The image above is a particularly cool section of the Transfăgărășan, a frequently nasty mountain road that crosses Romania. The dot on the road in the far distance on the right, just past the bend, is my pal on his motorbike.
I just found a PDF of my initial application to become an Olivier Awards Panellist, back in 2018. I was rather surprised to be invited for an interview and then gobsmacked when I was chosen to be a panellist. The year of theatre 2018-19 remains one of the most spectacular years of my life. I mean, I went to the theatre a lot back then anyway, it was simply turned up several notches, and to things that I would have normally missed.
The Oliviers are fantastic and London theatre is fantastic, and I would not hesitate to do it all over again. The ceremony and aftershow were fabulous too.
A moment here to thank Catherine at SOLT during that time, who was a superstar in booking everybody’s tickets for every single show and organizing so much more beyond that. A superstar.
The initial application email
Here are the details of my application. I had to write a 150-word review of a play (from the last year, I think) and list any shows I’d seen too.
150-word review:
It’s a leap of faith to accept Rupert Murdoch as David fighting the Goliath of old-money Fleet Street, as we know how the story continues, but James Graham’s play paints both Murdoch and Lamb as plucky upstarts who overtake The Mirror’s circulation in a year of sensationalism. “I want to disrupt this street,” says Murdoch, a sentiment which has new meaning in our technological age. Perhaps inspired by The Sun, Graham doesn’t always let the facts derail a gripping tale: The Sun didn’t overtake The Mirror in a year: it took nine; But without the pressure of time, the achievement wouldn’t be quite as celebratory, and anyway, Bertie Carvel and Richard Coyle are fabulous as Murdoch and Lamb, and Graham provides plenty of surprise-and-delight moments such the banging-out of retirees. No moralizing here, just a good story with a great cast.
Against - Almeida Albion - Almeida Anatomy of a Suicide - Royal Court Angels in America I+II - National Theatre Art - Old Vic Barber Shop Chronicles - National Theatre Beginning - National Theatre Bucket List - Battersea Arts Centre Chummy - White Bear Theatre Deposit - Hampstead Theatre Dessert - Southwark Playhouse Don Juan in Soho - Wyndham’s Theatre Escaped Alone - Royal Court Filthy Business - Hampstead Theatre Five Guys Named Moe - Marble Arch Theatre Follies - National Theatre Guards at the Taj - Bush Theatre Ink - Almeida Labour of Love - Noel Coward Theatre Life of Galileo - Young Vic Lost Without Words - National Theatre Mary Stuart - Almeida Mosquitoes - National Theatre Network - National Theatre Nuclear War - Royal Court Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (twice!) - Duke of York’s Theatre Peter Pan - National Theatre Queen Anne - Theatre Royal Haymarket Road - Royal Court Rosencranz and Guildenstern are Dead - Old Vic Saint George and The Dragon - National Theatre Sex With Strangers - Hampstead Theatre The Children - Royal Court The Ferryman - Gielgud Theatre The Kid Stays in the Picture - Royal Court The Lie - Menier Chocolate Factory The Lorax - Old Vic The Majority - National Theatre The March on Russia - Orange Tree The Snowman - Old Vic The Treatment - Almeida The Twilight Zone - Almeida The Wind in the Willows - Rose Theatre Kingston The Woman in Black - Fortune Theatre Twelfth Night - National Theatre Ugly Lies the Bone - National Theatre Victory Condition - Royal Court What Shadows - Park Theatre Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf? - Harold Pinter Theatre Wings - Young Vic Wish List - Royal Court Yerma - Young Vic
For many years, the food stalls around Chinatown were a great stop-off for me, good, fast and cheap. Originally, the stalls were around the section of Newport Place at the top of Newport Court, protected from the road by red bollards, you could even sit on the steps of the old pagoda and eat.
The stall I frequented made Hong Kong Waffles(Google Search), which are egg waffles in a bubble-form and I would have mine with a vast amount of Nutella, folded and wrapped in a paper bag. Eating this while walking down the road was a show-stopper, as gawking pedestrians sudddenly felt hunger pangs and looked to trace my steps back to the stall.
The stalls had tacit rental agreements with the restaurants and shops they were parking outside, with the shops providing electricity and cables hoisted overhead with poles. Until one evening, when Newport Place was clear of the stalls, with nobody around. Hungry, I walked down Newport Court and noticed that a couple had moved further up Charing Cross road to the sheltered section oppsite the few bookshops left. And I was especially pleased to find my usual stall there. They explained that they’d all be turfed out and luckily made a deal with restaurant just here. The husband-wife team were from China, trying to make a living, but tonight it was just the guy on duty. He asked if I was hungry, I said yes, and he said, I know what to make you, I make something special for you. Which he did. Delicious. No idea what it was called.
The couple had a baby, maybe a year younger than junior, who would usually also be in the buggy if I was down there on a Saturday, but recently, I hadn’t see them with their kid. The guy explained that the baby was back in China with his in-laws, while they worked here. They’d not seen them for nine months. That must be very hard, I offered. He said, it was, but much worse for his wife. I’ll bet.
We used to visit regularly on Saturdays for Hong Kong Waffles with Nutella, until one day, everything was gone, and things started shutting down. Eventually, the ground-floor of the entire block was rebuilt and right out to the pavement, no more sheltered undercroft to hide from the rain, and it all looks like this now.
I honestly still hunt around for the stall, but it’s long gone, they’re long gone, I hope they’re doing well.
We went to one of the new shops down Newport Court that advertised Hong Kong Waffles, and I’m sorry to say that it was absolutely fucking horrible, slightly burnt taste and fake Nutella, at about twice the cost. If I could remember who they were, I’d tell you, but I can’t. A complete disaster.
Anyway, I was thrilled to find a short video I’d taken of the stall one evening while he was making me some food.
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#FARMERSPARLOURS: the rooms of the most well-off are beautifully preserved and rather fantastic. . . . . #travelstoke #darkroomapp #getlost #explorer #optoutside #worldshotz #theworldshotz #createexplore #exploretocreate #discoverearth #hamburg #rurallife
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#JAMIE: it’s a few weeks over 25 years since I met this lovely geezer at our friend’s stag weekend. I gave him the original print from Joe’s Basement which he gave to his mother, “man, she flipped!”
The picture is a fabulous example of the power of the Contax G 45mm paired with Ilford XP2.
#KIRSTEN: catching up with an old friend and wandering around Islington until we find a cup of tea. Turns out that my equally old mate Quaddie built the neon sign we’re sitting under. Love that. I really must spend more time in Islington pubs. #essexroad . . . . #portraits #darkroomapp #portrait #portraits_ig #pixel_ig #portraiture #expofilm3k #portrait_perfection #portraitstyles_gfv #makeportraits
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#KOTORBAY: very beautiful, but the rest of the country is unbeatable. . . . . #landscapephotography #darkroomapp #landscapelover #landscape_captures #landscapes #landscape_photography #pixel_ig #landscape_hunter #landscape_lovers #landscapecaptures
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#ROME: hotter than ever, but best done outside office hours to avoid the heat and get the best light anyway. . . . . #travelstoke #darkroomapp #getlost #explorer #optoutside #worldshotz #theworldshotz #createexplore #exploretocreate #discoverearth
