bad cocktails Monday night : In Brisbane hospital getting saline Tuesday : In Brisbane having lunch Tuesday night : On a plane to Singapore Wednesday morning : Arrive in Singapore 5am have shower at airport and change of clothes having managed to get noodle sauce over my polo shirt. Wednesday morning : Fly out of Singapore. The best thing about Singapore is the plane out of it. Wednesday afternoon : Arrive Heathrow. Wednesday evening : Arrive Clapham. Go to the high street for dinner. Weather curiously the same as I left it in Brisbane. Thursday : Back at work in body. Have cocktails in Brixton after work which gets the taste of the Sydney one's out of my mouth. Friday : Back at work in mind. Saturday : All is zen... Eating tuna sandwich while updating blog...

Taking time out...

No more updates on this blog until October 20... I am in Australia until then (Brisbane to be precise)... Until then check out my travel blog paulincognito.blogspot.com

Celebrity Watching at Covent Garden Saturday 18:15

Image
Celebrity Watching at Covent Garden Saturday 18:15 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . You can't say that I don't get the celebs. Here is Frank Langella's shoes in centre shot. He was sitting down talking on his mobile phone outside the Donmar...

Theatre: Frost / Nixon

A perfect antidote to Wednesday's debacle was the excellent play Frost Nixon at the Donmar by Peter Morgan (who also wrote The Queen ). It stars Frank Langella as Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as David Frost, recreating the interview in 1977 that led to Nixon making some astonishing statements about Watergate and obstruction of justice (including the one above). This was a sensational and gripping two hours in the theatre about a disgraced leader and a fading entertainer both trying to use each other to revive their careers. The drama behind the scenes and in the actual taped interviews is recreated to stunning effect. A bank of television screens suspended above also brings home the impact of the close up on Nixon. The entire cast is perfect but it is Langella and Sheen had you sitting on the edge of your seat. The closing lines of the play are as follows describing a party scene years later hosted by Frost: Walking through the crowds of air-kissing politicians, actors and hi