Theatre trips

I’ve been to theatre twice in the last ten days.

I went to see Chicago last week. Husband and I saw it years ago in London even though musicals aren’t really our thing. (I think he only went to see the London show because of fishnet stockings and Denise Van Outen’s legs. They were damn fine legs.) Anyway, it’s a great show, fabulous dancing and really funny with it (“He ran into my knife! He ran into my knife… ten times.”)

Then last night I went to see a production of Vagina Monologues. I’d seen this in London too, though not with Husband who simply isn’t brave enough for it. A lot of the first half is funny and the second half is harder hitting; in my opinion it requires experienced actresses (and/or directors) to draw the comedy out. Timing has to be spot on. I think it was the first night but they were plagued with technical problems, mics not working and so on. Interestingly it was part in Thai (with English subtitles) and part in English (with Thai subtitles.) Brave, I thought, but I’m not sure it worked. (Although one of the best monologues was a Thai woman doing the piece about Japanese comfort women in WWII. I was reading the subtitles and half watching her and despite only picking up odd words of Thai, she was bloody marvellous; really harrowing.)

But, the audiences in both shows, though, were shockingly behaved: talking, chatting, using mobile phones, leaving the auditorium mid act, and last night, opening a bottle of champagne!

I tell you, it brings out the ogre in me. It does, it makes me FURIOUS. I think I’m going to have to make a concerted effort to get my theatre fix when I come back to the UK in future.