100 shows a year

Earlier in 2024 I used to say I see about 100 shows a year. Then I realized I've seen just over 50 at Barons Court Theatre only. Plus about 20 in Edinburgh, that's 70 already. So I thought the number might actually be closer to 200. So this year I decided to start counting them, and hopefully I'll stick to a monthly round-up of what I've seen.

In previous years I'd also attempt a review, but there's no way I can do that without strong biases anymore, so this will be purely a round-up, and how I got to see the respective shows. And January is a slow start, with only 4 titles to add.

The first of the year was mine. Lobster Pot, by Nicky Osborn, at Barons Court Theatre. Saw 4 out of 5 performances, but I would do that, wouldn't I?

The second was an invitation from Anette at the Norwegian Embassy, Moby Dick at the Barbican. I really enjoyed this one. Not a perfect show, but intensely spectacular. The things it did well, it did very well. A solid 4/5, even for a harsh reviewer.

I then saw the opening night of Second Best at Riverside Studios. Opening night of Asa Butterfield's stage debut, a full house in Riverside's main space and a good, solid play, without anything particularly outstanding. A lukewarm 3/5 from me, Asa Butterfield is very good, but the script is a bit banal, and the direction fell in love with a lavish set design which I'm not sure served the story best.

That's it, but then I realized I also see a lot of readings, works in progress, and half-made or partially made stuff. So I decided to give myself a 0.5 for anything that could be a fully formed show, but it's not in the form I witnessed. The first one, a reading at the Italian Cultural Institute in London, a feminist Anglo-pleaser from CambiaScena. In The Pink by Irene Petra Zani, and I got there because I wanted to see Cambiascena's work, I wanted to see the Italian Institute and I wanted to see Francesca Fatichetti who I know from Psychonaut Theatre/WIG of Life.

The second one was a reading of Mihail Sebastian's Star Without a Name which I organized with the pupils of Richmond College. It won't go anywhere, but it was a good refresher to hear the play out loud.

And finally, a night of shorts at Barons Court Theatre, brought together by an environmental thread.

So really, 3 plays + 1.5. But let's stick to 4. I'll probably overtake this in February, already saw one and have a few more scheduled.

Everyone deserves the chance to fly

Wicked by Gregory Maguire
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wicked the Musical is one of my favorites of the genre, and I really liked Wicked the movie. I've been wanting to read the book for years, but getting it as a gift last Christmas finally presented the opportunity.

From the off, finding out it's been written a few minutes away from my house made it endearing. But once the story gets going, the world we discover has little if anything to do with the world of the aforementioned visual mediums.

Gregory Maguire admits to creating a world much darker and much grittier than the one in the musical-turned-movie, and it takes a bit to accept it. The writing is beautiful though, especially in the beginning, and the time in Shiz is, in my opinion, the most successful part of the book.

There'll be spoilers ahead, so stop reading here if you don't want them.

The weird pornographic interlude in the middle is where the book goes astray, I feel. Fiyero has a much smaller part than I thought he would, he seems to exist merely to conceive Elphaba's son because after his death or presumed death, he is invoked a number of times but he cannot be held accountable for any course of affairs.

And I do feel that the second half of the book is weaker than the first. Every time jump makes Elphaba more inconsistent with herself, her behavior more erratic, the storyline in more need of reader's suspension of disbelief. Hence, when we finally get to merge its ending with the one from The Wizard of Oz, it doesn't click in nicely, it feels forced, and Elphaba is way out of character. In that sense, the musical has done a great job in leaving an open ending. Of course, the author has the excuse of all of the open possibilities in the half-decades that we skip, but these sudden turns make the story confusing, the message harder to decipher. It's all good and swell setting out to create a world, and in terms of world-creation the book is a monumental and admirable effort, but to what end? What do we do with the world, once created?

I suppose we'll see, Wicked is, at the end of the day, the first in a series of four, and in the great tradition of the Victorian novel, the next books will be concerned with future generations.

But if I'm completely honest, for all the expectation, Wicked left me a bit deflated and at the end of it I don't feel a desire to read book 2 of the series. I feel like taking another look at The Wizard of Oz.

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Edinburgh 2025 - Have you seen anything good?

Sinead O'Brien - Hero/Banlaoch

I kept saying I didn't see as many shows this year as I'd usually see, and while that's true, I still ended up seeing 21 shows in the 5 days I was up in Edinburgh.

But I did have a bit of a weird festival, in that it was a lot more about people than it was about shows. Not only the meetings, though I greatly enjoyed meeting Flavia and Rob of Brassica Productions and seeing the city through their eyes as locals and as theatre-makers, but the way I picked the show had to do with the people making them more than anything else. Is this as it should be? Who knows? There are no right answers.

