Hello again, I hope you’re all doing well. Those of you who saw last month’s roundup will know that I’m going through a difficult patch at the moment because of my mother’s health. We have started to get a bit of help, in terms of medical assistance and reaching out to support services, all of which takes time, and I will explain more in due course. Suffice to say for now that going totally blind has naturally had a big impact on her mental health and sleep, and by extension has affected my wellbeing as her carer. We are ok, but certain aspects are quite difficult to deal with
As a result, I’m not making videos to go with these posts for the time being, as it’s just not practical right now and I want to make things easier for myself. It also means I’m not doing as much out and about as usual, as my caring role is dominating my time much more than it used to – and I am therefore starting to explore the support that’s available for carers.
However, I did manage to go to the theatre a couple of times with friends early in the month, which I was really grateful for, as I needed to confide in them about what’s been going on, and the shows were great escapism, especially because of the touch tours and audio description.
So I’ve got those shows to tell you about, as well as some bits and pieces I’ve been watching at home, and none of it’s sponsored or gifted as usual. So let’s get on with it, and I hope you enjoy!
Contents
Theatre
The Comedy About Spies
The first show I saw this month was The Comedy About Spies with my friend Claire at the Noël Coward Theatre. This is the latest production by Mischief, who are behind other hit shows like The Play That Goes Wrong, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery and Magic Goes Wrong that I’ve seen before. And I can safely say this is just as good as all of those.
We started with a fun touch tour, where we got to see parts of the set – including 2 of the 4 bedrooms that play a major role in the show, along with a kitchen area where an entertaining fight scene takes place – as well as some of the costumes and props. And then the audio description during the show was vital, especially for the physical humour, and also for keeping track of certain things that were being switched around and mixed up as part of the action.
The story, set in the 1960s, is about rival agents from the CIA and KGB trying to track down a rogue British agent who has stolen plans for a powerful secret weapon. Their intelligence – to use the word very loosely for these spies – has led them to the Piccadilly Hotel, where their operation is hampered by an awkward young man trying to propose to the woman he loves, and a desperate actor who wants to be in a spy movie.
Altogether it’s brilliantly farcical, with misunderstandings and mixups that get funnier as they build throughout the show, meaning setups and jokes often have multiple payoffs later on. There are some great physical set pieces too, in particular the lengthy sequence involving the bedrooms, that gets so hilariously chaotic yet the precision involved in putting it together is really impressive. They make it look so effortless.
So I’m really glad I went to see that. It was exactly the light relief I was looking for and is yet another triumph for the Mischief crew. They’re also doing A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong on stage later this year, as a UK tour plus a limited 8-week run in the West End, so I might try and see that as well if my circumstances allow, as the TV version they did back in 2017 is really funny.
It’s also quickly worth mentioning that Claire and I had a nice dinner before the show as well, at a French restaurant called Brasserie Zédel just behind Piccadilly Circus, which had been recommended to us. The place has such a lovely atmosphere, from the decor to the friendliness of the staff, and the food was really good. So I thoroughly enjoyed my Beef Bourguignon with lardons, mushrooms and mashed potato, plus a side of delicious French bread and salted butter, followed by a chocolate and orange mousse for dessert. Definitely a restaurant I can recommend for a pre-theatre meal, or a dinner at any time for that matter.
Bat Out Of Hell
The other show I saw was Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical, which was at the Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre as part of its UK tour. This time I went with my friends Simon and Tina, and again we got to have a touch tour beforehand, going up on the stage to see the set design as well as handling some of the cool costumes and props, including a real guitar and some fake weapons.
Then the show itself is basically an excuse to perform lots of Meat Loaf songs from his Bat Out Of Hell album, with a rough story to link them all together (much like We Will Rock You for Queen’s hits and other shows of that ilk). Indeed, it was explained to us during the touch tour that it nearly became a concert rather than a musical, with a lot of the story being taken out. But as they continued working on it they ended up putting more of the narrative back in.
