Posts

Featured Post

Somewhere that's green: Potty the Plant at Wiltons Music Hall

Image
"I'm Potty the Plant," sings a potted plant in this odd little fringe concept of a show. It's hard not to get the tune out of your head, even if the show is brief. It's an earworm for a show that features a worm-like plant as a puppet. And given the show's brevity, running at only an hour, it's hard to get too annoyed by a lack of a coherent story, even if it still seems like the show could use a bit more development (which is underway). It has made its London debut at Wilton's Music Hall. The premise is that Potty, the plant, lives in the hospital office of Dr Acula (geddit?) and dreams of a life with the cleaning lady Miss Lacey (Lucy Appleton). But Dr Acula might be responsible for why all these children are disappearing while trying to romance Miss Lacey for her family's money that she doesn't have. Three nurses are on the case, trying to solve the mystery.  If the show settled on a convincing plot, location and set of characters, it could ...

In the news this week...

Image
IT'S HARDER TO HOLD YOUR PINT WHEN YOU'RE STONED , originally uploaded by the_moog . Not sure what the story is about but it probably doesn't matter. The South London Press is an entertaining read for those who like to read lovingly retyped press releases and filler before the ads for Foxtons ...

Scenes from Open House Weekend Sunday

Image
160920072484 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Admiring some of the best architecture London has to offer as part of London Open House weekend ... In (informal) architectural terms it is called "big penis structures"... Goldfinger (the architect) obviously had some issues there... They don't build 'em like that anymore...

Movies: 2 Days in Paris

2 days in Paris was pretty good. Written directed and starring Julie Delpy it was a bit like a French Annie Hall. It may not be such a great movie to see if you are single, with all this angst on screen about being in a relationship and being alone. Catching it with Mandy (who is single too) she didn't have as much a problem with that but rather that the characters didn't stop talking. Well they were New Yorkers. I just found it great therapy. It showed that there is hope for all eccentrics out there to find somebody just as weird. The funniest scene involved no dialogue on the metro as they were getting spooked by a crazy guy with no sense of personal space. Oh the memories of Paris that came flooding back (even if when I was there I knew the crazy guy). Shot on the streets of Paris I have made a mental note to get back there once the new Eurostar link opens in November. Sure Waterloo looks great in The Bourne Ultimatum but the Eurostar from St Pancras looks even better ...

Dance: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

Image
Source: http://www.alvinailey.org In a week with a head cold from hell (which meant no gym, a lot of rest, and no socialising), it was somewhat of a relief to get out and see Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre at Sadlers Wells on Saturday night. Arriving at the theatre with the above artwork plastered all over the theatre (and most of Islington), I expected little was spent on the costume budget. But in a programme set to legendary jazz music, it turned out to not be the case. This was a bit of a relief as after a week of coughing and spluttering who needs to have somebody else's physical fitness rubbed in your face? After the first interval I caught up with Fliss who was there with her posse. Fliss signed up to see the show on the strength of a viral video that was doing the rounds in the past month. I was there just for the artistic enrichment (plus I got a great seat at good price). Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Anyway I joined them the first interval o...

Benefits of a tube strike

Image
, originally uploaded by Orhan* . 1. You can walk home while the weather is still good 2. Save money on travel fares 3. Excuse to get home early and watch the sultry Nigella flog Waitrose products on the BBC

News: Nobody's going anywhere

Image
Nobody's going anywhere , originally uploaded by thegareth . Unless you can take shanks's pony, the next few days are going to be a bit of a nightmare ... Until today I had no idea what shanks's pony was... I had to look it up... So there's a word for the day ...

Overheard from a family on cycles in the park...

Your seat looks really comfortable I don't know why you wanted to start the day cycling at 5pm I wanted to go out much earlier but everything's closed Aw come on mum...

Scenes from Kensington Palace Gates Saturday 18:42

Image
010920072370 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . That's the trouble with being the people's princess... The people can be a bit cheap and tacky with their memorials made out of cereal boxes, old newspapers and ball-point pens... Ten years after dying in some car tunnel thanks to a pissed Frenchman, the display at Kensington Palace must be the most hilarious thing in town at the moment... Cheap, tacky and nasty... And that's just the women (of a certain age) there pushing and shoving you if you take too long to read the messages (or photograph them)... All that was missing was "Die Camilla die"! Don't miss it... Those ASDA flowers won't last the weekend...

Theatre (again): Little Me

Image
Source: http://www.nymt.org.uk In a packed week of theatre I also caught a youth theatre production of Little Me which actually was pretty good when you realise it was put together in under two weeks . The night I saw it the sound was a bit off and I couldn't help but wonder what drag queen they stole those wigs from. But Sarah Hagan was lovely as Belle Poitrine... As much as I was able to hear her...

Theatre: The Emperor Jones

Image
From http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ Tuesday night I had the chance to see The Emperor Jones at the National Theatre starring Paterson Joseph . The production originated at the Gate Theatre in 2005 and has been pumped up and given the usual National Theatre treatment such as loads of cast members on stage for no comprehensible reason, shirtless men, gigantic sets, and a large percussion orchestra. Most of the time that is enough to make a show enjoyable but this time I kind of wished I had seen the original production rather than this monster one. Sure the jungle beats were infectious (and so loud that nodding off even during a bit of a dull exposition was only temporary) and Joseph gives a great performance, but it all seemed like it could have benefited from remaining a bit smaller scale... The play is about a southern American conman Jones, who establishes a dictatorship in the West Indies, only to find himself facing a people's revolt. It made Eugene O'Neil famous. But...