For various reasons I will not rate/review the shows, but I do list them here to have a record of them. In terms of recommendation for the last week of the festival, things are simple: see as much as you can. See all of the ones below if you can. So, in order of watching them:

Reuben Kaye: Live and Intimidating (Assembly George Square, 8.05 pm)

*

In the Lady Garden (Pleasance Courtyard, 2.15 pm)

If Only I Could (The Space on the Mile, 5.05 pm)

Girlhood (Greenside Riddles Court, 6.30 pm)

Ulysses in Babel (C Venues - C Alto, 21.30 pm)

It's Ok, I Still Think You're Great (The Space on the Mile, 22.55 pm)

*

Love me Like a Chai Tea Latte (Lighthouse Bookshop, 8 pm)

Corpse Flower (C Venues, 21.55 pm)

Per-Verse (C Venues, 23.10 pm)

*

Funny Guy (Greenside @ George Street, 5.20 pm)

An Evening Without Kate Bush (Assembly Checkpoint, 7.20 pm)

Hallo (Hoots @ Potterrow, 21.25 pm)

*

The Book of Joan (The Space on the Mile, 4.40 pm)

Maria Telnikoff: All the Men Are Going to Hate Me (Underbelly Bristo Square 15.45 pm)

Hero / Banlaoch (Scottish Storytelling Centre, 17.30 pm)

Outwith Words: Tinderbox Orchestra and Loud Poets  (Edinburgh Central Library, 8 pm)

The Kids Might Die (Greenside @ George Street, 23.15 pm)

*

The Christening of Prince Imogene (The Space @ Surgeons Hall, 11 am)

Grape Culture (The Space @ Surgeons Hall, 12 pm)

Shake It Up: The Improvised Shakespeare Show (Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 1 pm)

Sarah Hester Ross is What? (Just the Tonic Nucleus, 2.30 pm)

Reuben's show is still phenomenal, yet I found this one somewhat diluted down from his usual flamboyance. For TV, apparently. I hope it works.

Some really strong writing for In the Lady Garden and Girlhood, a great Weimar republic/kafkian aesthetic for Corpse Flower, Maria Telnikoff is going from strength to strength and she will soon become a Fringe staple.

Finally saw An Evening Without Kate Bush after some three years of trying and, although Sarah is an amazing performer and she puts on a great show, I'd say it's hard to enjoy it without some previous admiration of Kate Bush, which I do not posses.

Hero/Banlaoch is the highlight of my fringe this year. A phenomenal show by a phenomenal storyteller. I'm really glad I discovered Sinead and looking forward to seeing more of her work!

I'm really glad to have met two people in person as well: the other Leo Bacica, and I find it amazing that both of us are in the same country and activating in the same field. Though I wish I was as good an artist as he is! The second one is Calliope Weissman, and I couldn't believe what a sweet, engaging and enjoyable presence Calliope is. I hope to meet her again soon for sure.

And even my last day, when I left at 4 pm, was interesting: I got to meet China Forbes' nephew with a great show about the trans experience, and I got to meet Maya Forbes as well, China's sister, whose film The Polka King I really enjoyed. 

Very happy to have finally seen Silvia's Shakespeare improvisation troupe as well, and looking forward to seeing them again!

Olga Koch comes from money? What about Sarah Hester Ross? She invited me to her show after I shared a photo with Reuben, and I went. A cabaret show at 2.30 pm in a room that seats 300? That's a tall order and I think where Sarah got it wrong. Nothing wrong with doing a smaller room, but in a late evening slot, when the audience expects cabaret and indeed, it might be the most appropriate form of entertainment. I hope I'll see her in better circumstances next year. Otherwise, I'm absolutely impressed by the high production value of both her production and her online content. It's the kind of production value you have to invest heavily in, and kudos to her for being able to afford it.

But, the really important thing this year is the I really felt there is such a thing as 'the Barons Court Theatre fringe'. It was last year as well, with Maria's show and the two US previews, but this year we've had no less than nine shows that have been or will be at Barons Court Theatre, including the now multi-award winning Son of a Bitch by Anna Morris: Funny Guy, It's Ok, Son of a Bitch, Gang Bang, Marriage with Benfits, Ulysses in Babel, Forgiving my Mother, Eccentrics Assemble, Any Day Now. In addition, Reuben, Maria, Stephen and his three Threedumb shows, Flick and Threepenny Collective, are all performers close to us in one way or another. Which... is impressive. We could run a festival with these shows alone, and it would be a good one. And that makes me quite proud of the work we're doing. I hope we can continue.

