As you know Groover has been in a play recently called The Beat Goes On by A Lad In Sane productions.
Well, I have a tiny bit of the show so you can see him in action.
Actually you see more of his co-star…
My only excuse is that I got too involved in the play to remember to video later…
Doh!
Groover... is Mr Williams in The Beat Goes On
Groover is in another play – The Beat Goes On – which opens this THURSDAY at Camelot Theatre in Mosman Park.
The play is really three one-act plays all, as you might imagine from the title, about police work in the home country.
Groover is in the third of these plays, directed by Sinead Bevan (the co-director of his last play Arsenic and Old Lace) and he plays a nasty piece of work.
Mr Williams is a thug.
He’s been arrested countless times and always seems to get off on a technicality – the police powerless to do anything about it and forced to be polite and over-courteous all the time.
Honestly, practicing his lines with him, I just wanted to slap him!
Still it is quite amusing and thank goodness this time at a theatre closer to home – although he has some performances out at Midland as well.
I’m going both Friday and Saturday nights - hopefully I’ll see you at one of those performances!
Backstage at a New York Minute
So as you know I have recently been in a play – a wholly improvised play – at Subiaco Arts Centre, and Saturday night’s performance took me back to an audition I had when I was about 15.
15 and NEVER been kissed.
In the audition piece I had to kiss my lover.
WTF
Well having NO experience in the matter – such an innocent – I delivered a rather chaste little kiss on the lips of this much older man.
No no no! Said the director…
Kiss him like you mean it!
Needless to say I didn’t get the part.
Now, you would think, me being much older and more experienced in the way of kissing, if the situation were to happen again I would be fine.
I know what to do right?
Well the other night I watched my fabulous colleague – one who can actually act pucker up and ravish all the leading men – boy can that girl deliver a believable snog.
And she says to her on stage lover that he has to do the same to me.
Maybe I would have been less apprehensive had I no warning.
This poor boy, twenty years younger than me then has to kiss me and I…
!!!
I don’t know what to do.
I am 15 again.
As awkward as a teenager on her first date.
Luckily I have a blue feathered fan to hide behind.
A shame really.
It’s not often one has the legitimate opportunity to snog a young man…
Despite my parents sitting in the front row, I really should have taken advantage.
Courtney Sage Hart is one of the actors in the show I’m in – In a New York Minute, the Spontaneous Insanity production at the Subiaco Arts Centre.
The first three shows are sold out, and there is one extra show on Saturday night (which I am also playing in) at 10pm. Book here.
Anyway I think Courtney has got a brilliant future ahead of him in film making… check out the trailer he made above.
Meanwhile with opening night behind us – we are gearing up for tonight’s show.
I don’t know whether to be scared or excited!
Thank goodness I can rely on the rest of the ensemble.
They are amazing.
See the kids! Precious kids!
Yes, their heads are on the chopping block
and someone’s got to dare to take a stand
Can’t ignore any more, it could be your son or daughter
With a deadly stick of reefer in their hand!
They’re heading straight for
Reefer Madness! Reefer Madness! Reefer Madness! Reefer Madness!
Save our kids!
We went to see Reefer Madness on Saturday night down at the Phoenix Theatre.
But before that we had dinner at the Left Bank which was very nice indeed. Generous portions. If you like steak – a good place to be. I had the Morroccan lamb which was also very pleasant.
This is the view from the balcony.
The Port of Fremantle from The Left Bank
But I digress…
Reefer Madness – the musical is a 1998 spoof of a propaganda film made in 1938 to scare people about the ills of marijuana.
The production by Blak Yak Theatre has been going for a couple of weeks and Saturday night was the last night.
Phoenix Theatre in Hamilton Hill is charming. You might remember we went to see a play there earlier this year.
I was keen to go because Louisa Fitzhardinge was in the cast – she played the sweet Mary Lane – and she’s also in In A New York Minute with me. (she’s the red head)
It was terrific. Groover said to me yesterday that if it was still on he’d go again.
Really fun lyrics, great cast, tuneful singing and great hilarity – especially the Jesus scene. Classic.
Louisa was as expected, simply brilliant – a highlight was her dancing!!!
And her co-star playing Jimmy was also great.
We also loved watching Roisin Bevan who you might remember from Arsenic and Old Lace.
A shame it has finished but a great testament to some of the great community theatre on in Perth at the moment.
The biggest fan (Groover) with Mr Movember and his lady
Feline and me
“In a New York Minute, everything can change… things can get a little strange” DON HENLEY
I’m in this Spontaneous Insanity show at the Subiaco Arts Centre and I am out of my comfort zone.
Featuring Libby, Glenn, Louisa and Shane
It is a wholly improvised show, with improvised music and improvised lighting.
Some of the cast with Glenn Hall (centre), the director.
Luckily I completely trust my fellow actors and the director.
It is really exciting to consider long form improvised theatre.
Unlike Theatresports, there are no games and the director gets more involved in the action.
Glenn, Bree and Emmet ham it up for the camera
We’re in the studio at Subiaco Arts Centre. There will be caberet seating – you know… little tables and chairs – and there will be nibbles on each table.
You will be close to the action.
This is me - all dressed up with somewhere to go
Liz Green performed while we ate.
Saturday night we went out to dinner with some close friends at Harvest in Fremantle.
We chose Harvest because it was in our Entertainment Book (so we got a discount) and it was half way between our houses.
And as a bonus – right next to our table – Liz Green sang for us.
Liz was in Perth as part of the One Movement festival this weekend – now that is cool – having the festival come to you!
