Review – After October – Finborough Theatre

Plays with similar themes seem to becoming a bit of a habit with us.

Following on from last week’s Once in a Lifetime which took a pop at playwrights struggling to make sense of being holed up in Hollywood studio basements comes Rodney Ackland‘s possibly semi-autobiographical not-seen-in-London-for-over-eighty-years After October.

Review: Call Me Madam, Upstairs at the Gatehouse

Phil suffers from vertigo (and everyone around him suffers too) so the Whingers had never before ventured Upstairs at the Gatehouse whose unique selling proposition is that it is “officially London’s top theatre – we’re 446ft above sea level!”.

But ripping off their oxygen masks they were heartened to see that this was actually very much their kind of venue – a sign on the auditorium’s door (see below) which invited, nay almost ordered them to “Drink as much as you like”.

So from grumbling about the Gatehouse’s unreserved seating policy and it’s stupid  ticket-reservation-by-answerphone system (“we will only call you back if there is a problem”) their moods shifted instantly to exactly the right frame of mind to enjoy a Sunday matinée performance of Irving Berlin’s Call Me Madam.

Review – Candide, ENO at the Coliseum

“Dear ENO. The West End Whingers would love to see Candide but their policy of paying to see West End shows has reduced them almost to penury and an ENO ticket might well push them over the edge. As both are adamant that they never want to shop at Lidl, they are reduced to begging for two excellent press seats. Andrew has two cats to support and Phil has a very expensive Night Nurse habit.”

Yes, it’s pathetic, but that’s the credit crunch for you. And with stalls seats at £83.00, what can you do?

Fortunately the ENO came up trumps and offered the Whingers FREE seats – “on this occasion”.

Unfortunately the reviews came out the very next day:

• “Loud, brash, heavy-handed and leaving little to the imagination” Evening Standard
• “What a load of camp old cobblers” The Times

Too late. The trap had snapped shut.