Paul in London

This week I finally caught up with Cat On A Hot Tin Roof that has been playing for a while. Directed by Debbie Allen , the all-black cast in Tenessee William's play about Brick, a man who is sexually ambivalent about his wife Maggie, while visiting his family estate in Mississippi. Given that Brick is played by Adrian Lester and the show opens with him taking a shower you could appreciate why she is a little frustrated by this scenario. The audience the night I saw it became a little frisky after this opening scene as well... It's not my favourite Tenessee William's play and there is way too much exposition and labouring on about Maggie being like a cat... On a tin roof... That was hot... It was hard to buy Lester as an alcoholic either mourning over the loss of his dead friend or on the down-low . More convincing was that he was pissed off rather than pissed with his moody looks and occasional throwing of his crutch ... Still it was an entertaining production, particula...

This week saw two trips to the Royal Opera to catch the final performances of The Rake's Progress , an opera by Stravinsky and directed by Robert Lepage and Dalston Songs , a song cycle written by Helen Chadwick . Stravinsky's Rake is inspired by the paintings by Hogarth , although the action here takes place on the west coast of America during the 1950s. It is a pity that it didn't take its modernisation a bit closer to the present day as then the tale of green might have had a bit more bite... As an opera it does tend to drag a bit (all that neoclassical window dressing), but what it lacks in focus and brevity it sure made up with the performances and the stunning production design. The moral of the story summed up very nicely in the epilogue was that the devil makes work for idle hands... Obviously for idle operas it doesn't matter so much when they look this good... Saturday night's performance of Dalston Songs was a different affair. There were no fancy set pie...

Extra sauce , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Asking for extra katsu curry sauce almost makes you forget that the chicken at Wagamama is dry and overcooked...

Coffee and sfogliatella from Princi... via Pixelpipe Posted via web from paulinlondon's posterous

It is a bit hard to work out why they have this sign outside of the Aberdeen Angus Steak House in Soho. Perhaps they now are selling tube steak. Then again, nothing like a bit of saucy humour to take your mind off what they pass for the menu... via Pixelpipe Posted via web from paulinlondon's posterous

Well... Found on the back of the door of the men's... Posted via email from paulinlondon's posterous

It's not easy being a green tenor Posted via email from paulinlondon's posterous

The Silence of the Lambs is a movie that calls out for a parody... At least to take the edge of some of its more intense moments. Therefore it was with much anticipation that I ventured to Above the Stag theatre in Victoria to see Silence! the musical . For anyone who has seen the Silence of the Lambs more times than they care to remember, this is a great little musical that doesn't disappoint, which even bases its main theme on what the composers call a " pleasant major mode variation " on Howard Shore's Silence of the Lambs theme. This production in the intimate (or cramped) Above the Stag theatre is full of fine detail from the movie, such as Jodie Foster's inexplicable accent, her lesbian relationship with her roommate, and her cheap shoes... The music includes such little gems as I can smell your .... complete with slightly suggestive ballet and a tango Quid Pro Quo. Throughout the show a chorus of lambs can be found running on and off stage... The cast wer...