 |
| Kate Grace
Being on ESA doesn’t exactly lend itself to going to the
theatre. So, it came as a welcome surprise to be invited to go to see a play at
the King’s Head Theatre in Islington with other SHPers.
When we arrived at this north London fringe venue the
friendly bar staff even offered us a complimentary lime and soda which
certainly helped with feeling less awkward amongst the fee-paying,
hard-drinking hipsters who’d come to see David K. O’Hara’s new play The
Upstairs Room.
The set lent itself perfectly to what was billed as An
Apocalyptic Love Story. With a couple of old sofas and just a curtain to protect one’s privacy in
the toilet department, we were effectively locked in a bleak attic with an
end-of- the-world soundtrack adding to the ambiguity of what was happening
outside this godforsaken garret that time forgot.
The plot, such as it was, involved Gordon, an American
writer, paying good money to be protected from “them” before he could be
smuggled out of London to the safety of the US.
With forged papers, meagre rations, a sneering hotel
manager, a volatile daughter and a mystery blonde for love interest, The
Upstairs Room was like an evening of Kafka meets Anne Frank. An atmospheric, intelligently written play
that compelled its audience to imagine how past and present relationships can
so easily can get mixed up.
Thought-provoking? Certainly. A Hollywood ending with songs
from the shows? What do you think?
The real beauty though was how good it felt to get out of
the usual Friday night routine to go to live theatre. So thanks SHP for the
invite.
|
 | |
|
