La Puce à l'oreille (A flea in her ear)

Hasn't London got some prime theatres and actors? I have been to the Old Vic for the second time to see A Flea in Her Ear. A classic example of British farce, except that it was written by a Frenchman, Georges Feydeau and set in Paris in 1900.

Raymonde suspects her husband, Victor, of infidelity and she turns to her best friend, Lucienne, to help her gain proof. They concoct a ploy — based on a perfumed letter — to trap him at the Hotel Coq d'Or. In true Feydeau fashion the plan misfires; the plot is complicated by confused identities, revolving beds, a great many doors and the fact that the foolish hotel porter, Poche, is the exact double of Victor.

Superbly acted amidst lovely set designs, this is a play worthy of spending your hard earned cash and going to see. Wonder at John Marquez's over the top portrayal of the manic hispanic character. I promise you, that you will laugh out loud.

Superb!

Six Degrees of Separation - update

I went to see this play last night at the Old Vic theatre. There was a sprinkling of 'luvvies' in the audience enjoying a pre-performance glass of champagne in the 'Air America' bar. I thoroughly enjoyed the play but at first I couldn't help wondering why John Guare had made the central character of Paul, a con-man into a hero. But then Americans have always worshipped their 'bad boys and girls', haven't they? I guess it started off with the likes of Billy the Kid, followed by John Dillinger,  Bonnie And Clyde and most recently characters such as 'Omar Little' in the Wire.

Rather than let me prattle on about what I thought were the highs and lows of the play, although they were mainly highs, especially Obi Abili who portrays the character, Paul. I will instead direct you to this well written piece about said play.

The play continues at the Old Vic until 3rd April and if you are under 25, you can purchase a ticket for £12.

Six Degrees of Separation

(Copyright Old Vic)

I first read about this supposition about five years ago. This theory proposes that every living person on this planet is but six people away from knowing somebody else. This is so, even if you have never actually met them. So in theory I am six degrees away from knowing Barack Obama, the incumbent president of the United States of America. This is how the theory is supposed to work. If a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth. It was popularized by a play written by John Guare.

So I would think about who amongst my friends, colleagues or contacts is most likely to know someone who knows Mr. Barack Obama? I would then e-mail them and they in turn would e-mail somebody else and the theory is that within 6 people I would actually make contact with Mr. Obama. Now I happen to know a VP for Goldman Sachs as well as having some family contacts in Chicago (just by chance). I would then decide who would be most likely to be an important link in that chain and send them an e-mail and then wait and see if Mr. Obama gets in touch?  I concede it's not really likely to occur, is it? But, one never knows. I know of an FBI agent who lives in Washington D.C. and perhaps through him I might just get my link? I hope to meet with this agent in the flesh later this year and I will promulgate my idea to him and see how I get on. I'll keep you posted!

Now you might just be wondering, what has this to do with London? Well, at this present time, the Old Vic theatre is staging a production of John Guare's play, 'Six Degrees of Separation'. This agent has secured tickets for this week and I'm looking forward to seeing this play. The play is inspired by real-life events of a flamboyant con artist who convinced wealthy residents in Manhattan that he was the son of actor, Sidney Poitier. Six Degrees of Separation is a supposedly a captivating study of society's pretensions that are exposed by one man's self-confidence and imagination.

This production features Lesley Manville, Obi Abili Anthony Head. All pictured above.

I'm looking forward to seeing it and I will attempt to give you a critique.