Euro 2024: The offside rule

Switzerland - Italy 2-0

Germany - Denmark 2-0

Turns out, no, Italy was not even trying. There seemed to be a wave of optimism among the Italian supporters, with them thinking once Italy scrapes it out of the group stage, they're gonna click into form. But this is superstition more than anything else. The reality is that it's rather rare for the group stage form to be much different from the one in the knockout stages. This applies to England too, which will face a tough test against Slovakia today, and I'm not sure how they will come out.

So goes with Italy. It was indeed a scrape out of the group stage, and if it wasn't for the Zaccagni's 98th-minute equalizer against an out-of-form Croatia side, they wouldn't even have played this game. Not that they seem to care too much, or to understand the stakes.

Losing is not the issue. Losing can happen, and small margins can sometimes coordinate to work against you. But it was not the case here. Switzerland was thoroughly dominant, save for a short Italian spell halfway through the first half. But really, they never looked like winning, the Italians. And even the thing they're supposed to be good at, defending, was really shaky.

So a relatively comfortable and well-deserved win for Switzerland, and I kind of see them beating either England or Slovakia.

***

I just said comfortable win for Switzerland, but then throughout Germany's game I kept thinking how no game is gonna be easy from this stage on.

'clear and obvious'

I am now of the opinion that Germany will win the tournament, but boy, I expected a much easier game for them! Credit to the Danes, they were really unlucky to lose this game. And what of poor Joachim Andersen, whose first goal was canceled because of THIS offside, and then immediately after he concedes a penalty only for not withdrawing his hand quick enough from the trajectory of the ball?

Both decisions correct, but both so, so unlucky. 

Then Kasper Schmeichel guessed the right corner for the penalty, but it was just too close to the post for him to have any chance of keeping the ball out. And for the second goal, the BBC punditry was saying it's Kasper's fault for not coming forward to the ball. But look at the pass. The first time the ball hits the ground, it does a weird jump back, rather than forward, and that's what makes Schmeichel go back. So the water-logged pitch is to blame as much as Schmeichel if anything.

Credit to Musiala though, he still has to make the shot, and he did. Fullkrug missed a couple in a similar position later on in the game.

Overall, probably a deserved win for Germany, who did attack more, but squeezed through, really, a lot less comfortably than anyone expected, and who knows where the game would have gone if that first goal had stood? Which totally would have pre-VAR.

A quick note about stopping the game because of the storm in the first half: that shit was scary! I know the climate change deniers are an ever-decreasing group, and amongst them, the ones who do it out of conviction are a minority to the ones who do it for political reasons. But this surely must be a blow for all of them. Tornados, in Germany? Apparently so. We knew it was happening, but the pace of it is now really out of control. And the scary bit is not only that we don't have solutions for it, but also that as a species we don't seem all that preoccupied with finding a solution.

Oh well, let's enjoy a few more football tournaments while we can still find 90 minutes windows where it's safe to be outside.

Euro 2024: Two thirds of round three

Netherlands - Austria 3-2

France - Poland 1-1

England - Slovenia 0-0

Denmark - Serbia 0-0

Romania - Slovakia 1-1

Belgium - Ukraine 0-0

Portugal - Georgia 0-2

Czechia - Turkey 1-2

I didn't really embed time to write about the Euros yesterday, so I'll cover how I saw the last 8 games in this one post. Well, last 4 games actually, I did talk in my previous post about enjoying choosing what to see when games start at the same time.

The first choice I made on Tuesday, to watch Netherlands - Austria, was the correct one, but also the obvious one. Poland was already eliminated, and France had already qualified, so their drab 1-1 draw with two goals scored from three penalties was very much a TV filler.

Austria delivered a surprise thrashing of Poland, so they had to get something, anything, out of the game against the Netherlands to qualify. The Dutch had 4 points in the bag, so last 16 qualification ensured, just a matter of where in the group they will finish. Now, the press makes a lot of finishing positions determining the strength of the opposition. The truth is, a team should not really care who the opposition is. If you want to win the trophy. you have to be able to beat anyone in the competition. The other thing is, if a team has made it to the last 16, they will not be a comfortable opponent, regardless of rankings.

So a case can be made for the Dutch not being too bothered about the result of this game, though I suspect the truth is this was the relative level of the teams on the day. Ralph Ragnick - master strategist. The worst United manager in my lifetime, I didn't think Ragnick would be capable of any notable achievement as a manager. But topping a group with France and Netherlands is no mean feat. And Sabitzer, what a player! How foolish were we to give him away so easily! I am hoping there is a way back for him to United, but it will probably never happen.