The show is to some extent a rock version of Peter Pan, because a version of it inspired some of the album tracks, hence it features a group called The Lost who never age. They live in a post-apocalyptic version of Manhattan, where they’re despised by the ruler of the city, Falco. And he’s all the more angry because his daughter Raven is in love with Strat, leader of The Lost. So you can imagine the conflicts at play there. It’s hardly a deep or surprising story, but it doesn’t need to be, and it’s acted out well. There are also parts of the show where a cameraman is present, filming close-ups that appear in real-time on huge screens above the stage.
But the music is really what it’s all about of course – and it’s loud! Not deafeningly so, but as we were sitting in the front row, we could really feel it as well as hear it, much like being at a rock concert. And it drowned out the audio description, even when the headsets were turned up to the highest volume. That didn’t matter though, because I was quite happy to take the earphones out at the appropriate moments to enjoy the excellent performances, and being so close it was easy to see the main aspects of the choreography.
Naturally I knew the big hits, with the show’s title track – one of the best rock songs ever made – performed in full to huge acclaim from the audience. Likewise Paradise By The Dashboard Light, Dead Ringer For Love, Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad and You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth were also given wonderful renditions, to name the obvious big numbers. Some of the other songs I didn’t know, as I don’t own the album in question (though I know I ought to get it and check out some of his other stuff at some point), but they were all good.
So it was a great show, and there’s still time to catch it for yourself, as it’s touring the UK in its current form until September. No doubt it will return again in the future though, as it’s done several times already around the world.
After we left the theatre, my friends and I then went for dinner at the Bear & Staff pub in Leicester Square, which has become a favourite haunt of ours when we meet up in the city. Their pies are always a winner and this time I happily tucked into their Beef Rib, Shin & Brisket pie, cooked in a rich red wine sauce, followed by their Double Chocolate Brownie dessert with Bourbon vanilla ice cream. So I was very pleasantly full up after that!
Entertainment
Back To The Future
July 3 marks the 40th anniversary of the first Back To The Future film. So in the run-up to that milestone I decided to watch the trilogy on Blu-ray this month. I last saw the original movie a couple of years ago after seeing the musical, but I don’t recall watching the sequels since my childhood. So it’s been a lot of fun to revisit them, as they’re all brilliant with great soundtracks, and to explore all of the bonus material for the first time. You can check out my extensive review post to find out all the details.
Incidentally, July also marks the 40th anniversary of the Live Aid concerts, and the 20th anniversary of Live 8. I wrote detailed reviews of those global events last year, after seeing the Live Aid musical (which is now running at the Shaftesbury Theatre), so you can read my Live Aid and Live 8 posts to celebrate those milestones as well.
Black Mirror
Black Mirror on Netflix is a dark and disturbing yet often fascinating anthology of stories. Over the last couple of months I’ve rewatched and reviewed Series 1-3 and 4-5, and now this month I’ve watched Series 6. It came out two years ago, but this is the first time I’ve got around to it. I’ll then catch up with the latest series during July.
For the most part, the show usually takes a look at existing or evolving technologies and the potentially extreme consequences their use could have on our lives, although occasionally it does pull back from that to focus more on human behaviour and psychology. But the key thing is that all of the stories feel potentially plausible. Very unlikely sometimes, sure, but nevertheless they’re not entirely beyond possibility, which is what makes them so disconcerting and thought-provoking.
Series 6, therefore, feels a bit off-track and too experimental sometimes. A couple of episodes do centre around innovative technology, but others explore alternative avenues, even straying into the supernatural. So some of the stories, while interesting, don’t really feel like they belong to Black Mirror, and could be part of any other series really. Some of the endings don’t feel too shocking this time either.
So while it’s still a good series on the whole, it feels like it’s the weakest among all of those I’ve watched so far.
July 19 Update: I’ve now made a separate post containing all of my reviews for Series 1-7, so you can check that out for my opinions on all the series to date.
Not Going Out
The BBC sitcom Not Going Out is now on Series 14, believe it or not. Which is arguably too long and it’s been past its peak for quite a while to be fair, but it’s still been amusing enough for me to stick with it.
The format has changed again this time, with Lee (Lee Mack) and Lucy (Sally Bretton) now having moved to the country, which sadly means that none of the other regular cast members are present any more (i.e. Toby, Anna, Geoffrey and Wendy), and the children are now away at university (although they never contributed a huge amount anyway really).
