London Visit

The trip to London went well. Best Beloved and I realised this was one of very few occasions we had been up together alone. I have made solo trips in the past or we have made lots of trips with other people. However, this was the first time in a long time, we had travelled up to London together as a pair and by train. It was a good feeling and a good experience.


I bought a ticket for the Wednesday matinee of "Gods of Carnage" and am now looking forward to a return visit to the capital this week. The Best Beloved wants to get on with props making for her "Bronte" production so is allowing me to go up unaccompanied. I hope to write a 250 word (or thereabouts) review on my sister page, Bench Hamlet 2008, before the end of the week.


We visited the National Portrait Gallery to gaze at the portrait of the three Bronte sisters painted by their brother, Branwell. He eventually painted himself out and then the painting was lost. It was found about 80 years later in 1914 by the second wife of Rev Bell Nicholls folded up on top of a wardrobe. The painting has an almost medieval look and shows the limitation of Branwell's artistic technique, especially in a gallery surrounded by wonderful examples of contemporary Victorian portraiture. We spent some time in the Victorian galleries as this was the period of history I studied long ago. The great Whig and Tory statesmen beam down from the walls. sprinkled with the occasional radical or Liberal reformer.


We went downstairs to the contemporary portraits and the Camera Press Gallery. Camera Press is 61 years old, having started in 1947. Part of the exhibition is contemporaries who were born in 1947. I must admit that year was a particularly good vintage. I may no longer be fit for purpose and the old virility is not what it was, but I can be good company. Or at least I have often found myself to be so on my solo excursions or rambles - is that eccentricity or mental instability, I hear you ask?


The exhibition that really caught my eye was Underexposed, photographs of black actors by Franklyn Rodgers. This is several triptychs, which rotate through a sequence. Each photograph is beautifully and remarkably lit. Each photograph is accompanied by a comment from the actor or actress about their craft or art. The beauty of the photographs and the depth contained in the simple statements about acting contained everything I need in art and I could have watched the sequence through again and again. You can see what I mean if you visit http://www.4therecord.org.uk/index.aspx?pageid=41.


We found the Cockpit Theatre and a nearby little Italian restaurant. I have a little collection now of Italian restaurants in London; Da Mario's, Carluccio's, Da Paolo's. The Zonzo is not quite in the same class but it does sit exactly opposite the Paddington Green Police station, the most secure police station in the UK. Therefore the Zonzo is a quiet little establishment up near the Edgeware Road tube station on the Bakerloo line (north from the station) which I can recommend.


And so to the Showcase. We spotted the agents in the audience immediately. They were the ones with all the CVs gathered together in neat sheaves and organised in order of the pieces we were about to see. Fourteen duologues and one monologue were lined up taking in a couple of Pinters, a Marber, an Austen and a couple of film scenes, whose titles I recognised, such as "A Life Less Ordinary" and John Fowles' "The Collector". I have just realised that the two film scenes quoted contain a kidnapping and a young woman chained to a radiator. Am I revealing further examples of eccentricity or mental instability or peccadilloes? I love that last word but I had to look up its definition: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/peccadilloes.


Anyway the evening began and I realised that the choice of material revealed a theme of sex anyway. It isn't just me, you know? There was a parade of very pretty and attractive young women either interacting with men, such as the scene from Marber's "Closer" , or with other young women ,such as the scene from "Sense and Sensibility". Now don't get me wrong here - in most circumstances, I welcome an array of pretty women (see me yesterday at the Mad Dog registration day talking to 5' 4" air hostesses, young but head turningly good looking) - but after a while the appeal wears off. As an audience I need more and the scenes were brief and a lot of the acting didn't start until the scene was well underway and sometimes hadn't started when the scene had finished. I felt a bit of a Simon Cowell coming on and 45 years of non-professional theatre was weighing heavily upon my shoulders. Kat was appearing top of the bill in an excerpt from "Birthday Party". My parental nerves were being stretched and it was with almost a sense of relief that we arrived at her duologue. I know I am highly prejudiced but it was the best performance of the night. The performance and characterisation started offstage and it was Meg who appeared as the scene started. She wrung laughter and pathos from the part. The scene got audience reaction, which had been lacking earlier, and both Kat and Andrew also added the Pinter menace for good measure. I am proud of my girl, not just because she is my girl, but because she is an awesome actress. I watched her later in the week rehearsing the part of Charlotte Bronte with enormous integrity and emotion. The difference in roles was marked but she carries both off with real style and verve. Kat has the makings of a good professional actress, she is talented and has lots of technical ability, and I hope she is motivated enough to make a go of it in a very tough world.

It was certainly heartening to see one of the agents make a beeline for Kat in the bar afterwards and engage her in a very long conversation.

Over on my 'Bench Hamlet 2008' blog I review "Speed-the-Plow" and "God of Carnage" as mentioned above.

I am also a fully signed up member of the Mad Dog Casting Agency and met several interesting people (beside the 5' 4" air hostess) while we were all being filmed by a BBC3 camera crew. Hopefully job opportunities will now start to come my way - yyyyyayyyyy!