Valued Friends

Last week to the Rose at Kingston, the first time for a while, to see a revival of the Stephen Jeffreys play of 1989, 'Valued Friends'. A tale of four friends, secure tenants of a run-down basement flat in Earls Court caught up in a tale of refurbishment, selling on, greed, the need for babies - and, last but not least, the joys of DIY.

A tale still relevant, not least because a young informant tells us that flat sharing is back in among the young, after a couple of decades of buying a flat for oneself.

I drove us there, scoring a first for me in that I did not hit any of the kerbs during my ascent to level 7 of the car park. First stop after that, the bridge over the Hogsmill to make sure that the fish were still there, which they were, just about visible in the rapidly fading light.

I had bought a programme voucher and BH bought an exit visa for the car park from the box office. All of which turned out to be a good wheeze, saving valuable drinking time.

Into the theatre proper to discover that they had done away with floor & cushion dwellers at the front and done away with the rows of seats with designations like 'BB'. With the present simplicity having confused me at the time I made my online booking, some months ago now.

Quite a well cast and entertaining show, but I thought it a bit slight for its two and a bit hours including the interval. Cleverly, revolvingly staged. A very modest amount of smoking by the young actors. They didn't really put their heart into it; probably non smokers. And regarding which see the comment about Poirot at reference 2. Needless to say, the modest cast was vastly outnumbered by all the creative and production types listed in the programme.

We were reminded that the Rose is a well designed theatre, with a stage which can be used in all sorts of ways. A pity that they don't put on so much that we want to see these days. A place which we appear from the record to have been visiting for something over ten years. For which, see reference 3.

The bar seems to have come back in-house, having been outsourced to a local and no doubt fashionable café for a while.

Outside, we find that Oxfam have moved from their two locations - from one of which I have bought various substantial books over the years - in the centre, to what used to be a solicitors' office in the river end of the High Street. A heritage building, perhaps expensive to run and hard to rent. While Jamie Olivers is no more, having been taken over and made over by some brand new operation. But pretty much empty this Wednesday evening.

BH managed three small hits on her way down from level 7; unusual for her. And so home for a spot of something that warms. His and hers varieties.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2018/11/to-rose.html. Our last visit to the Rose, getting on for a year ago now.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/09/beethoven-250.html.

Reference 3: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/search?q=uncle+vanya+rose.