From One Extreme to the Other

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The last two days have been great fun. They show the range of interests that I have - or at least, the things that I find to amuse myself with once the working day is over.

One of my new year’s resolutions is to start going to the theatre again. I used to go all the time, but have rather slowed down over the past few years. So - I decided to start up again and went to see “King Lear” on Tuesday night.

My goodness - not a slow start at all. I had never actually seen “Lear”, although I had to read it several times in college. A light, frothy, end of the working day play this is not. Depressing and LONG! I am not a huge fan of Shakespeare’s tragedies to begin with (read my rant about “Macbeth” in a previous blog), but this is one that I always thought had a pretty good story and some interesting characters. It is one thing when one is reading the play and can put it down - quite another when one is sitting in the theatre with no escape. The show started at 7.00 and ended at 10.45 - with only one short break. There was a tad of squirming in the seats by the end.

Having said that, this production was put on by the RSC - nearly always a guarantee of good Shakespeare. In addition, Trevor Nunn directed - nearly always a guarantee of good theatre. And, it was actually quite entertaining. Nunn managed to find the humour and the pathos, which can sometimes be tricky in one of Willie’s tragedies. Ian McKellen played the lead and was incredible. As he continued to descend further and further into madness, it was incredibly moving. I couldn’t help but feel so sorry for him. But best of all, it was possible to actually understand what the actors were saying and (I know, what a concept) follow the story simply by listening to the dialogue.

Speaking of Trevor Nunn. I am, by no means, a groupie. There have been very few people that when I have spotted them make me go weak in the knees. However, a few years ago, Jeremy and I were having dinner and two tables away from us, Trevor Nunn, Sir Peter Hall and Andrew Lloyd Webber were all having dinner together. These three are the gods of English theatre and I was quite star struck. Jeremy had to threaten me with bodily harm to get me to stay in my seat and stop staring at them!

Although it was very late when I got home and I had about an hour of admin to do before I could go to bed, I’m very glad I went to see it. And, now that you all think I am highbrow and snobby, guess what I did last night?? All right, you’ll never guess - I went out to the O2 Centre to see the Spice Girls!!!

What fun! Now, I am just a tad too old to have been a huge fan the first time they were all playing together, but the girls put on a great show and the crowd absolutely loved it. I’ve always thought that it must be such a rush to stand on a stage and hear thousands of people singing one of your songs back to you.

What was interesting was the crowd’s reaction to Posh Spice - now known as Mrs. David Beckham. For those of you who do not follow English football, this guy is second to none and has a huge fan base. Just the fact that Posh is now his wife warranted her huge responses every time she “sang”. I use the quote marks as the girls were obviously lip syncing, but who cares? It was still a great show.

What really made me smile? Towards the end of the show, they did a set of late ‘70s and early ’80s music. The crowd went wild and knew every word to every song. I’ve always said that the music of my generation was the best ever…

Tonight? It’s home to my little flat, my sofa and my duvet. Bliss!

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