Ajaxpost Plays: Beyond The Game

Just in case there is an audience for FM2020 highlights videos beyond my typical YouTube channel subscriber, it occurred to me (several weeks late, admittedly!) that I could post each match highlights video here on this blog! So, here's the first couple of months worth of matches, I will endeavour to publish the others here in a more timely manner. 😎 To work through the whole series so far, you can go directly to the YouTube playlist: Football Manager 2020: Bristol City Season 1 . Or, if for some reason you'd want to watch them from here just keep on scrolling! Either way, if you would like to know more about the team, my tactics, my decisions, please just ask. Though, as my earlier, historical, post explains I actually know nothing about football and most choices I make in this game are either arbitrary or just following the advice of my club staff. 😕 League Match 1 - Leeds United League Match 2 - Birmingham City Carabao Cup Rnd 1 - Northampton Town League Match 3 -Queen Par...

I have never seriously followed football or, indeed, any sport. My parents were not participants and at best infrequent watchers. Sure, we would indulge in the Saturday afternoon TV ritual of World of Sport for some horse racing or wrestling - that's the proper British style of wrestling combat, not the American show-business nonsense. Rounded off, of course with the run-down of the football results, mainly to see if we had won anything on the pools ! Through my teens I became a little more aware of football, though in three quite specific ways. Firstly there was that good feeling when someone from your own area became successful, I was always rather pleased to hear when a local team had some success which, to be honest, didn't happen very often as Berkshire was not home to many world class teams! Secondly, footballers were starting to become celebrities. Certainly a world away from the mega-stardom that they would come to be afforded some years later but back then the...

It's time, once again, for the amateurs on this day Before The Lockdown: in 2018 Having seen quite a few amateur productions in Bath and Bristol, by both community groups and also theatre students in training, I thought it time to check out what London might be able to offer. The community based Putney Theatre Company at the Putney Arts Theatre created an evening devoted to new writing in a showcase of seven short pieces produced and performed by the PTC. Under the umbrella title of Fate Expectations each piece offered a moment in time, either realistic or fantastical, where everything could change. in 2019 The last of this year's Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Directors' Cuts season at the Wardrobe Theatre was How My Light Is Spent . A surreal tale of how one man's life literally starts to disappear. Having lost a 'proper job' and then been replaced by a coin-bin at a zero-hours fast-food joint his disappearing prospects become a physical reality...

Two very different shows in very different venues on this day Before The Lockdown: in 2011 What can you say about Avenue Q ? This time at the Bristol Hippodrome, having previously seen it in London five years earlier, and it was still wonderfully joyous, poignant, uplifting, and celebratory. I think Avenue Q  would have been the first time I'd seen any show that used puppets as characters and the wonder of it was that you very quickly forgot that they were puppets. Even, as in the case of Avenue Q when their handlers are there on stage visibly operating them. They believed they were real and were so unashamedly 'real' that you couldn't not believe in them as well. Tackling very real issues, that are to our shame still real issues today, including racism, homelessness, anxiety, sexual identity all with a warmth and humour that engages with everyone. A wonderful, wonderful show. I really should see it again. in 2019 Burdall's Yard is described as an ...

This was definitely a day for creative students Before The Lockdown: in 2017 The Bath Spa University Theatre Society was at the Mission Theatre in Bath to put on Our Country's Good . If you've been reading the older pages on this Blog you may recall that I saw a professional production of this well-regarded play back in 2014 . So, I'll be very lazy and repeat some of what I said then:  " there's a lot to like about Our Country's Good ... It's a play about the redemptive power of art, in particular of theatre, and the injustice and immorality of an impersonal legal system that fails to account for social context. " Just like when I saw it in 2014, I came away from this amateur production with much the same feeling, that for me " it's just not a very exciting play. " Despite having a much smaller budget and thus a significantly less impressive set and lacking the polish of a professional production this presentation did have a f...

Two films appeared on stage on this day Before The Lockdown: in 2015 I don't think I'd even heard about the film so when seeing the Rocky Horror Show 'equal' Shock Treatment on the King's Head Theatre stage in London I had no preconceptions. Like RHS, Brad and Janet are key to the story but this time faced with a bizarrely nightmarish reality TV show rather than transexual Transylvanians! It's similarly sprinkled with catchy songs and comically outrageous characters but didn't quite have the magic that made Rocky Horror such an iconic work. The design, in this cosy pub theatre, was fun and the cast were wonderfully engaging and enthusiastic so you would have to be very hard-hearted not to enjoy yourself. At the end of the day, though, it is just "that other Richard O'Brien play". in 2019 I've not read the much lauded novel, and it's so long since I last saw the film that, once again, I had little pre-knowledge to apply...

