alobear | Historical politics, Heralds, Burlesque, Bafflement and a Horse-tastic show!

Very behind on reviews right now, so here goes...

This House:
This is a play about House of Commons politics in the 1970s. That’s not a subject that would ordinarily interest me. However, various people highly recommended it to me, so I went along willingly enough. My knowledge of the history and cast of characters was almost nil, I must admit to my shame, but the plot was very clear, and the characters well-formed enough for that not to be a problem. My experience of the play was punctuated at regular intervals by the loud, barking laugh of a woman further down our row. Her response was often slightly delayed and sometimes rather inappropriate in my view (though I am often confused by what other people find funny, so perhaps that was just me), and she also whooped her appreciation a couple of times in a manner I felt was a little out of place. However, I’m glad she enjoyed the show, which I did find very funny in places myself, and very much enjoyed, as well. Overall, the play was well-staged, the performances were good, and it ran the gamut of humour, horror, triumph and tragedy extremely skilfully. It certainly wasn’t comforting in its portrayal of the machinations of those charged with governing our country, but it was an excellent evening’s entertainment all the same.

Closer to the Chest:
This is a Heralds of Valdemar book by Mercedes Lackey, the latest in the series that I've been listening to as audiobooks. The previous one in the series was very weak and disappointing, in my view, but this one was at least somewhat a return to form. There was an intriguing central mystery about someone attacking women by sending them hurtful letters or vandalising their shops and temples, which raised some interesting questions about religious sects and their rights to their beliefs. Lots of my favourite characters were around in this story, which was fun, and I generally enjoy spending time in Valdemar. So, this was an entertaining listen, and I will keep buying the books as they come out.

World Burlesque Games Final:
I attended this on the evening of 10th December, on a day when I had risen at 6:30am in Inverness and spent most of the day on a train. By the interval, I was pretty much wishing I'd not bothered, since the acts in the first half were less than stellar. Considering this was a professional show, the quality of the performances wasn't a patch on the usual standard at Burlesque Idol (which is for amateurs). There were some good ideas, and brief glimmers of talent, but mostly I was disappointed. However, I'm very glad we stayed for the second half, because it was hugely better. The Polish butterfly was a particular highlight for me, and I was surprised when she didn't even place, because she had one of the best costumes I've ever seen, and she performed her whole act with tremendous grace and flair. So, I'm glad we went in the end, though I think we'll be sticking to House of Burlesque events in future, rather than London Burlesque Festival ones.

No Man's Land:
On Monday, I had an evening of glorious bafflement, in the company of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan, which is always a pleasure. They dominated the stage in a production of this Harold Pinter play, which I believe defies explanation. I recognised all the individual words they spoke, but the overall meaning of the play was totally beyond me, I'm afraid. Still, that's not to say I didn't enjoy it! Both actors gave wonderful performances in what was quite a physically demanding play, and also required them to learn huge, rambling monologues, which were of course delivered flawlessly. The audience reaction was largely very enthusiastic, though not from the two older ladies sitting next to me, who didn't clap at all.

Olympia:
Yesterday was Olympia Horse Show, always one of the best days of the year. The Shetland Pony Grand National was awesome, as ever, despite a bit of a pile-up on the last corner. The dog agility trials were tremendous fun, not least because the dogs themselves were obviously having a whale of a time. The display of the Lusitanos was effortless and very impressive. The Spanish guy who directed both horses and dogs to do odd things was less unsettling than the French guy who does a similar thing, but with animals that are clearly very unhappy. The showjumping was of a very high standard, and mum and I had lots of fun pretending to be experts and discussing the various aspects of each course at length, no doubt to the horror or amusement of those in the audience around us. Great day out - roll on next year!