Ho, ho, ho, how seasonal! Eh, kind of. Anyway, first I had to get to the Soho Theatre, which reminds you of how hard it is to get there in time, which might be why I missed the last two things I'd booked. Tube to Piccadilly, fine - except that one of the trains was out of service, but no big deal.
Then I arrived in Piccadilly Circus station and had no idea of the exit. I knew I needed Shaftesbury Avenue, but the signs were completely misleading and I surfaced on completely the wrong side of Piccadilly Circus, which meant I had to endure a number of road crossings. More time wasted. Approach this station with caution.. I'd have been lost without Google Maps Streeview, which reminded me I needed to take a left past Ripley's Believe it or Not!
So, aware that I was later than I should have been, I dashed down Shaftesbury Avenue, then down Dean Street. Well, I say dashed - and it was a bit easier when I got onto Dean Street, but even there I found myself walking on the road, it was easier. The crowds were terrible. I mean, it'd be fine if you weren't in a hurry, but all the swerving I had to do around groups of people that would stop suddenly in the middle of the path..!
I made the theatre just on the dot of start time. (Drum roll, please!) Third time lucky. Unfortunately, this is one of the places where there are a lot of stairs to climb, and of course I'd just had a 10-minute dash from the Tube. And then I got confused about which floor I was on. Luckily, the usher at the theatre door spotted me and called after me. I think they radio upstairs from the box office when someone is en route, which is an excellent idea. And so I panted gratefully into a seat near the door, at the back, because I was quite simply too exhausted to go any further than necessary. And after all that, it must have been at least another 10 minutes before the play actually started.
Right then. The Night before Christmas, in this incarnation, is a farcical musical set in a warehouse on Christmas Eve. The warehouse owner is lamenting being stuck there on his own when he hears a noise, and discovers.. an elf trying to break in. Well, he claims to be an elf. The owner ties him to a chair and calls his mate to come over, who's unimpressed and is all for calling the cops. But the owner seems to have a spark of Christmas spirit in him, and is interested in questioning this guy more, mindful of his own uncle who was delusional, and needed more sympathetic handling.
And so we launch into a hilarious play, incorporating some very dodgy singing, where we discover the answer to such questions as how Santa does get all those presents into the sleigh. It's laugh-out-loud funny, it's got a Christmas message, and that guy playing the elf is brilliant. Lasts an hour and 25 mins, no interval - so over nice and early. Recommended, for that alternative Christmas. And the crowds were less dense when I came out.
Still hoping to go to Richard II at the Barbican tomorrow. But the ticket was posted yesterday and not delivered, and since it's now to be delivered tomorrow, it will have to come to me at work, which means I need to phone them first thing and try to get the delivery address changed. Fingers crossed that all goes ok!
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