Scored a great goal, the only one of Austria's three that was a great individual action and was not aided by the Dutch defenders. Gakpo and Depay's goals were both great, but overall it was always Austria who looked like the better team and if the percentage of chances converted would be even then the score should be higher in the Austrian's favour.

Austria will now face Turkey, which feels like an easier adversary, but the Turks have really grown into the tournament and their fighting spirit is renowned. It will not be an easy game for either team, but spectacular to watch for the neutrals.

Netherlands is playing Romania. I'm cautiously optimistic, we will have to annihilate Gakpo, isolate Depay and punish them on the offense whenever we have the opportunity. They're favourites, but not by much.

As for France - Belgium, I don't know what to make of it. My gut says France, but a lot of it will depend on how teams show up on the day.

***

Ah, England... Was I too quick to praise Bellingham? He is a good player, but only really showed it in his first game. England dominated, but with so little creativity and so sterile that the end result was an incredibly boring 0-0. 

Now, I do think Southgate is being battered way more than he deserves by the English media. Yes, the team has been boring through the group games, but they did win the group, and I wonder whether English fans would rather they lose while playing spectacular football? They just like to moan, I think. They are English, after all.

He does have a good team, but he also has to deal with the most whiny, overpaid, egomaniac group of players at this tournament, and have his every decision challenged by 60 million people. Is he doing a good job? I'd wait until after the tournament to judge.

And if we're talking boring, I don't know... I didn't watch any of the Denmark - Serbia game, not even the highlights. Nor am I curious. I've seen the Danes play two games already, and if this is the most that the Serbs can do with their back to the wall, I'm convinced I haven't missed much.

Serves the Danes right that they now have to face Germany. England is served another relatively easy game against Slovakia, while Slovenia... best of luck against Portugal. You will need it!

***

Romania... who would've thought it, eh? Iordanescu, for one, I'd like to think. I have been called too cynical and overly critical of Romania's performances, and - while I don't have a duty to be anything else - I would like to clarify my position further: I had 0 expectations from this team, so they surpassed them a great deal. They have made history, whatever happens. Biggest win at a finals tournament, first time to top the group in a Euros finals, these are the facts that will stay and will be looked back on with hope and love. They won me back over, I haven't been a Romanian supporter since 2001, I was completely unimpressed with the 2008 and 2016 performances and, lest we forget, in 2008 we drew France and Italy.

BUT... (yes, I know) we were lucky to get the results we did and somewhat undeserving of winning the group. Against Ukraine, we scored two long-range goals, both brilliant shots, but also, both handled poorly by their keeper. Against Belgium, we never competed. And Slovakia, truth be told, was always gonna be a difficult game, but we were happy with the draw. We conceded on a poorly defended open play and scored from a penalty we have VAR to thank for.

So without diminishing the achievement in any way, based on the group games alone, this Romania team is not ready for the brutality of the knockout stages. We have to up our game. Luck is part of the game, but we might've drunk that well dry for now, so if we want to beat Netherlands we might have to simply play better than them. Not impossible, as Austria has shown, but no walk in the park either. Run in the park.

Elsewhere in Group E, I'm mildly surprised by the 0-0 draw. I thought Belgium is gonna win it, and I was hoping Ukraine does. But again, it's a game of results, and both teams were playing for that I suspect. Really unfortunate for Ukraine to go home with 4 points while other teams qualify with three, but hey, that's what you get if you lose to Romania.

Why don't you come on back to the war? That's right, get in it

Why don't you come on back to the war? It's just beginning

***

And save the best for last. Finally, two exciting games in Group F. Georgia beating Portugal, the joy of gamblers everywhere. Completely unexpected, but also, a bit ungentlemanly of Portugal to drop down like this, and I hope it comes back to bite them in the ass, one way or another. All congratulations to Georgia, it is an amazing achievement, but they also have the two Portugal victories to thank.

I watched Czechia - Turkey, the only game with something at steak, I thought. And it was a great game, marred somewhat by the early and a bit harsh red card received by the Czechs.

I've been saying in the previous rounds that the Czechs have been unfortunate (they have, both defeat to Portugal and draw with Georgia were tight and could've easily gone their way), while the Turks have been unimpressive.

But this was the final shout, this was the one game where you had to show up, and unfortunately for the Czechs, they didn't, really. Not as much as they needed, anyway. The Turks on the other side, really grew in the tournament. Funnily enough, I think the 0-3 defeat to Portugal might've been a better performance than the Georgia win. Arda Guler is really owning the field now, and he was the best player on the pitch against the Czechs. Kudos to Cenk Tosun too for creating the winning goal out of nothing, and those extra two points are the difference between playing Spain and playing Austria. Still not easy, but clearly preferable.

