Tuesday night was another first to cross off my invisible list. I saw my first full length dance production and loved every minute of it. I’d never seen the film but armed with a quick read of the synopsis on IMDB, felt brave enough to venture far north and brave both branches of the Northern Line to EC1R.

It is a truly magical and quirky show. The performances are entrancing, the set and costumes a delight and there are moments of great humour in there. One of the funniest scenes is where one of the mothers tries to seduce Edward into giving her a trim in the downstairs department while her husband mows the lawn in the background. The scene’s climax involves a washing machine and had the entire audience in stitches. If you can get tickets, I’d wholeheartedly recommend it.

The only disappointment of the evening was the lack of 5-way scissors at the souvenir stall. A missed merchandising opportunity I think and after all ’tis the present wrapping season where they would save so much time.

Oh and one more thing…as we left the fantastic Sadler’s Wells Theatre, my friend Lynn stuck her nose in her scarf and said “Oh no, I think I’ve done the perfume thing again”.

The ‘perfume thing’ is a reference to another theatre performance we went to many months ago. I think it may have been ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ but we couldn’t be sure. What we did remember was the Duke of Kent was sitting in the row in front because we both thought it was an unexpected choice for a Duke’s night out. Anyway, Lynn spent the entire interval and second act trying to find out who was wearing the wonderful perfume she could smell. She asked the lady on her left (no it wasn’t her) and she asked the lady in front (who shaked her head). The Duke escaped questioning on this occasion and was left to chortle undisturbed.

When we left the theatre, Lynn started laughing hysterically. I mean the show was funny but not so hilarious to bring a forty-something woman to her knees in a theatre foyer. When she’d stopped laughing enough to actually force some words out, she dropped the bombshell: “Oh Tin Tin, I think it’s me!”

This weekend, I’ve been on a voyage of discovery into the fascinating world of online atheism. What got me started down this rabbit hole was stumbling upon some great YouTube clips from a weekly cable TV show in Austin TX called The Atheist Experience:

The Best Caller Ever
Man Came From a Monkey
Why Don’t We See Real Miracles Today?

Parts of these clips come a little close to making fun out of a caller for their lack of education (which leaves a sour taste in the mouth) but to be fair I don’t think that’s their intention at all. I watched an entire “call in” show from start to finish and these guys are incredibly smart, generous with their knowledge and patient with callers. I learnt a lot.

Then there’s the individual YouTubers who are starting some fantastic debates:

Why I am an Atheist
It’s Tough Being an Atheist
My Dad Confronts Me About Atheism, Again
Child Dies Because Parents are Idiots

Going off on a tangent for a second, how fortunate are we to be living in these amazing times? Complete strangers can come together and discuss this important (and very much taboo) subject. That is the one of the most exciting things about the internet for me.

There are also some fantastic websites out there such as God is Imaginary which has some superb videos.

Finally just for entertainment, have a look at this page:
Caring for the Animals on the Ark

Here’s one of my favourite quotes:

Studies of nonmechanized animal care indicate that eight people could have fed and watered 16,000 creatures. The key is to avoid unnecessary walking around. As the old adage says, “Don’t work harder, work smarter.”

Words really do fail me…

This animated feature has been getting rave reviews and after seeing the film yesterday, I can see why. Waltz With Bashir is a fascinating documentary about Ari Folman (Director), piecing together his memories of the 1982 Lebanon War.

The movie is visually stunning and captivated me from start to end. Mixing photorealistic and illustrated elements in the same frame is an interesting style that jarred with me at first but somehow it works. The shocking ending is absolute genius and leaves us in no doubt about the inhumanity of war.

I went to see Eddie Izzard last night as part of his Stripped tour at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea. I’m not sure why but this great talent seems to have passed me by. I’ve only ever seen bits of him on TV…you know a toe poking through a fishnet…(at least I think it was a toe).

Oh my goodness me he’s funny. A recurring phrase last night was “I’ve decided there is no God” which is a subject very close to my heart these days. A particular highlight was the rant about the impossibility of Noah’s ark. After setting it up by stating the perfectly reasonable “you get a pair of lions and tigers in an ark and there would be nothing left” he follows it up with a mock news report.

We’re just waiting for the people and animals to come out of the ark. Should be any moment now.Yes here they come…there’s two lions…and two tigers. [pause] Well I’m sure the others are just getting their stuff together.

Priceless. So now I’m an Eddie fan and have a lot of catching up to do.

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of seeing the new production of Cabaret at the Birmingham Rep. I’d never seen the show or indeed the film before but had only heard good reports and this production did not disappoint.

Samantha Banks as Sally Bowles

Normally when it comes to theatre, I admit to being a stalls snob – if I can’t sit in the first 15 rows or so of the stalls, then I normally won’t go! I have a similar rule about flying long haul in economy…but that’s for another post. Cabaret had received such great reviews that it was fast selling out and the only option was to ‘slum it’ in the back row. More about that later.

From the moment Wayne Sleep pokes his head out of the O in the giant WILLKOMMEN letters to welcome us to Berlin, you know you’re in for a good evening. The cast are superb all round. Samantha Banks plays the female lead, Sally Bowles. In case you didn’t watch the BBC’s ‘I’d Do Anything’ talent search, she was one of the runners up. During the series I only warmed to her near the end, but if you see Cabaret, you’re in for a real treat. She has the most incredible voice even more so when you consider she’s only seventeen.

The only toe-curlingly embarrassing moment in the show is when Wayne Sleep breaks out of character and after a staged “mistake” involving switching places with a female dancer does a “you think I’m too old to do that do you?” routine with the audience. Suddenly we’re transported from Berlin in hot pants to Blackpool in panto. So tacky and unnecessary. Reminded me of seeing Connie Fisher in the Sound of Music when she got laughs for totally dropping out of character and being Connie. Something to do with eating a cake in a comedy fashion I seem to remember…

I can’t finish this post without mentioning the sound. I hadn’t been to the Birmingham Rep for many years and it’s such a great theatre. I don’t know whether it is known for good acoustics but every word was crystal clear and the orchestra sounded rich and sumptuous. Just wonderful, even from the back row. I heard other audience members commenting on it during the interval too.

So a big thumbs up for an amazing show. After Birmingham, the show visits Bristol, Liverpool, Nottingham, Manchester, Woking (I’ll be revisiting for a closer view), Cheltenham, Bath, Leeds, Truro, Northampton, Eastbourne, Malvern, Southampton, Hull, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and finishing up in Glasgow next April.

Full tour details on the Bill Kenwright site.