Just A Jump To The Left (And Then A Step To The Right)

[anarchist_nomad]

Went to the Oxford Playhouse last night to see Alan Ayckbourn's play Communicating Doors. Really, it was just your typical show about a hotel room with time travelling doors. Still, cheshcat and I enjoyed it.

The show premiered in 1994 and was originally set in 1974, 1994, and 2014. To keep the spirit intact, this production updated the timeline to 1990, 2010, and 2030. I thought that this change worked well, especially since it is not actually obvious at first that the play begins twenty years in the future.

I have now seen twenty-six plays this year. That is slightly better than one per week and well on track to my goal of at least forty shows in 2011. Nice!

What was also nice was coming out of the theatre at half past ten to see that the sky was still light -- a beautiful blue twilight. Ah, how I love this time of year!

To appreciate the season further, my beloved cheshcat and I are heading up to the Lake District this evening for a long weekend away. We are finally taking our late-May bank holiday weekend[*], which was deferred when I stayed to work longer in Japan. Given the push to release our electron neutrino appearance results, both cheshcat and I worked on the holiday and are taking tomorrow off instead.

It has been about four years since we last visited the Lake District in May 2007. It is such a breathtakingly beautiful area and we had an absolutely awesometacular weekend when we were last there. I am rather looking forward to a new set of adventures in such a gorgeous setting!

---

[*] For those gentle readers in the States, this coincides with Memorial Day weekend each year.

Comments

[miss-amaranth.livejournal.com]

"Ah, how I love this time of year!" <-- just commenting to say that I could not agree more!

I love you! *kiss*
xxxxxxxxxxxx

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Now all we need is a heat wave! I want it to be hot enough that I long to jump in a pool or a river when I go outside! (Because then I can go jump in a pool or a river!)

Love you, too, Beautiful! *kisses back passionately*

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Always the pedant, I wish to point out a few things about that synopsis of the play. One is that the name "Phoebe" (pronounced "Fee-bee", and meaning "shining") is repeatedly misspelled. The other is the name phonetically written as "Poopay Dayseer". This is obviously French, Poupee Désire; poupee means "doll", as in "a pretty toy" (compare to English "Dolly"), and is reasonably common as a female first name or nickname. All that being said... what a strange play!

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Ah, Ace! Your pedantry is one of the things we all love about you!

And, yes, it was quite a strange play! Actually, cheshcat figured out that the door to the storeroom had moved through time right away, but it took me a little while. Indeed, when Phoebe came out into another hotel room and the number on the door was the same, I thought that was rather sloppy. I had figured that she had emerged into a second room, rather than the same room twenty years in the past!

The special effects for the door that travelled through time were really well done. There was a small cutaway so you could see in between the doors, and they rotated them during time travel in such a way that the person right outside the door was then removed from stage. All with spiffy lighting and music, too!

Good show!

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

"Ah, Ace! Your pedantry is one of the things we all love about you!"

I'm quite aware that most people find it annoying, but it's often necessary (http://xkcd.com/386/) :-D

A time-traveling door - not an entire room, just the door - what an imaginative concept! In the wrong hands it would be clumsy, but from your description, I gather it was done deftly.

[cheshcat.livejournal.com]

To be fair, it is now my *absolute favourite story about a hotel room with time travelling doors*.

Indeed it is my favourite Ayckbourn so far. Such a brilliant conceit, and so elegant from a set design POV. Plus I adore how all the threads tied so neatly together. :) It was thrilling and sweet, and I am very glad we got to see it together.

Yay, we go on vacation!

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Some of Ayckbourn's work just doesn't move me at all, and is rather forgettable. I can barely recall A Trip To Scarborough or Life and Beth. In contrast, others are most excellent! I loved My Wonderful Day, and I thoroughly enjoyed The Life of Riley. Those two, plus this, are my top three... because they are all so unusual, and each in a different way.

I'm very glad that we saw this, Love. I was half tempted to skip it, given how crazy busy this week has been!

I wonder what he will write nice...

P.S. Yes, we go on vacation together! Huzzah!

[sweetcyanide.livejournal.com]

Ooh, hope you both have a fab time in the Lake District! I'm ashamed to say I've still not been yet, I think I may have to do a random trip there this summer :-)

x