June 20, 2009

• Pick 'n' Mix

  It's been a year since Patrick proposed on my birthday and last year over that same weekend was the Belfast Pick 'n' Mix festival. This is a great opportunity to see some of the most exciting theatre groups in action as they present rehearsed readings and first act performances of new writings and productions they plan to develop and present in the coming year.

  This year, as last year, I have my Pick 'n' Mix 'passport' which means I get to see lots of the perfomances for a much reduced rate - six shows for £20.00! Yesterday I went to see the first act performance of  A Night With George where a middle-aged Catholic woman from Belfast steals, and runs home with a life sized cardboard cut out of George Clooney who she proceeds to spend the night telling her life story too. It was by turns comic and tragic and took in the 'troubles' the hunger strikers and post peace agreement politics. Sounds serious but it was all handled deftly by the writer and the actress who, despite a coughing fit halfway through which had us all worrying that she wouldn't make it to the end, was perfectly cast as a woman on the verge of HRT and trying to come to terms with her very empty house.

  Patrick went to see another play that was on two hours later so missed this one but we met back at the theatre for a rehearsed reading of a play called 'Bison'. This is an Australian play which it seems was very contraversial and also extremely successful in Oz. I have to say that I was left cold and rather depressed by the whole thing. It sets out to tell the stories of four gay men met up in an Australian bath house. I found  many of the performances overwrought and the message muddled. I guess at this point in my life I don't need to see gay men's self loathing paraded in front of me and although I don't expect every gay film or play or novel to be life affirming surely we have gotten past presenting our lives as being a search for nothing more than the GDM ("There is no Great Dark Man" - Quentin Crisp). It was very bleak and I don't think I'll go back to see the final production.

  Today I'm seeing three performances - Tracy Plot by Red Lemon (a brilliant and visually stunning physical theatre company: I'm a big fan though it should be acknowledged that I know several of the actors!), Girl On A Sofa by Prime Cut Productions - a Belfast based company that has been responsible for bringing new writing to the island from all across the world and finally at 9pm we shall be watching the Bruiser Theatre Company reading of The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol - Bruiser are another brilliant production company, I saw their version of 'Oh What A Lovely War!' recently and was astounded by the quality of the piece; the acting, choriography etc.

  I think that Tracy Plot and The Government Inspector are probably the two things I have been most looking forward to seeing over the weekend but there is so much more to see - we get home tonight and then have even more to look forward to on Sunday. I like my life here, Belfast is such an interesting place to be and I am doing and experiencing so much more here than I did in my last few years in Birmingham.

  • 7:48 am
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