So, March... no, wait, February. I forgot someone. One of the support acts for Ocean Colour Scene was The Moons. I actually picked up their CD I enjoyed them that much. And I forgot about them in my last entry. Consider this me fixing that mistake.

So, on to March. Another month of at least weekly performances. At the cinema I only managed two films - MicMacs (highly entertaining, as beautiful as A Single Man but much preferable for it's humour, it's charm and it's lack of big flashing neon "PLOT" signs) and Banky's Exit Through Gift Shop (50:50 on enjoyable (seeing the street art) and The Office-style cringey embarassment (When the filmmaker became artist)). With that, onto the first actual performance of:

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake

Every time I go to see dance I am surprised just how much you can get out of it. I know I should be used to it by now (speaking as a seasoned professional - hah - my only other dance shows have been Tap Dogs and Stomp) but... well... the humour, the sadness, the plot, the characters. Hell, dialogue-less ballet made more sense to me than Hamlet did. From what I know of this version - it can not really be called traditional ballet (and not just because of the cast changes - though the wonderfully fit men were a great aid to enjoyment too (Although David Tennant has a gorgeous arse up close, I'm not as gaga over him as some of my friends)). I must not allow my nervousness to get the better of me should other Matthew Bourne productions come round (Edward Scissor Hands, Dorian Grey have both been here recently) but I am still a bit wary of "traditional" ballet.

Chris Addison

The following week saw me back at @thelowry for a change of pace with comedian @mrchrisaddison. This was a very impulsive, fairly last minute buy (due to leaflets from Swan Lake the week before). And I'm so glad I managed to make it. Chris was most excellent. I do rather hope that the question "When you went to Manchester Grammer, did you get the bus?" is the oddest he has faced on the tour.

dan le sac vs. Scroobius Pip

The following week saw me run over to Liverpool after work for my first ever hip hop gig. Alone... I hate hip hop. But I love @danlesac vs @scroobiuspipyo. I love them I love them I love them. Their support acts... were as meh as I expected (although the second support was very entertaining when not rapping stuff I didn't understand/couldn't follow).

Nineteen Eighty-four

The last proper performance of March was the Royal Exchange's (@rxtheatre) production of Nineteen Eighty-four. Another last minute impulsive purchase which was truly excellent. It's the first time I've been in @rxtheatre and it's an amazing venue. It's a theatre in the round - audience on every side (which is a lovely venue for Nineteen Eighty-four - surrounded by viewers on all sides, no wings to hide behind, no curtains...). Now, if anyone can find a way of getting "Oceania I Love You" out of my head...

Rob's Party

Not strictly a performance this but thought I'd blog briefly anyway... Huggy Happy Hippy Rob (a friend from uni) invited me to his birthday. He invited me last year but the cost and distance to Norwich put me off. This year I said yes. Then remembered 5 hours each way on East Midlands Trains is an horrific concept. Still I didn't chicken out this time. Norwich is a lovely city, but full of lies! LIES!! Pedestrian-looking areas which are actually open to taxis (or indeed general vehicles). However, the Playhouse Bar is another lovely little pub with far too many tea options.

I had a good time down there and even had a 20 year old girl inform me, quite drunkenly, that she was "obtainable". I'm still trying to decide if that was a good thing or not.

This finally moves us onto... Eastercon. About which I shall blog later.

Alex
x x