An Evening with Bubble

We're in London, continues...

Last night we went to the theatre, at last. We saw Absurd Person Singular. The reason we went is because one of the stars is Jane Horrocks who played Bubble in Absolutely Fabulous, one of our favorite tv shows ever. She was incredible in the film Little Voice and was also one of the voices in Chicken Run. "I don't want to be a pie!" We think she's fabulous and will see anything she's in.

The play was one of the worst things we've seen on the London stage. We normally would have left at one of the two intervals but we really wanted to see Jane Horrocks. And staying was worth it. She is completely hilarious. We loved seeing her on stage, loved it!

Her performance was the only funny thing in the play. Her character was the only potentially funny one and she made it hilarious. I can imagine someone else in that role making it not funny at all. Like the other roles. Terrible. It seemed like the author knocked the play out in an afternoon. It had a couple funny moments but it was mostly not funny and often just tedious. I'm sure he's very famous and has won lots of awards, etc., etc., blah, blah... The play even got good reviews which I find completely baffling.

Well, it doesn't matter. We got to see Jane Horrocks on stage, yay!

However, what was funny (well not funny "ha ha" but entertaining) was before the show started. I had one of the most obnoxious elderly women ever sitting next to me, LOL. She was very posh and I could barely understand what she was saying because it was all vowels. She spent the 15 minutes before the play started shouting into her mobile phone.

Posh Elderly Woman: "Yes, we're actually sitting in the middle of the theatre waiting for it to start, can you believe it? First my James took me to dinner at The Ivy. I'm feeling very spoilt, darling. Yes, it's very boring sitting here waiting for it to begin, I do wish they would get on with it."

Her James: "Mumble, mumble, what, mumble..."

Posh Elderly Woman: "Hush James, I'm talking. So as I was saying, darling, I am at the theatre and will call you when I get home. What's that? What? Hello? I seem to be losing the signal, darling, I can't hear you. Well, as I said, I'll call you when... what? Hello? The signal is fading again. It's so annoying. What? Hello? Are you there?"

Woman behind me to her friend: "You'd think if she were losing the signal she would get off the bloody phone."

Posh Elderly Woman: "Yes, darling, I'll call you. The show is about to begin. Finally. What? Hello? Are you there?"

The show begins. At the first interval:

Posh Elderly Woman: "Dreadful. Every time we come to the West End we swear we won't come back again. Let's mean it this time, James."

During the painful and not funny second act, the elderly couple in front of us, who had been laughing loudly at everything the entire time, had their mobile phone go off and had difficulty getting it to stop. Then they started talking to each other. The obnoxious posh elderly woman next to me said "oh for crying out loud" and turned in my direction and gave me a look like it was me doing the talking. Or perhaps she was expecting me to shush them. I have no idea but it was a weird moment.

At the second interval the posh elderly woman and "James" left. On her way out she was dialing her mobile phone.

Well, it doesn't matter. We got to see Jane Horrocks on stage, yay!

Comments

[Martin]

It's always been a shockingly bad play. I can't understand how it ever made it back into the west end and how they got some biggish names for the cast.