Liz is from Manchester and her first song was a capella – impressive.
Groover and the Abstar
The food was very fancy.
I had the beef lasagne for an entree – which was steak tartare with a parmesan crunchy top – it might sound… unusual but it tasted delicious.
I liked my venison sausage and black bean casoulet less but it was still very nice.
Groover had the chicken salad with popcorn – I must say the popcorn put me off ordering this but on tasting it – omg – delicious – and the peas tasted fresh from the garden.
That's me and the Evstar
We’re loving the Entertainment book – definitely got my money’s worth – and will probably get one next year too.
Plus you’re encouraged to try new places.
Win win.
Popcorn chicken salad: It tasted a LOT better than it looks... trust me.
The gorgeous Peggy!
Friday night, Groover and I went back to the Art Gallery for the Opening of the Penny Guggenheim Exhibition.
This is from her collection in Venice.
Ahhhh Venice – so romantic, so beautiful.
I went twice to this collection in Venice when we were there in 2005 – and we were only there for a day – so I was looking forward to seeing how it travelled.
What a delight to see our good friend acting as Peggy Guggenheim – although she shaved her legs and apparently Peggy didn’t… maybe people didn’t in the 30s so – we’ll overlook it – you might remember her from Theatresports earlier in the year.
Me and Miss Peggy
It is a stunning collection of modern art – all the big names – extraordinary to see the work which still looks modern even though some of it is nearly 100 years old.
A Jackson Pollock which is figurative! Who knew? (probably all of you)
Go and see it – it is on until the end of January and is only coming to Perth… hey that’s closer than Venice.
That’s the advantage of having a Gallery Director who was born in Venice and is married to a former intern of the Peggy Guggenheim collection.
(Oh that Italian accent! Mamma mia!!)
Afterwards, with 15 minutes to wait until the train we sat and talked in the organic garden just outside the gallery.
Groovy Groover
I just wanted to show you more of my frock.
Unfortunately we got so into playing with the slow synchro mode on my camera that we missed our train.
So we decided to wait the next HALF AN HOUR in the station.
That's not our train.
We love catching the train at night - it feels so cosmopolitan.
So that was Friday night.
On the way home the security guards found two passengers next to us without tickets.
They took their names and addresses but before they had time to check (over the phone to who knows?) the girl had walked off – hey this is my station… see ya!
They had no power to stop her and who knows if she gave her real name – although she was warned that it is an offence to give a false one.
Seems a rather inefficient system to me but what do you do?
Microchip everyone?
Detain fare evaders?
Yes that would be us.
You would have seen us swilling Sav blanc… or was it Voigner… whatever – it was wet, white and in a glass and it went down easily with the best of the Western Suburbs at this year’s Opening Night party for Art in Bloom at the Art Gallery of Western Australia.
Early on in the evening...
It’s a great event.
Top wine, great clothes, fabulous company dahling oh… and of course the exhibition itself which is spectacular.
For the unitiated, Art in Bloom is where florists and artists from Perth are invited to create a floral display to complement an artwork from the Art Gallery of Western Australia.
The event happens every two years and is a big fundraiser for the gallery.
And it is beautiful.
I love seeing the different interpretations… it makes you see the art in new ways.
And some of the floral tributes are incredible.
Of course it is rare for a museum to allow things like plant matter into its hallowed halls.
Imagine!
There might be bugs crawling in them there roses… but somehow the exhibition has run ten times without damage to irreplaceable artwork.
One of the artists responsible for the floral art on the night.
Of course quite a bit of wine was consumed and I confess I didn’t spend a lot of time appreciating the art.
This is a friend of mine from work who did a fantastic piece – incredibly complicated and impressive I thought – he said he had had to compromise but I couldn’t see where. (btw he is not pictured in front of his work)
Stunning.
Then there were those pieces that encouraged audience participation…
Groover gets interactive
Goodness knows why he is looking so serious… I’m not sure how critical the placement of the carnation was…
At 9.30pm on the dot the lights came on and we were all encouraged to leave but luckily the head of the organising committee is a dear friend and invited us (or did we invite ourselves… it’s a little hazy) to the after party where I had a lovely conversation with the wife of the head curator.
She was charming.
Afterwards, teetering on my high heels, we weaved our way through the underground bowels of the art gallery and found ourselves in the carpark.
A lovely night, a not so lovely hangover.
The social event of the season.
Following my last post, after two days in Sydney I can no longer fit into my daughter’s size 5 jeans (size 5 is about a 9 in real language).
A pork roll from James’s favourite cheap lunch spot.
Lasagne!
At least I have avoided all the yummy pastries from the (count them) five gorgeous bakeries that surround our hotel.
The food in Sydney is cheap and delicious and so difficult to not eat.
The first night we went to a little Vietnamese place in Surry Hills (or was it Darlinghurst) called Phamish.
They started serving at 6pm and there was a queue waiting to be seated (including us).
The highlight – the to-die-for duck and prawn rolls – watching mum eat one and then realise they had prawns in them was priceless.
We’ve also gone to see Wicked – the musical.
Clever story, great music and amazing set and costumes.
We had a brilliant time.
Last night I went with my sister to the Cinema Verona to see an Italian film called I am Love – starring Tilda Swinton.
The Italians have a very different approach to film making – lots of loud crashing music and close ups.
Good film though.
And walking down Oxford St late at night was fun too.
Today… I’m not sure what we’re doing… something touristy before the exhibition opening probably.
Then drinkies and art.
Photos to come.
