I have been on holiday for the past few days, so I haven't done an awful lot of badge type things. I did find some time every day to do some writing though, as we had a couple of long tube journeys, so I was able to scribble some words down!
Day 109
CRITIC
Only Fools and Horses - The Musical @ Theatre Royal Haymarket, London
I was quite excited to see this musical, however, I was a little bit concerned that the actors wouldn't be able to pull off these well known and well loved characters. Within the first few minutes, the actor playing Rodney showed just how amazing he was. If you closed your eyes, you would believe it was the real Rodney on the stage. He was not the billed actor, but an understudy - Chris Kiely. Grandad (and Uncle Albert) was played by Les Dennis, and Del was played by Tom Bennett.
I wasn't sure what Les Dennis would be like, as I don't think I've ever seen him in anything before. But he was a great Grandad, shuffling about in his slippers. Weirdly, I think the biggest disappointment was Tom Bennett, who was the one I was most excited to see. I first saw him in Channel 4's PhoneShop, and thought he was brilliant. And don't get me wrong, he is a really good actor. However, it took a while for his Del Boy to convince me. He didn't quite have the right voice, although his mannerisms were there, so I felt it wasn't quite right. But as the show went on, he became more like Del Boy.
The story was speckled with songs, none of which I can remember (other than the obvious theme song), as we met Rodney and Cassandra trying to save up for a deposit on a flat and arranging their wedding, Boyce and Marlene trying to conceive, and Del Boy joining a dating agency, ultimately meeting Raquel. Trigger was there, as was Mickey Pearce and Denzel. They got in all the jokes - Trigger's broom, the chandelier, falling through the bar, Del's fantastic French phraseology. It was all there and it all worked.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. The energy was high. The acting was great. The songs were fun. Definitely one to go and watch.
WRITE EVERY DAY
GOOD HABITS
Teeth
Day 110
WRITE EVERY DAY
CODEBREAKER
I've already done a Treasure Trail, but we were given one as a gift so we thought we'd do it. Frustratingly, we couldn't get one of the clues, and that was because the thing we were looking for wasn't there, so we did have to ask for a hint. But it was really fun, and took us around parts of London that we hadn't been before.
GOOD HABITS
Teeth.
Day 111
WRITE EVERY DAY
GOOD HABITS
Teeth.
Day 112
FILM CRITIC
03 - A SUBTITLED MOVIE
A bit like with the silent movie, I thought this would be another clause to this badge that I would struggle with. I tend to do other things (scroll my phone, crochet, close my eyes!) while watching films, so by watching a film in another language, and having to read the dialogue, I knew I would need to focus more. I scrolled through the foreign films section on Kanopy, and found The Dinner Game, which is a French film inspired by the play of the same name. The film didn't have subtitles, but I added English subtitles so that it fitted in with this clause.
Pierre attends weekly dinners with friends. Each person must find an 'idiot' to bring along, for the group to mock. The 'idiot' should have an unusual or nerdy hobby that they are passionate about, that they're willing to talk about in front of the group. Pierre meets Francois on a train, and discovers that he enjoys making structural models out of matchsticks. Pierre has found his 'idiot'. He invites Francois to his house so that he can properly talk to him and learn about his hobby, before going to the dinner. However, Pierre hurts his back and is unable to go to the dinner, so he and Francois spend the time talking. During this time, many things go wrong, mainly because Francois keeps saying or doing stupid things.
This film mainly takes place in Pierre's apartment, which is situated right next to the Eiffel Tower, as we can see it through every window! And the cast is minimal. The story is funny. It had me laughing out loud at various points, but it also has a moral undertone.
I can't lie; I did struggle to focus and read the whole thing - but I put that partially down to being extremely tired. But the premise was sad and funny and well worth watching. When I'm a bit more focussed, I'll try something else with subtitles.
WRITE EVERY DAY
GOOD HABITS
Teeth.
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