Four Theatre Visits

I have not been to the theatre for ages then all of a sudden....
I saw Diary of a Football Nobody at Nottingham Playhouse. It is about Notts County in the 70s and I loved every minute. I guess it helps to be a football fan and to be aware of some of the characters of that era. Jimmy Sirrell was a wonderful man and so the play had nostalgia, lots of laughs but some very tender moments. All expressed with a lot of industrial language!

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner was at the Playhouse and I saw it on 27 October. Alan Sillitoe's book was brought up to date with a black man, who really could run, playing the lead. There was a treadmill on stage and that had our hero centre stage or carried to the back of the stage for others to come forward to play their parts. There was film of the riots and Cameron's speech that followed to put the action into a modern setting. Brilliant set and a great interpretation.

I saw The Ladykillers at the Theatre Royal with Begonia on 1 November. This was the classic Ealing comedy brought to the stage in a classic setting, in contrast to the very modern productions at the Playhouse. That is not a criticism because it properly created the right atmosphere for the outrageous happenings.  It was laughs from beginning to end and, of course, Begonia has perfect command of English and giggled in all the right places and never missed any innuendo. An excellent evening out.

Cheryl and I saw Of Mice and Men at the Playhouse on 5 November. We were worried that we might not hear anything because the audience was nearly all school kids. It must be a set book. What little faith we had in the youth of the country! The audience was excellent. Very respective and very responsive. Oohs and aahs when the dog came on the stage and a few screams at the dramatic end! Another modern minimal set but that reflected the barren lives they lived. I had some problem hearing everything that was said, maybe due to the American accents used, but there was no problem in the development of the story. A memorable production.

Two Concerts

Ed Sheeran appeared at the Capital FM Arena (Ice Stadium) (31 October) and I went with my daughter Annabelle. I bought the tickets one at a time, such was the demand, so we ended up sitting on opposite sides of the stadium. The place was packed with most people wearing leggings and shorts! I think my age exceeded the cumulative age of the people in my row.
He put on a great show, sang for 2 hours and commanded the thousands in the Arena. With raised arms he demanded and got the adulation of the audience. He got them to sing along, to shout and impressively to be very quiet while he sang a slow soft song. He is starting out on his career and he has to prove himself to stay at the top with a young and fickle following.
In contrast Cheryl and I saw Joan Armatrading at Buxton Opera House(8 November). I suppose she is coming to the end of her career but her following is faithful and her singing is strong as ever and the new albums keep coming. She filled the Opera House and gave a relaxed and powerful performance. She was miked up and moved around without her guitar, singing to us and getting us to respond with song and waving. She did not sing Willow but finished her encore with a new song! She is moving on and she is telling her faithful fans to move on with her.

Tango in Lincoln (2-4 November)

This weekend was organised by Lincoln Tango (www.argentine-tango-Lincoln.co.uk) and is an annual event. I attended last year and so was anxious to do so again. Lincoln is just about an hour's drive and so it is easy enough to commute and Regina, Lisa, Begonia, Lorenzo and Phil made the journey. The weekend is held in an Art Deco building of Bishop Grosseteste University College and it has a great floor.
Guillermo Torrens and Maria Maragaki (www.tangounlimited.co.uk) are regulars at this weekender and visit Lincoln often although are based in Newcastle. Santiago and Sandra Monticelli (www.letstangouk.com) were this years visiting tutors and Begonia and I knew them from a visit to Bournemouth. Both couples have featured with Flavia and Vincent in Midnight Tango.
So, with that line up of teachers, we had a series of workshops, all of which were excellent. I have on video a series of steps to learn and use. These steps were taught with the emphasis on the lead necessary to achieve the successful execution of the step. In addition we had three milongas and some marvellous demonstration dances.
A wonderful weekend. We had time on Saturday to explore Lincoln for a few hours and marvelled at the cathedral. On Sunday, three workshops and then a milonga, left us all exhausted but satisfied.

First East Anglian Tao Tango Weekend (19-21 October)

I am already looking forward to the Second such weekend! Paul and Paras are wonderful inventive teachers (www.tangoatelier.com). The weekend was organised by Jenny and Madeline and took place in Whitwell Hall Country Centre. This is set in the middle of an old wood (which featured in some of the workshops). It was a camp, so bunk beds, all food included, and a very friendly, supportive atmosphere due to the excellent organisation and the approach that Paul and Paras take to their tango teaching.
This is not a weekend to learn new steps although there was plenty of opportunities to dance all the steps you know in some lovely milongas and workshops. It is about taking tango to another mental level. We spent time walking around the wood, trying to examine it as if we had never seen it before, and translating this into a new attitude to tango. We had workshops where we were restricted in the steps we could use, so that we thought in terms of interpretation. We stood in a circle and conducted some music. Nobody was content to just beat time, we all brought in different instruments and responded to the dynamics of the music, so we should do this when we dance.
So if your tango thinking is just what steps to do next or what decoration to apply, then this weekend is for you, so that you can take your tango to another level.
I had to persuade Begonia to come to this weekend but I knew she would appreciate Paul and Paras' philosophy. She did, and expressed to them and to me, how much she enjoyed the weekend.
It was good to meet up with Sharon and Jim, which involved red wine, crisps, nibbles and lots of laughs!