3 unhappy experiences...

What a week - last Tuesday while running for the train I tripped on the last step up onto the platform, did a staggering 2 step run then went down bang. 5 days later my knees are still plastered up. And stinging. That's the last I run for a damn train to work.

Thursday saw Owen and I at the National Theatre to see the 30s comedy ONCE IN A LIFETIME which stars David Suchet, Victoria Hamilton and Adrian Scarborough. 

I must admit to being disappointed in the production. It's a perfectly fine play for the Lyttleton Theatre which has been given the full Olivier Theatre treatment and it rattles about the stage like a pea in a pod. It also mirrors one of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's criticisms of Hollywood - the original play is given the full Big Production overhaul with unnecessary big sets and interpolated song and dance numbers which only hold up the gags. 

The play still delivers some fine jabs at the insanity of the Dream Factory but there is some dodgy pacing which needs to be tightened up before the opening night. The set hopefully will be tightened up too. After the second scene the stage manager walked onto the stage and asked if we could all go into the foyer while they fixed the revolving drum which had got stuck! Ten minutes later we trooped back to our seats and the play resumed. Needless to say the massive staircase which rose out of the stage got the biggest hand of the evening!

Then on Friday showing the Devil works in threes... Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel at Shepherds Bush Empire. The win triple of indifferent act, vile crowd and bad venue. It was Owen I felt sorry for... 30 years to see a favoured artist only to be greeted with negligible sound, boozed-up punters and a charisma by-pass act. The one song I was looking forward to hearing COME UP AND SEE ME (MAKE ME SMILE) was of course lengthened further than necessary for the hand clapped call and response version.... yawn.

Roll on this week!