Coming soon – Orlando Bloom

Andrew got terribly excited when he found out there would be a revival of David Storey’s play In Celebration. As a Storey virgin he felt it was time he dipped his toe into fresh waters. Storey’s plays are described as having “long descriptive passages detailing many items that appear at least superficially to play no role in furthering the plot”. Andrew claimed he was completely sold on the idea and dispatched Phil to the Duke of York’s Theatre to book before the stampede.

Of course Phil didn’t fall for Andrew’s enthusiasm for a minute. Could Andrew have been seduced by the West End debut of Hollywood heart-throb Orlando Bloom? Despite Andrew’s protestations Phil remained deeply suspicious.

Bloom has appeared in 4 of the 15 top grossing films at the U.S. box office so Andrew wasn’t going to take any chances waiting for an offer on this one. Daniel Radcliffe may not have been enough to get Andrew over his squeamishness about seeing Equus but he wasn’t going to miss out on this little moppet. Update: here’s the review.

Andrew’s badgering of Phil continues, the Bloom event isn’t the only thing that Andrew has cajoled Phil into seeing. So the Whingers are giving a sneak preview of what they’ll be donating their summer evenings to in the coming months:

• Betrayal at the Donmar. Andrew swore he would never sit (or fidget rather) through a Pinter again after recent experiences, but the conceit of seeing the story, a love affair played in reverse order, convinced Andrew that even if he didn’t get a healthy snooze it would all be over in 90 minutes anyway. Update: here’s the review
• The Pain and the Itch at the Royal Court. A comedy at the Royal Court? Andrew fell off his chaise longue laughing so much, that he felt he’d already had enough amusement whether he saw it or not, but the chance to tag along with City Slicker proved irresistible. Update: here’s the review
• Into the Woods, Sondheim’s classic, at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury studio theatre. The Whingers love it but think it does go on a bit after the interval. The Whingers were very disappointed to discover that according to their website it will be “Sung in English”. Still the production does boast Anne Reid and Clive Rowe which should be enough to stop Phil having to constantly poke Andrew to stay awake. Update: here’s the review
• Saint Joan at the National. Oh dear, the Whingers expect this to be very long evening indeed. George Bernard Shaw does use an awful lot of words, but then he was a vegetarian and teetotaller so presumably he had to find something to fill his time. Should the Whingers arrive at the interval so they don’t miss her burning at the stake? Phil’s contemplating taking the matches out of Andrew’s eyes during the first act to ensure an early conflagration. Still, we’re sharing the pain by forcing Natasha from the wonderful Interval Drinks blog and City Slicker to sit through it too. Update: here’s the review
• The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder “takes a provocative look at married life, and the alternatives.” states the National’s website. The Whingers have been studying these alternatives for a while now, but Andrew whipped himself up into a right old froth when he saw that his telly favourite Triangle‘s Larry Lamb was gracing the production and left Phil with no alternative. Update: here’s the review
• The Hothouse. Yet another Pinter! What is going on? The National claims this one is “at once chilling and deliriously funny”. Andrew is calling it Phil’s revenge. Update: here’s the review

The Whinger’s hope you aren’t as exhausted as they are just reading the list – and these are only the so-called highlights!

If any other theatrical bloggers like a drink and a whinge and fancy joining us, please let us know. Plus Andrew will be grateful to have someone intelligent to talk to during the interval.