In addition, another change is that every episode is a single long scene told in realtime, without any time jumps to later hours or days. Obviously there are still camera cuts and edits, as they’re not one-shot episodes like the drama Adolescence, but each story takes place over a single half hour. Which works well in itself, but it does feel like they’re struggling for storylines.
The sex doll episode, for instance, feels rather far-fetched by their standards (although not entirely implausible in this day and age), and while the doll looks impressive and the dialogue is funny in places, it’s nowhere near as good as the classic Only Fools And Horses episode on that theme. The episode where they play extras in a drama is ok, but it feels like they needed an excuse to make good use of the budget for sets, costumes and actors. And the hotel episode is quite predictable given the limited options that Lee’s character has available to him, as is the ending of the Oasis storyline. The campervan episode takes a surprisingly dark turn though, I’ll give them that.
Still, all that said, there are several amusing moments and interactions, Lee’s wordplay and general sense of humour is always guaranteed to raise chuckles in every episode, and he and Lucy do have a great dynamic together. And there are some good guest stars, including Mike Wozniak, Felicity Montagu and even Matthew Kelly, who I used to love in the 90s when he presented shows like You Bet! and Stars In Their Eyes.
So overall it’s still alright, it’s just not amazing or as hilarious as it used to be (it was always at its best back in the days when Tim Vine was involved, as he and Lee bounced off each other wonderfully). But if you treat it as the escapist entertainment it’s designed to be without any big expectations, it is a good enough way to kick back and have a laugh for half an hour. Still, one wonders if next year’s 15th series for its 20th anniversary will be a good time to bow out. I will watch that too, then we’ll see what happens after that.
Other TV Shows
- Taskmaster – I wrote about this last month, and I’ve happily enjoyed the 19th series altogether, even though I don’t know any of the contestants very well. Stevie Martin, Mathew Baynton and Jason Mantzoukas grew on me the most to be my top 3, but Fatiha El-Ghorri and Rosie Ramsey were good as well. I’ve deliberately avoided any information about who’s going to be in Series 20, as I like to try and be surprised by the line-up each time, but I’m looking forward to it in any case as I know it will be a lot of fun.
- Hidden Treasures Of The National Trust – This has returned for its third series on the BBC. It’s a beautiful programme going behind the scenes at some of the National Trust’s stunning locations, to reveal the intricate work by experts and volunteers who look after the priceless artworks and artefacts. And this time the episode of most relevance to me was the one about Knole House, because I visited with my friend Emily back in 2017. So it was interesting to learn more about the history of the place, and how they’ve worked on restoring some ancient rolled up parchments and even a nude statue!
Conclusion
And that’s it, I hope you found that interesting as usual. I’m sorry these posts are fairly short and I’m not making videos at the moment, but I’m hoping that I can get back into my old routine whenever things settle down again.
I’ll still continue blogging in the meantime though, of course, including my monthly roundups as well as other things. For example, I’ve recently written an update about the government’s attempts to cut disability benefits, which has become a complete shambles for the Labour party. There are also more things I’m planning to watch and review as always. And there’s a particularly ambitious set of posts I’m gradually working on in the background, but they’re nowhere near ready yet – you’ll understand why they’ve taken a long time when you eventually see them!
As for July, in the circumstances I don’t yet know what it has in store. All being well, my mother and I should be getting more help with our situation, so that’s the priority. And I’ve got plenty of jobs to do at work, things to watch on TV, stuff to write about on my blog, etc, so I’ll still be kept happily occupied. But hopefully I’ll get out and about a bit as well, even if it’s just for a few walks.
So we’ll see what happens. I might be able to do another Favourites next month, but if it turns out I haven’t got much to write about, then I’ll do a 2-month roundup for July and August the following month instead. But if that’s the case, there will still be other posts in the meantime, I’m not going anywhere.
So I’ll leave it at that for now. Thank you for your support as always, I hope you have a lovely July and enjoy the nice weather, and I’ll see you for more posts very soon!
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