Paul in London

IMG_1505 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Now there's a date for the diary...

Not counting the West End Whingers and friends, the audience for Megan Mullally and Supreme Music Program appears to be a mix of gay men and their mothers. And lesbians. Some lesbians even brought banners to unfurl during an opportune moment. Here's hoping this is a new trend in the West End for lesbians with banners amongst the audience, particularly if they help performers feel less nervous... When she sings George Jone's The Grand Tour , a song about a man who finds his wife has left him and taken their child, it brought the house down. She sings the song from the point of view of the man, as originally written which went down well with the audience... It's not really lesbian music , but it could be. The band sounds great and the choice of music is refreshing with a mix that isn't old standards or songs from shows she has been in... The show promotes her Will and Grace fame to get the punters through the door, and then delivers an evening of great and lacklustre

Some movies just linger in the mind a few days after seeing them. The none-too-subtle use of colour, period setting and innuendo in Tom Ford's A Single Man is one of these. Watching a movie set in 1962 in a the Chelsea Cinema , which has kept its retro 1973 interiors largely intact, also aided with the atmosphere. It's as if you could be part of the film, living in Colin Firth 's lovely glass house thinking about topping yourself. Well who knew that suicide could be so stylish and sophisticated? It was hard to believe anybody in this film could be suffering in any way given they wore such lovely Tom Ford clothes and had such tight skin pores, but if you suspend disbelief about the story and go along for the lesson in style, it is a trip worth taking. Have made a mental note I need a facial though...

Amongst the gin and tonics and the noise we pass judgement on Tuesday night's performance... Listen! via AudioBoo Posted via web from paulinlondon's posterous

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...