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No country for old women: Old Ladies - at Finborough Theatre

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The day after seeing The Old Ladies at the Finborough Theatre , I was describing the play to someone in great detail: about three old ladies who lived in a rickety house in southern England in 1935. Based on Hugh Walpole’s novel and adapted by Rodney Ackland, it is the sort of story with enough believability, humour and mild thriller to stick in your mind. Perhaps it is the lure of this dark, forboding tale of a life without money, to be alone and to be old, that makes you feel attracted to this poverty porn. But then again, given the state of the world, the cost of living, an ageing population, or just the fact that it’s a dog-eat-dog world, it might as well be an every little old lady-for-herself, too. It’s a well-acted and staged piece that moves at a brisk pace, so there isn’t much time to think about it too much. And in the intimate (or should that be claustrophobic?) space of the Finborough, there’s nowhere to avert your eyes. Even if you wanted to.  The scene is a grim Cathe...
Concert: Ravi Shankar

A was very impressed that he was adding to my cultural enrichment by getting me a ticket (due to a last-minute cancellation by a relative of his) to see Ravi and Anoushka Shankar in concert at the Proms. It was a wondrous and uplifting evening of musical meditation.

Well for the most part. The first half consisted of a piece by Param Vir Horse Tooth White Rock which sounded interesting in parts but it also had some very loud percussion sections. I had warned A previously that loud percussion can make me jump unexpectedly and this was no exception. It was a pity that I wasn't sitting with A so he didn't see this very undignified jolt. But his relatives who I was sitting with did, and this amused them for the rest of the performance... Well, one can't always be dignified and graceful.

After this loud and noisy piece, Shankar's Sitar Concerto followed. It was a welcome relief and I think most of the audience felt this way... You could feel the audience get more and more excited as Anoushka Shankar played and as the music continued to its finale. And as a piece of programming it was an excellent way to introduce the second half.

After the interval Ravi Shankar came on to play a series of Sandhya (evening) ragas. The sell-out crowd in Albert Hall leapt to their feet as he walked on. The atmosphere was electric. It wasn't just an evening of musical entertainment but so much more. The ragas lasted for a little over an hour and the audience was rapt throughout. The improvisation and techniques were astonishing, the music sublime, and the sensation of the performance unfolding before you was all part of the experience.

Afterwards A whisked me away from Albert Hall. He thought there were far too many South Asian Men in the vicinity for his liking. I don't know where he got the idea that I was some dirty stopout. It may have been those leering references to how friendly the South Asian men are at my local M&S... But I digress... The evening to me seemed a fairly mixed affair. And besides, music as good as this has no boundaries.

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