Godot

Last week to see Godot at the Arts Theatre in Great Newport Street. With Godot having last been seen just about two years ago in a touring production and noticed at reference 3.

Trains a bit disturbed this Saturday, necessitating a change at Raynes Park, but we still arrived at Leicester Square in time for refreshment, on this occasion in Coffee Island in Upper St. Martin's Lane, a branch of what we were told was a small, Greek flavoured chain. But a bit bigger than small if reference 1 is to be believed. Clearly a place which fancies itself on its coffee, but which sold rather odd tea. My cake was OK if a little dry, but they managed to give us two toasties instead of the one ordered. A doggy bag was supplied to take the extra one away in and it seemed a bit mean to insist on my money back. All that apart, good atmosphere - and I was impressed at how half a dozen or so staff managed to work together from a small island servery, without crashing into each other the whole time.

Rather thin house at the Arts Theatre which surprised us, with most shows which we go to being pretty full. With this one turning out to be rather good, so we remain puzzled.

Amused by some people behind us explaining to each other that a big downside of going to Oxford or Cambridge was the large number of people coming from well to do families sporting several houses, not to say mansions. Made it hard to keep one's end up when it came to 21st birthday parties and suchlike - whereas I had thought all that had been swept away years ago and that diversity now held sway.

With Sir Peter Hall not many days dead, as noticed at reference 2, it was nice that this was the very theatre where he directed the English première of 'Waiting for Godot' as a near newbie, back in 1955. A programme for this first night being included among the various programmes and memorabilia on display - with some help from the University of Reading, big on Beckett.

Very spare stage compared with that illustrated at reference 4. But it did include a good quality plastic stone, maybe two feet across an one foot high. Estragon spent a lot of the time sitting on it. And as in the Epsom version, they got the contrast off between Estragon and Vladimir off rather nicely, although in a rather different way, with the both of them sporting accents from the other island.

There were a lot of difficult poses to hold in the course of the show and we wondered whether the cast had had special coaching in same.

And while I remembered the play in general terms, I was rather surprised, not to say cross, at how much of the detail was new to me. Like, for example, the reference to picking grapes in the Mâconnais, a reminder of the play's French beginnings, as I don't suppose English tramps were in the habit of nipping across for the grape harvest. I wondered if directors took liberties with these words, as they do with those of the Bard? I would have thought not, but I shall take advice.

On the last occasion I was reminded of both Joyce and O'Brien, both before. Whereas on this occasion I was reminded of Joyce before and Stoppard after. But checking in Stoppard's wikipedia entry, I find no reference to Beckett. On the other hand I am reminded that he was born a Czech, escaping to Singapore of all the unsuitable places (as it turned out) the day that the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia in March 1939.

As I said above, a good show, so a puzzle why this matinée was so lightly attended.

Strolled across to Waterloo, and arrived at the low numbered platforms to find them all shut. Strolled back across the station to pick up a train to Raynes Park at a high numbered platform. Exit to the Edward Rayne to order the same drinks and meal as we have taken just a week or so before. See reference 5. A meal among the late afternoon drinkers of a suburban Wetherspoons seemed entirely appropriate after a show about Irish tramps, even if we did not rise to the pints of plain celebrated by Flann O'Brien in one of his stories. Fish not as good this time as last time and we wondered whether it was one of the relatives of cod, sometimes passed off as same. Pollock?

Good haul of Upton Sinclair at the platform library while we waited for our train to Epsom. But will I read any of it?

Proceedings wound up at Epsom with another taxi driver from South Lambeth Road who knew all about the Wyvil estate and the Wheatsheaf of old. Fairly sure he was not the same chap as noticed at reference 6.

PS: very cute baby on the train back to Raynes Park, just about a year old and determined to explore the carriage. We also learned that amazon was the place to buy cupboard catches.

Reference 1: https://www.coffeeisland.co.uk/.

Reference 2: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/a-theatrical-knight-passes-over.html.

Reference 3: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/godot-waiting-for-1.html.

Reference 4: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/godot-waiting-for-2.html.

Reference 5: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/queen-anne-show.html.

Reference 6: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/pubs-down.html.