Finally, Back to the Theatre

Leave it to my good friend Remi to finally pull me back into a theatre seat. I have been so preoccupied with projects and plans that it has been far too long. Remi called me yesterday morning and said he was in the queue for tickets to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and would I like to join him for the show? Well, yes. So we met that evening to see the modern American classic by Edward Albee and I am so glad we did.

Remi had bought rush tickets. Rush tickets are tickets that are sold the day of the show. Usually, they are at a discounted price to encourage students, artists and others looking for a lower ticket price to come to the show. Sometimes they are "leftovers" but often producers offer Rush tickets to give a chance to see the show to those who can't get a ticket because it is a sold out or the regular ticket price is a bit steep. This often requires joining a line first thing in the morning or just before the show, depending on the rules of that particular Rush. Remi was an early bird on this occasion.

The play was at the Harold Pinter Theatre which is a West End venue. I had been there before to see the musical Sunday Afternoon. It is a lovely theatre. The tickets Remi scored were box seats. Although box seats sound very posh, I don't usually care for them because the angle means the full visual of the stage picture is cut off. But with the architecture of the Harold Pinter and the staging of this single set, small cast play, the sightlines weren't too bad. We really didn't miss anything. If it had been a big musical the sightlines might not have worked so well. The box did provide some lovely perks. We were in comfortable, movable chairs as opposed to fixed theatre seats. This meant we could adjust and get in and out of our seats without climbing over other patrons. And we had lots of leg room and space for coats and bags. In fact, there was a coat tree in the box. The box also had access, through a second door, to a private lounge area complete with a private washroom. Unfortunately, I didn't discover this until after the play and spent both of the two intervals running downstairs to the ladies' loo. Oh well, good leg stretch. After the show, however, we explored and admired the private lounge.

The play itself was very good. It starred the amazing Imelda Staunton, Conleth Hill, Imogen Poots and Luke Treadaway. It was directed by James MacDonald. Set and costume design by Tom Pye and lighting design by Charles Balfour. Virginia Wolf is a domestic drama, set in a New England University town and takes place over one evening. Martha (Staunton) is the Unversity President's middle-aged daughter and she is married to George (Hill). After a formal welcome party hosted by the University, George and Martha return home to await the arrival of Nick (Treadaway), a new Biology professor and his wife, Honey (Poots). George and Matha want to personally welcome the young couple to the community. As the night progresses, secrets and conflicts within the couples and between the couples start to arise.

Many might remember the film version of the play starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. It is a very intense play and I am in awe of the energy these actors must harness to get through the show every night. They did a fantastic job and as an American, I give the all-British cast a special shout out for doing beautiful American accents. Staunton and Hill were very well paired as George and Martha and truly captured all the complexities and layers of the characters and their relationship to each other. The set too was spot on, designed to be an American Craftsman style New Englan home.

I am so glad Remi called. It was a brilliant night at the theatre.
Coming up this week, I have some meetings and a workshop to attend at ITC.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Take care!
-m