Friday Night Theatre

Last Friday we went and watched a play at a local college. It was an adaptation of Chekhov’s "The Seagull" by Tom Stoppard. I really liked the play, it was well performed, humorous, and an interesting look at the lives of four passionate artists (true to form, one of them commits suicide at the end).

The evening provided an interesting contrast. Before the play we had about an hour and a half to kill (I finished work at 5:30, and the play started at 7:30). We planned on finding a little coffee shop and having some tea and coffee while we waited. Unfortunately, even in London it can be really hard to find a coffee shop or cafe that is open after 5PM. All that you can find are crowded, noisy, smoky pubs.

So we found the least smoky pub we could and I had a coke while Heather had tea (I just can't drink without dinner). It was interesting to observe the Friday night crowd, just off work in their suits, ties and black coats, all trying to look oh so cool while consuming as much alcohol as possible and carrying on about marketing, the stock exchange, property, or some other inspiring topic of conversation.

So we arrived at the play a little earlier than expected. Now we had a new group of posers to entertain us. It was the college theater crowd: eccentric clothing and hairdos, gesticulating wildly while conversing about theater, music, and other artsy-fartsy stuff.

Admittedly, I feel a bit more comfortable with the college crowd, but the truth is I don't really fit into either one. I go to work as a bourgeois professional for a big company in London, while my heart keeps pulling me in a more bohemian artistic direction. If you have some extra time on your hands, read "Bobos in Paradise" by David Brooks, it talks about a whole culture of people like me, Bourgeois-Bohemians or Bobos. I don't entirely fit the mold, but in some ways I come very close...

JE