So the last 16 are all interesting games, but I will call them for the obvious winners: Italy to beat Switzerland, Germany to beat Denmark, England to beat Slovakia, Spain to beat Georgia, France to squeeze past Belgium, Portugal to thrash Slovenia, Romania can beat Netherlands and Austria - Turkey is the most interesting game, but I think Austria will edge it.

You heard it here first.

Euro 2024: Are you even trying, Italy?

Italy - Croatia 1-1

Spain - Albania 1-0

It's got wings because it's flying away from them

I hadn't seen Simon in a long time, and it was very kind of him to invite me to his place to watch the Italy game together.

I was always gonna watch it, it was the more interesting game, but what a privilege to watch it alongside 6 Italians! I'm not a big fan of English supporters, I think on the continent we carry an idealized version of the hooligans of the 70s and 80s in our heads, but there's something about this country that knows how to make a good experience unpleasant and never knows how to manage excess.

So the opportunity of being around other supporters without having a stake in the game is great, even better when they're Italians.

And, like the game, they were hopeful for the most part, despairing after the Croatian goal, going through the negotiations of whether qualifying with 3 points is possible, and then finishing on the ecstasy of the equalizing goal in the 97th minute.

But the truth is, Italy was poor and ultimately, maybe undeserving. Croatia had two very poor games to begin with, and it didn't feel like their level improved massively for this last-gasp chance of qualification. But Italy's level did drop. They seem uninterested in much else rather than running down the clock, dominating the game and dominating possession, but without asking too many questions in regards to a goal.

The penalty added the spice and drama that this game needed. Harsh, but perfectly justified, the ball did hit the hand of the Italian defender, though he might not have had a say in it. For the penalty itself, it's hard to say whether it was Modric's poor execution or Donnarumma's brilliance that kept the scoresheet clean. But it does say something about Modric's mentality to keep his head down, run around like a maniac, and score from open play 2 minutes later. Probably something about Italy's mentality too, bit too lax to cover themselves properly and not as good at defending as the great Italian teams of the past.

Even the push in injury time, it did seem somewhat rushed, but the goal didn't feel like it was necessarily coming. It was the work of fate and fortune rather than Spaletti or Chiesa. But it was worth to see the joy on my companion's faces, now qualified and facing a relatively accessible game against Switzerland in the last 16.

***

A word about Spain - Albania? Hardly deserving of one, everyone expected Spain to win, I hope at least the people in the stadium enjoyed a nice atmosphere.

Euro 2024: Poor poor Scotland

Germany - Switzerland 1-1

Scotland - Hungary 0-1

I love it when I have to make a choice. It happens a lot in tennis, not so much in football. But in tournament finals, last round of the group stages, it's a mirror of life: what do you care about the most, what can you stand to lose? And you can try and go for both games, on separate screens, but I find that an unsatisfying experience more often than not. In fact, I've given it up in 2006, for the World Cup in Germany if my memory is not mistaken, when I was watching the games in the now defunct WettPunkt in Bucharest.

Germany - Switzerland is of course the higher rated game, and the one with a promise to be more spectacular, but in all honesty, there was no real stake to it, was it? Just watched the highlights, it seems to have been a good game, but very much in the vein of a friendly. Germany already qualified, Switzerland only in mild danger of falling third with 4 points, which pretty much ensures qualification anyway. Good on them to go for winning the group, good on the Germans for not letting them. I'm almost ready to call it for Germany, just bear with me until the knockout fixtures shape up.

McTominao didn't show up

But Scotland - Hungary, that's gonna be a battle, I thought. Two fairly rudimentary teams when it comes to technique, this was gearing up to be a battle between the Scottish heart and capacity for effort and the Hungarian ruggedness and rawness. And I thought Scotland will eventually prevail, thus writing a bit of history for the Tartan Army. But Scotland could literally not score a goal to save their life.I am sorry for McTominay, and I am sorry for the passion of their supporters, but the level of attacking threat I saw from Scotland was simply not good enough.

The whole game was a fairly drab affair, and I was wondering what the Hungarians are playing at, though the much simpler answer might be that they can't do much more than they did.

The winning goal, grabbed on a counter-attacking action in the very final moments of the game, says more about Scotland's shortcomings than about Hungary's capacity to fight it out.

The four percent of the Scottish population who was in Germany for this tournament is now returning home from the last position and with only one goal and one point to show for their efforts. If their supporters were deserving of more, the team wasn't, really.

Hungary await their fate on a 3-pointer that sounds like 50:50 to me, but if there's any justice, they shouldn't go through. They are not among the best 16 teams at this tournament.