01 February 2007

There Came a Gypsy Riding

Now, we don't claim to be theatre aficionados, however we were both knocked over (almost literally) by the play we saw on Monday. Perhaps a little background...

Out of our bedroom window there is the Almeida Theatre. We've been planning to go for quite some time and finally made the effort. A new show opened January 11th called There Came a Gypsy Riding (http://www.almeida.co.uk/production_details/production_details.aspx?code=8). It of course appealed to Brian since it's about a modern day Irish family from Dublin spending the weekend at their cottage in the west.

We showed up a few minutes after it began, but didn't miss much. The theatre is very intimate and you feel like a part of the performance. There were 5 actors and you could feel their performances. It was emotionally draining for the audience and more so for the cast. When they came out for their curtain call there were no smiles on their faces, just looks of exhaustion.

If you get a chance when you're in London (before 3 March) or if the play makes it to the states we highly recommend it. Parents be warned, it's a great play but will evoke strong emotions.