Tag: Miriam Margolyes

Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams, Theatre Royal Haymarket, With Jilly, Followed By Annalisa’s Party, 10 December 1988

Obviously I was better from my 48 hours of food poisoning by the Saturday. I’m pretty sure I went in to work on the Friday and then a full weekend of activities.

Now I have had written complaints from Jilly already about my handwriting, so the above page is only for artistic effect. Here is the entry for the Saturday:

Saturday 10 December: Driving lesson & Orpheus Descending With Jilly & Annalisa Party

There – that wasn’t so challenging, now, was it?

I remember really liking this play and production. What a fabulous cast.

The Theatricalia website lists the production thus.

Note that we saw this production three days before the stated first performance, so Jilly and I must have gone to see a preview.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review:

Billington on OrpheusBillington on Orpheus Thu, Dec 15, 1988 – 28 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Kate Kellaway’s Observer review

Kate Kellaway on OrpheusKate Kellaway on Orpheus Sun, Dec 18, 1988 – 40 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

They made a film based on that Peter Hall production with some (but not all) of the cast we saw in it. Here is the trailer for that movie – far more melodramatic looking than the stage production I remember, but still it should give you some idea:

For that particular evening, I’m sure that the original idea was that Bobbie would join me to see this play/production. But when she had to pull out for some reason, it made a great deal of sense for Jilly to act as sub, especially as we were both invited to Annalisa’s party and were given leave to be fashionably late arrivals.

In truth, I cannot remember specific details of this particular party at Annalisa’s place in Hinde Street, but her parties were always popular, always lavish in hospitality and always late nighters. At that time, just a couple of years after Annalisa had finished at Keele, I suspect it was a very Keeley crowd that night.

As the diary says, on the Sunday, I:

…went to G Jenny with Ma & Pa…

…the next day, quite probably a little tiredly and sore-headedly. But Grandma Jenny no doubt wanted to know all about my new flat and my new job, so I’ll guess that I was centre of attention that Sunday afternoon.

A New Keele Year Beckoned, Once Lloyd Green & I Had Prepared, Atoned & Got To Keele, Eventually, In Lloyd’s “Trusty” Motor, 9 & 10 October 1981

Forty years on, Dave Lee at Freshers Mart selling his wonderful book, The Keele Gigs! – available by clicking here. Picture “borrowed” from Dave Lee’s Facebook posting.

Between finishing my holiday job in late September…

The Last Four Weeks Of My 1981 Summer Job, Including New & Old Friends, Preparing My Return To Keele, A Near Miss & Losses, 30 August To 26 September 1981

…and returning to Keele, I squeezed in quite a lot of activity.

Some of the activity is more than a little illegible or indecipherable. I know that Lloyd Green and I were working hard those last couple of weeks towards a Keele racism awareness day, Anti-Facsist Day as it was badged. That activity, at places such as Hillel House, needed to be co-ordinated around the Jewish Holidays – Rosh Hashanah (New Year) was 30 September/1 October that year. Col Nidre/Yom Kippur 7/8 October.

Interspersed with those activities (with minimal regard for the rigours of the Jewish holidays on my part) were plenty of socials:

Sunday 27 September …Anil [Biltoo]’s for dinner party…

Wednesday 30 September …Met Jim[Bateman] at Rose & Crown…

Friday 2 October …Paul [Deacon] came over in the evening

Saturday 3 October …Anil came over for supper – went on to a party with him & friends -> back to Anil’s till early hours

Tuesday 6 October -…went up to town to look at Hi-fi [to help choose replacements for items stolen in a burglary a couple of week’s earlier] – met Caroline [Freeman, now Curtis] for lunch. Buy books…

OMG – “buy books” – at last a mention of something that might be vaguely connected with preparing for a new academic year at Keele. I was certainly preparing well for the social side of it.

In those days, I would attend South-West London Synagogue (colloquially known as Bolingbroke) with my dad for Col Nidre & Yom Kippur services – the latter being pretty much a whole day affair.

Even by 1981 the congregation was on the wane; just a few dozen people. I was one of a handful of younger people who would still show their faces there.

I’ll write more about that congregation elsewhere, but I was reminded recently (forty years on) of one regular attendee on those high-holy days, Miriam Margolyes, who would regularly attend with her partner. Far and away the most interesting “nodding acquaintances” amongst what was mostly a small group of traditional old men.

CelebHeights.com, CC BY-SA 4.0

With all of that effort preparing an honourable education campaign against racism and the many hours spent atoning for my first year at Keele, I might have anticipated an easy time getting back to University the next day.

But no.

Friday 9 October 1981 – Left home midday – [Lloyd Green’s] car broke down – arrived late – key not to be found – stayed at John’s

By my reckoning, the journey to Keele from Streatham would normally be about three hours, so Lloyd and I clearly had quite a lengthy ordeal as a result of that break down. I don’t remember the details – Lloyd might of course and I’ll certainly report back here with his remembrances, if he has any. It might be that breakdowns twixt Keele and Streatham were a fairly regular event for him back then.

I think “The Lloydmobile” was something like this

I owe “John” both thanks and an apology. Thanks for putting me up/putting up with me that night and apologies because I have no idea which “John” this diary mention is talking about. If there is a John out there who wants to put up his hand and claim the merits for this act of charity, please chime in with your claim.

Saturday 10 October 1981 – Rose Early – Freshers Mart – went to town after. Simon [Jacobs]’s party quite good in evening.

Judging from the headline picture above from 10 October 2021 – thanks again Dave Lee – Freshers Mart has not changed much in forty years. Did I mention that Dave is at Freshers Mart forty years on selling his wonderful book The Keele Gigs!?

That book is/will be an invaluable source for my Ogblogging. I learn, for example, that Simon Jacobs’s party saved me from seeing Mud in the ballroom that night. Simon (and his sister Sue) had studiously avoided seeing Mud at Lindsay the previous term, whereas I had seen them then.

Visits & Magical Memories As Clear As Mud: Towards the End Of Summer Term At Keele, 9 to 20 June 1981

Mud, like Morris Dancing, is one of those experiences one should try once at the very most, I feel.

Still, I was back at Keele for another year. Hooray.