After the Dance, at the National August 14, 2010
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Reviews , add a commentSometimes, theatre hurts. Sometimes, a well-made drawing room drama full of elegant people and witty lines comes up from behind and attacks, but it does it so beautifully that you’re grateful. After the Dance, Terrance Rattigan’s tale of 1920s socialites growing older and desperately trying to stay bright young things in the face of the Depression and the approaching war, is such a play.
The Scott-Fowlers have been happily, if rather distantly, married for 12 years, and are the mainstay of their Mayfair set. They have a long-term houseguest, John and a secretary, Peter, with whose fiance Helen David Scott-Fowler falls in love, and a set of stereotypical 30s B-listers – a drug addicted aviatrix, a wealthy socialite with an eastend toyboy, the former lover who’s become ‘serious’ and runs a window washing business in Manchester. Everything is extremely well lubricated (“Everybodies a bore unless you drink”) and they dance around each other almost never saying what they mean.
Nancy Carroll is superb as the gay hostess Joan Scott-Fowler, intent on gossip and frippery, drinking her way through life, refusing to be ‘boring’. There’s something terribly fragile about it all, and when she finally breaks, even with the stilted emphasis on being ‘in love’, the agony is painfully real.
But it is the questions posed by the central character, David Scott-Fowler, that really resound. What do you do when you realise your life has been meaningless? When you don’t like who you are, but know that to change would be impossible? When you’re smart enough to see your faults, but not strong enough to change? Played by a far more serious Benedict Cumberbatch than we’ve had in Sherlock, he takes us through the painful reality of a destructive mid-life crisis step by self-absorbed step. Cumberbatch is wonderful, with a voice that could be standing right beside you even at the back of the Lyttleton, a large theatre. I think I’d be happy listening to that man read a phone book.
When this play was first performed, in 1939, it ran to sellout audiences which suddenly disappeared when war broke out, and was rarely performed again. I wish I’d caught it earlier in its run, as it would reward seeing again, but sadly, it finished on Wednesday. It is a classic.
Boris Bikes – Love them, getting a bit frustrated. August 9, 2010
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : London , add a commentYesterday, I took a Boris bike from Eversholt St down to the National Theatre. Cycling through Bloomsbury and the West End, on back streets with very little traffic is a real joy, and then over Waterloo Bridge, pedalling as fast as I could because roadworks mean there’s no room to move over and let the buses pass. Sorry folks, hope you enjoyed the view (the river, not me).
Going home though, I caught the bus. It’s not that I didn’t want to get a bike, but none of the ones in the rack outside the Lion King would open for me. I was worried – what if I hadn’t managed to dock the first one properly, and was now clocking up huge bills, or facing a £300 fine if it was lost. The call centre was no help, just a human answering machine to take details and ‘call you back’, maybe.
Back home, and on the website, it is clear that the bike had been returned, but I notice a few extras. A journey I hadn’t made, an annual subscription and an extra key, later reversed. My account page is a load of nonsense. I’m not out of pocket, but I don’t trust these people with my credit card.
Like our latin-quoting mop-top mayor, it all looks great fun, but once you get down to the detail, there are some serious problems which, if not dealt with quickly could turn the scheme into a PR (and perhaps real) nightmare. I hope there’s someone sensible dealing with it – it might be time to stop taking new applications, and certainly not to send transactions to banks, until the systems have been thoroughly tested. And from a PR point of view, it would be nice to hear some clear communication, rather than the email I got yesterday, reminding me that if I didn’t dock a cycle properly I’d be liable for the fine.
In the meantime, I guess a little caution is called for – perhaps take a photo of the bike in the dock when you return it (the receipt printers on the kiosks are apparently not very reliable), take regular snapshots of your online account.
I hope these are teething problems, and are sorted soon. This scheme is far too good an idea to let implementation botch-ups get in the way.
Bicycle, Bicycle August 1, 2010
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : London , add a commentAbout thirty years ago, I had a nasty bicycle accident on my way home from school, and I’ve never quite had the courage to use them since, but Boris’ new bikes might just change all that. I’ve registered, and have a key so this afternoon I took the plunge and had a little wobble around the quiet streets of Somers Town.
The bikes are heavy and solid, with three gears, dynamo lights and a comfortable seat. The bar is ‘ladies’ style, so you could ride it in a skirt, and there is a full cover over the chain, so your trousers won’t catch. They won’t be winning any races, but might just win a few hearts.
Certainly, I attracted a lot of attention cycling around Somers Town, and spent most of my first half hour explaining it to people. If you want more information, its all on the transport for london site.
£25 million invested in bikes, £7300 million invested in bombs
And I’m very pleased to see that they’re already being subverted. Who could let Barclay’s sponsorship escape unmentioned?
