I’m
remembering exactly why I do like living around here and I’ve definitely
got my happy vibe back! Not that the travelling idea has been shelved - far from it, but the desperation seems to have passed.
Rob
Crouch as Oliver Reed: Wild Thing started the ball rolling on Thursday
of last week with a fantastic one man show depicting the life of the
famous actor. I had not seen
any of Crouch’s work before so had no idea what to expect. Sometimes
this is the best way to approach theatre –no expectations and allowing
yourself to be blown away.
Green
Room Productions upped the ante on Friday with The Wife, The Mistress, The Chair. A powerful drama in the tiny Little Theatre, the production
and the venue complementing
each other perfectly and I am sure there were moments where every
single audience member was holding their breath from the suspense. I
love Green Room Productions and hope to see them continue to grow over
the next few years – although selfishly, not too much
that I can’t get tickets!
A
completely different prospect on Saturday afternoon was Sutton Theatre Company’s Return To The Forbidden Planet. My sister being in the cast,
attendance bordered on compulsory(!),
but STC do put on an good show – bright, slick, colourful and energetic
– so it was worth the journey. Their sets and costuming are always
great and this musical really suited them as there’s lots of big
production numbers to show off their strong singing.
Watching my little niece totally engrossed in the show was great fun
too.
Sunday
morning saw me up before the crack of lunch to be at Beanzz Coffee for
my second storytelling workshop. You might remember the first workshop
prompting my starting this
blog? Fortunately, the second was not a similarly emotional affair! I
wore the gorgeous red felt cloche hat I found in Austin for a Mad
Hatter’s Tea Party, heard the story of Herne and Andred at Beltane and
discovered that I am much better at choosing negative
storylines than positive ones for little fish (you probably had to be
there!).
To the cinema in Hailsham for Sunday evening and Cloud Atlas which I
think is brilliant. I’m not totally convinced and want to see it
again to be sure, but it’s certainly got stunning cinematography and I
loved the interwoven stories.
A
slight let-down on Monday evening, caused in part by high expectations
which refers me back to the beginning of this post. The Agatha Christie
Theatre Company’s Go Back For Murder was good but not gripping as previous shows. I think in a week
where it was the only thing I went to see, the play would have fared
better, but put up against Oliver Reed and especially The Wife, The
Mistress, The Chair, it suffered by comparison.
Then two
evenings in, thankfully because I was knackered, before we were back to
enjoying ourselves on Thursday. A trip to London (well, Wimbledon is
London to me) and the fabulous
Matthew Bourne ballet Sleeping Beauty at the New Wimbledon Theatre.
Nearly a disastrous day as the trains were all over the place due to ‘ a
person being hit by a train in the Hassocks area’ but we made it with
enough time to grab lunch and OMFG! I tweeted
‘Every superlative I know’ and that’s just how we both felt. So much
talent, so much creativity, such wonderful ideas! And enough of a budget
to bring it all to the stage with real panache. I felt so privileged to
be able to have been there.
So now I'm a buzzing again. I've even been running twice, not very far, but enough to be reassured that the colds have finally gone. My blogging drive has returned has returned, no doubt inspired by the theatrical overdose and helped on its way by three art exhibitions this morning. Check out Theatrical Eastbourne over the next couple of weeks for posts about the art and a couple of new artists I discovered ...
