Death of a salesman

Last week to the Young Vic's nearly all black version of 'Death of a Salesman', and very good it was too. Much better than the version we saw five years ago appears to have been, for which see reference 1.

From the Young Vic website

Warm and muggy, but fine enough to take our picnic in the small park across the road from the Old Vic. A park busy with bright young things taking their picnics from a variety of paper, plastic and cardboard packaging. Not very save the planet at all; much less so than our more homely picnic brought from home, in my case of bread (from Epsom) and cheese (from Lincolnshire).

Fake front

We admired the pillared building next to the Old Vic, once, I believe a department store, and now looking to be relic, facing up the new building behind. We noticed what used to be the Bar + Kitchen (of, for example, reference 2), a place which we had liked, had become 'Hello Darling'. We poked our noses inside to be greeted by a bevy of very forward young ladies, some more dressed than others. The place did not seem that busy and they seemed very keen that we should visit later, after our show. BH not so sure and had she seen reference 3, she would have been even less sure: '... With six themed rooms over two floors, exquisite interiors, bespoke cocktails, burlesque and drag performances, we ensure this party's going to be a fun, intimate and a unique social experience. We strongly recommend you dress to the nines to immerse yourself in this extraordinary night. The evening includes up close performances from our friends at House of Q and a welcome drink ...'. Maybe we were a touch old.

Onto the Young Vic with its usual cheerful and buzzy atmosphere, including a number of Internet campers, after the fashion of the Festival Hall. But no indigents that we saw.

Toilets

Toilets disarmingly straightforward about in-betweeners, with the right hand icon apparently meaning that you should take whichever path you felt most comfortable with. You have been warned!

Seats rather basic, but a lot more comfortable than they looked, which was just as well as the first half, while good, again seemed a little long. Second half, with rather more action, was really good, with a fine closing performance from Sharon Clarke (as Linda). We thought the cast was all pretty good, with Trevor Cooper providing admirable light relief as the white neighbour, Charley. Rather more good gags than we remembered from last time. And I had done enough travelling, and turning up at strange places, to relate to the sometimes harsh and dreary life of the travelling salesman. From where I associate to once reading in some magazine about the harsh and dreary lives of seaside wrestlers, another group of professional travellers. Not so many of either travelling salesmen or seaside wrestlers about these days; no more of the commercial tables, fondly evoked by Trollope in 'Orley Farm', last noticed at reference 8.

Perhaps it helped that we had done our homework with Wikipedia (at reference 4) and so did not get lost amid all the dreams, flash-backs and what-have-you - which I thought they managed rather well, all going much more smoothly on the day than one might have supposed from the synopsis. And no-one fell over any of the wires which must have been hoisting the furniture up and down. We only found fault with the use of a Beryl cup and saucer as a marker for the period, roughly the time of my birth, a type of crockery which was in common use in this country at the time, but I do not think that it had made it across the pond. See reference 5.

After the show, back to Hello Darling, to a new bevy of not very dressed young ladies, still not very busy, but after some palaver they decided that the best they could offer was sitting & eating at the bar, which we declined, preferring instead to wander back to the Archduke and the piano noticed at reference 6. I remember now that last time this happened, in a Brazilian restaurant once in Wilton Road, that it was a test, and once they found that one was spending some money and getting into the spirit of things, you got a proper table. But that was some years ago.

A satisfactory Gavi

We both had steak and chips (or frites as they are called in a place like this), a first for BH. Both happy with our choice. Washed down with a spot of Gavi. Followed, in my case, with another go at their Pecan pie, plus a spot of their Calvados.

BH wisely opted to take her Standard from one of the stands at street level, as while present, they were a bit thin on the ground at platform level. And as chance would have it, it contained a not very good review of the very place at which we had been denied access.

An excellent outing. I might have been tempted to go for seconds, but they look to be sold out and I don't have the energy to bother with returns and queueing on the day.

Reference 1: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-revenge-of-understudies.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/03/r.html.

Reference 3: https://www.hellodarling.london/hello-events.

Reference 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_a_Salesman.

Reference 5: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/05/first-cherries.html.

Reference 6: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/05/piano-10.html.

Reference 7: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/05/boring.html. Our last visit to the Archduke had been just a few weeks previously, after the boring conference in the Conway Hall.

Reference 8: http://psmv2.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-massive-dose.html.