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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
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Overheard in the gym

Man (to another): Lorrell, where's my dress?
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Film: Last King of Scotland

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Idi Amin gives a speech to his people. , originally uploaded by foxsearchlightphotos . Some people like rom-coms, some people like dramas, some people like political thrillers. I like 'em all, but I did have to lie to get F (who dragged me to that Holiday film) to attend this. Since he knew nothing about the film or Idi Amin I told him The Last King of Scotland was a comedy. A comedy it ain't but a great blend of fiction and fact with an incredible performance by Forrest Whitaker as Amin. Ok Whitaker has been around for years, but this is going to be a performance to be remembered... The fictional part of the story involves a young doctor ending up going to Uganda and ending up as Amin's personal physician. Against this is the real story of Amin's erratic rule and reign of terror. You don't see much violence in the film until towards the end. It is enough to want to make you throw up in a popcorn bucket, but a worthy experience all the same. The film looks grea
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Scenes from the tube Tuesday 23:12

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Scenes from the tube Tuesday 23:12 , originally uploaded by Pauly_ . General shenanigans...
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Music: Dreamgirls

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I finally got hold of the double CD album of Dreamgirls with Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose and Jennifer Hudson. They all sing on this album and for a Broadway score about a motown-like group channeled through a movie soundtrack idiom (with R&B producers) I think it was fantastic. Also with what is likely to be the best possible cast assembled for the job. The show is all about compromising to get that "smoother sound" and I enjoyed the irony of it all with the super-smooth sound of this album... Oh and when it arrived it was hard not to revert to complete stereotype (see previous post on Jake Gyllenhaal). But hey, this is still great music. The single album is at the top of the billboard charts this week. This album could potentially go the way of The Bodyguard . Ok it doesn't feature Kenny G, but who knows what will do it for the punters these days? The dance mixes for "One Night Only" and "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Goi
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Conversation openers for January...

You look like you should be on Strictly Come Dancing. Nice shirt. Zara ? Nice profile. Online. Which gym are you at? When did you see Kylie at Wembley? Looking forward to Dreamgirls opening? Speaking of Dreamgirls. Jake Gyllenhaall appeared on Saturday Night Live and provided a tribute for his "brokeback" fans...
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Unique selling proposition...

Vauxhall: Home of spooks and gay men. Discuss...
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Music: Mahler's Ninth

I caught Mahler's Ninth Symphony at the Barbican tonight. Conducted by Daniel Harding with the Staatskapelle Dresden it is a great piece about life and death. Towards the end the tension was so tight you could feel Mahler's presence. Or it could have been the man in the pinstripe suit to my right breathing heavily. I wasn't quite sure what that was about but it added to the tension of the evening anyway. Who said going to a concert solo wasn't an adventure? Anyway a fantastic performance by both the conductor and orchestra. One other thing I noticed was that many of the women in the Staatskapelle Dresden brought their handbags onto the stage and slung them over their seats. It was an interesting grab bag of handbags to see. Security back stage must seem to be a bit dodgy...
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Scenes from London Bridge Tube

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DSC04298 , originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Sudoku is still popular with tube goers... Thanks to the two free afternoon newspapers including it in their pages the punters cannot get enough of it...
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Movie: The Holiday

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I didn't particularly want to see this romcom or chickflick... But F dragged me to it on the guise that it was funny and that it was at the Canary Wharf cinemas where he could sign up to this new movie deal where you pay £14 a month for 12 months and you could see as many movies you like. You do have to provide a bank statement and in this day and age of electronic banking who the hell has one of them? I also find this chain of cinemas to have the worst cinemas in London. They are usually dirty and smell like a toilet. While the Canary Wharf cinemas were clean, the toilets were flooding so I figured that was keeping consistent with their standard. As for the film, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I did like the idea that Kate Winslet's character walks from her job along Albert Embankment to possibly Clapham Junction railway station. It is such a long walk that the exercise no doubt kept her trim and looking gorgeous. She then has a gorgeous little countryside cottage i
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People: Tonya Pinkins

The National Theatre was having a discussion with Tonya Pinkins on Wednesday. She used the time to talk about how she landed the role in Caroline, Or Change (which is about to finish its London run) and talk about her career and her book. She used her book to workshop how to take a compliment. She asked the audience to turn around and pay a compliment to the person behind them. The person receiving the compliment had to say "Yes it's true. Thank you". Much laughter ensued as people complimented people's shirts, smiles, hair... It is just not the done thing in London normally...
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