Month: October 2019

Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp. by Caryl Churchill, Royal Court Theatre, 5 October 2019

We have a split jury on this one. I found the production interesting and entertaining in equal measure. Janie didn’t much like it.

You can read the reviews for yourself – click here and then beyond.

Many of the reviews agree with me. Some of them agree with Janie. It was that sort of production.

Sort of four short plays – the longest, Imp, being an hour or so long and comprising the whole second half. I liked that play the best.

The other three were very short and took up the first half, interspersed with a juggler and an acrobat during the set changes between the three.

Here is a link to the Royal Court resources on this production/collection of plays.

Caryl Churchill stuff is always challenging and a bit different…this production was no different…if you see what I mean.

As a collection of plays, the production touches on themes such as violence in our society, myths and the relentless desire to turn just about anything into a marketing opportunity. The final play, Imp, brings several of those themes together, subtly, in an understated, domestic chamber play.

Excellent cast, direction and design throughout. But the standout performances, for me, were the quartet in Imp: Deborah Findlay, Louisa Harland, Toby Jones and Tom Mothersdale.

Bus outside The Royal Court, Sloane Square - geograph.org.uk - 1089253
Don’t think we’d have made it if we’d bussed it

We had terrible trouble getting to the Royal Court on time on this occasion – we really must allow more time in future. The journey seems to be taking longer by car now on a Saturday evening and we keep allowing less rather than more time. We arrived in the nick of time. Others didn’t. Our marriage has just about survived the hair-raising journey and the difference of opinion about the production. Just about.

Middlesex End Of Season Stuff, Lord’s, 30 September & 4 October 2019

With thanks to Colin Short for this and many of the photos.

The cricket season once again seemed to be over in the batting of an eyelid. Some wags might argue that Middlesex couldn’t even have batted an eyelid in the county championship towards the end of this season. But I’m not that sort of wag.

For both the members’ forum on the Monday and the end of season lunch on the Friday, I was able to secure suitably timed real tennis sessions, hopefully gaining lots of useful practice with my doubles partner, Dominic, ahead of our quarter-final appearance next week.

The Monday evening forum was a surprisingly civilised affair, with members expressing their disappointment with the championship season but little of the bile that some thought might emerge.

Chatting with several of the regulars at the post forum drinks, the mood was mostly quite optimistic for next season, hoping that the progress made this year with the white ball might filter through to the red ball cricket next season. It was also good to hear about several really promising youngsters coming through the seconds – I didn’t get to see any second team cricket this year.

Friday 4 October 2019

I was shocking at the tennis this morning – hopefully getting my bad match out of the way ahead of the proper match next week – whereas Dominic was terrific – hopefully going from strength to strength and then next week yet further strength.

Janie was fashionably late for the Middlesex event although mostly for the unfashionable reason that she had a power cut at Noddyland while doing the washing, which set her back time-wise. Then her cab didn’t show up.

Undaunted, Janie arrived ahead of the meal while Gus was doing the introductions.

Our table included Westy, Brigit, Geoff Norris, Charles Robbins, Jane Saxton and David Kendix – only the latter escaping Colin and his new iPhone camera towards the end of the event:

Jane & Westy
Colin showing off his new phone/camera to Ged (or should I say Ian?)
Geoff Norris coaching Stuart Law, while I look on and Daisy looks away
Geoff & Charles
Westy & Brigit
Ged & Daisy

But before we got to the point that there was all that detritus on our table, we dined on this:

With awards and stuff being done between courses
Dawid Malan was Players’ Player Of the Year AND Player Of The Year
David Fulton presents the Youth Player Of The Year award to Josh de Caires, via his helicopter dad, Michael.
The Women’s Squad pay tribute to retiring stalwart Beth Morgan (in bright red).

After the awards, we were entertained by a highly skilled and entertaining magician. Some wags would suggest that he must have used magic to get our cricketers consistently to catch his deck of cards as it was thrown around for one of the tricks, but I’m not that sort of wag. The magician did somehow manage to extract a £20 note from Angus for his last trick – that could only possibly have been done by magic – the rest of that outstanding trick paled into insignificance after that initial piece of sorcery.

It seems to me that this event, only recently revamped as an awards lunch in this style, is going from strength to strength each year. The tone of the event is a superb mix of professionalism and clubiness; very much in keeping with Middlesex’s ethos.