Dinner/Theatre
Mar. 17th, 2001 04:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lillibetWe've had a busy week and we're expecting guests, so I thought I'd go ahead
and write now. We spent a large part of the week on Shaftsbury Avenue, just
outside Picadilly Square.
On Monday evening we saw Euripides' _Medea_, performed by the Irish National
Theatre company at Queen's Theater, starring Fiona Shaw
(http://us.imdb.com/Name?Shaw,+Fiona). They were working from a very modern
translation and decided to do the chorus as a round-robin, which each woman
taking a line in turn, rather than in chorus. Between that and the very
modern set and props, it didn't feel very Greek to me. Fiona Shaw did a
fine job, but they started her off completely mad, leaving her really
nowhere to go, emotionally. She sang her one note extremely well, however.
The actor playing Jason did a very fine job, portraying much of his
character through his body language and presence.
After the show, we walked up to YMing and had a nice dinner of their
excellent hot & sour soup (tho' I do wish they wouldn't put so many shitakes
in it) and wonderfully gingery dumplings, with spicy prawns for Jason and
garlic chicken for me.
On Wednesday we went back to that same block of Shaftsbury, to see Noel
Coward's _Fallen Angels_, starring Felicity Kendal and Frances de la Tour.
The whole farce revolves around two happily married women awaiting the
arrival of a mutual old flame, getting drunk and acting very silly. I
enjoyed the language, but the slapstick got a little trying at times. Both
women did a fine job, particularly Kendal, but my appetite for physical
farce is fairly small.
After that show, we walked a couple of blocks up into Soho and tried Spiga.
I enjoyed their plate of salami and prosciutto on crispy Sicilian bread with
a tomato pesto and my entree of guinea fowl breast wrapped in speck with
broccoli and roasted potatoes was very succulent. Jason's spinach and
cherry tomato salad was overwhelmed by an enormous cake of very ripe goat
cheese crusted with walnuts--there was no dressing to balance the
flavors--and his prawns in garlic and chili sauce were saltier than he likes
and required de-heading and skinning, which makes a lot of work for not much
food. Generally, we enjoyed the meal, but thought we would not bother to go
back.
On Friday night it was back to Shaftsbury once again, this time to see Noel
Coward's _Semi-Monde_. I enjoyed this much more than Fallen Angels. It was
witty, but quite serious, as it portrays about thirty characters visiting
the bar at the Paris Ritz over the course of several years just before World
War II. Huge and intricate, it was incredibly well staged and the acting
quality was amazingly high for such a large cast. I was slightly
disappointed that Farley Granger, who is usually in the cast, was not
performing that night. This production is the UK premiere of the play,
which was censored when it first emerged.
After the show, we walked up to Soho Square and had a lovely dinner at Il
Forno. It was crowded and quite noisy, but we were tucked out by the window
and it was cozy and warm. The service was a tad slow, but we really enjoyed
our meal. We split a thin-crust pizza as a starter, with fresh tomatoes,
arugula and prosciutto. I had a reasonably good swordfish steak, thinner
than I generally like it. Jason very much enjoyed his lamb steak with
capers and roasted peppers. For dessert we split pears poached in port with
vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis. The coulis was a little too sweet,
but the pears were divine. It was nice to have such a pleasant evening on
the six-month anniversary of our wedding.
and write now. We spent a large part of the week on Shaftsbury Avenue, just
outside Picadilly Square.
On Monday evening we saw Euripides' _Medea_, performed by the Irish National
Theatre company at Queen's Theater, starring Fiona Shaw
(http://us.imdb.com/Name?Shaw,+Fiona). They were working from a very modern
translation and decided to do the chorus as a round-robin, which each woman
taking a line in turn, rather than in chorus. Between that and the very
modern set and props, it didn't feel very Greek to me. Fiona Shaw did a
fine job, but they started her off completely mad, leaving her really
nowhere to go, emotionally. She sang her one note extremely well, however.
The actor playing Jason did a very fine job, portraying much of his
character through his body language and presence.
After the show, we walked up to YMing and had a nice dinner of their
excellent hot & sour soup (tho' I do wish they wouldn't put so many shitakes
in it) and wonderfully gingery dumplings, with spicy prawns for Jason and
garlic chicken for me.
On Wednesday we went back to that same block of Shaftsbury, to see Noel
Coward's _Fallen Angels_, starring Felicity Kendal and Frances de la Tour.
The whole farce revolves around two happily married women awaiting the
arrival of a mutual old flame, getting drunk and acting very silly. I
enjoyed the language, but the slapstick got a little trying at times. Both
women did a fine job, particularly Kendal, but my appetite for physical
farce is fairly small.
After that show, we walked a couple of blocks up into Soho and tried Spiga.
I enjoyed their plate of salami and prosciutto on crispy Sicilian bread with
a tomato pesto and my entree of guinea fowl breast wrapped in speck with
broccoli and roasted potatoes was very succulent. Jason's spinach and
cherry tomato salad was overwhelmed by an enormous cake of very ripe goat
cheese crusted with walnuts--there was no dressing to balance the
flavors--and his prawns in garlic and chili sauce were saltier than he likes
and required de-heading and skinning, which makes a lot of work for not much
food. Generally, we enjoyed the meal, but thought we would not bother to go
back.
On Friday night it was back to Shaftsbury once again, this time to see Noel
Coward's _Semi-Monde_. I enjoyed this much more than Fallen Angels. It was
witty, but quite serious, as it portrays about thirty characters visiting
the bar at the Paris Ritz over the course of several years just before World
War II. Huge and intricate, it was incredibly well staged and the acting
quality was amazingly high for such a large cast. I was slightly
disappointed that Farley Granger, who is usually in the cast, was not
performing that night. This production is the UK premiere of the play,
which was censored when it first emerged.
After the show, we walked up to Soho Square and had a lovely dinner at Il
Forno. It was crowded and quite noisy, but we were tucked out by the window
and it was cozy and warm. The service was a tad slow, but we really enjoyed
our meal. We split a thin-crust pizza as a starter, with fresh tomatoes,
arugula and prosciutto. I had a reasonably good swordfish steak, thinner
than I generally like it. Jason very much enjoyed his lamb steak with
capers and roasted peppers. For dessert we split pears poached in port with
vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis. The coulis was a little too sweet,
but the pears were divine. It was nice to have such a pleasant evening on
the six-month anniversary of our wedding.
