Hamlet at the Young Vic. A friend of mine bought tickets for this show in June 2019. She has since moved out of London down to St Leonards, and only now are the ticket purchases being honoured. She couldn’t come up to watch it, so I took them off her. Then I couldn’t find a plus one for tonight. I went on my own to the box office. I built my whole day towards it. In the daytime I was swotting up on The National Grid and organising a long presentation for Sunday morning. I booked some packing boxes for Hampstead and two men with a van for two hours on Sunday afternoon. I was a flurry of activity in the morning, and even found time for lunch with a good friend. Then onto the tube, grabbed another old friend for a drink and said hello to Hex who is staying with her, and finally over to the theatre in time to sort out tickets.
Box Office was bemused at first before I found the reference number. I think it’s still in preview at the moment and they were doing a community performance for what felt like it might have been local youth. The theatre was buzzing but I was bringing the average age up considerably.
Turns out the tickets are for next Thursday, not tonight. Bugger.
Still, it gives me time to find a plus one. What a relief… Lou considered coming up from Brighton to watch it and it would’ve sucked if she’d wasted her journey. I’d have felt much more of an idiot if anybody but me had wasted their time this evening.
Returning to the tube station, I ran into a friend on his birthday and we both remembered how it used to be – you couldn’t walk through Waterloo or Soho in the beforetimes without running into another actor. Maybe there are shivers of that coming back at last.
I’m home now, and the show will still be on. It’s three hours long. I was steeled for a marathon this evening but it seems I just get to roll around at home, have a cup of chamomile and read.
So, I’ve got a plus one ticket for Cush Jumbo’s Hamlet at The Young Vic for NEXT THURSDAY. It’s definitely next Thursday this time. I’d like company and I don’t think it’s one that should be wasted.
I’ve got history with Hamlet – as who doesn’t? I’ve been the king a few times over the years. The most recent occasion was in a fort in Dubrovnik, and the woman who passed the ticket to me played The Dane. It’s an amazing play though – quite rightly considered one of his best. The joy with good writing is that it falls out differently when processed through different actors. I’m looking forward to seeing something as involved as a Shakespearean tragedy after so long without theatre. I expect it’ll be well cooked by now with such a huge delay between start of rehearsal and showtime. Next week. For now, good night.
AlBarclay 