A day of contrasting experiences at the theatre on this day Before The Lockdown: in 2015 I've hated musical films for as long as I can remember - all thigh-slapping gusto and ludicrously overt smiling and screwball choreography. No, I wanted realism and emotional depth. But, since I started going to the theatre regularly, I've come to appreciate that there is a place for stories told through music and they're not all madcap song and dance fests. However, Oklahoma! was surely a perfect example of all the things I hated about 'traditional' musicals but I thought I should at least give it a chance. It wasn't overly expensive and I really should base any opinion I have on fact, so I handed over the money and went along to the Theatre Royal Bath. Somewhat annoyingly, I did actually rather enjoy it! The characters were believable, the story arc made sense and the whole production was very polished. Sure, the songs were cheesy, but once I settled into the rhy...

Another of my threesome days Before The Lockdown: in 2014 Sometimes you take a bit of a risk, you have an idea that an actor, a company, a theatre usually do something interesting but you actually know next to nothing about the production in question. A couple of actors we'd seen before and liked were part of  an improvisational company that was putting on shows that did not just include improvisation but we ticket buyers had no idea what even the basic concept was. So it was with the Secret Theatre Show 5 - A Series of Increasingly Impossible Acts at the Lyric theatre London. In a room with only a square performance space, no set just a handful of props and a single row of seats around the edge of the room. To be honest, I don't really recall what happened, what it was about, but that it was fast, energetic, demanding of the actors, funny and, at the end of the evening, thought-provoking. And even if it doesn't stick in the memory for years, that still makes for ...

Some days are heartbreaking, some days are joyous, some days Before The Lockdown are both: in 2018 I was initially unsure of this one, a play about some fat guy? Did I really want to see that? But it was at the Ustinov in Bath, and over the years I have come to trust their judgement. Yes, there have been some productions that didn't work for me but the vast majority are excellent and many have been outstanding. On this day in 2018 I saw The Whale and it was, most definitely one of the latter! In fact, I would go so far as to say that it was one of the most emotional and powerful plays I have ever seen in over twenty years of going to the theatre. Such is the reputation of the Ustinov that Shuler Hensley, who played Charlie, the 'fat guy' (actually grotesquely, morbidly, obese guy) for the play's off-Broadway premiere came over to Bath for this, the UK premiere. His understanding of the character was quite likely the key that really unlocked the piece. The play...

It was all about truth and perception on this day Back Before The Lockdown: in 2016 I was in the main house of the Theatre Royal Bath to see The Truth . In the preceding years I had seen two plays from the same author, Florian Zeller, and translator, Christopher Hampton; the brilliant The Father and The Mother both of which had their UK premiere in the smaller Ustinov studio before heading to London's West End. Buoyed by those successes this one started in London before coming out to Bath and attracted a much larger audience, hence being on the main stage. Although sharing a similar fascination with perception, reality, and truth this new play was significantly more comic in style, using many of the familiar tropes of a farce in it's depiction of romantic deceits and misdirections but all with a modern twist that made it feel fresh. Even so, after the two previous powerfully emotive productions this one was inevitably more light-weight and so, for me, less impressive,...

Suspenders at the ready on this day Before The Lockdown: in 2003 Oh dear, this is rather embarrassing! I loved the film, it's iconic and a standard reference point for all of us who do not believe in conformity. Yet. I've only seen the stage show, on which the film was based, once. What is even worse is that I remember so very little of the Rocky Horror Show when I did get to see at the Wimbledon Theatre in London! It must have been fun, how could it not be? But no, I recall nothing. 😢 For some reason, I do not have a programme for this show, and I am almost fanatical in getting programmes! so the image here is one I have found on the Internet and, as far as I can tell, is correct for this particular tour An interesting side-note to this is that when searching for that image I discovered that at the time this show was running Wimbledon Theatre was in severe financial difficulties and did, in fact close for several months until it was rescued by the Ambassador Thea...

As much as I've tried I really can't find a cute thematic bon mot to apply to the theatrical rundown on this day Before The Lockdown... in 2003 Still working out what I really liked about theatre one simple selection method was recognisable names from TV. Office Games at the Pleasance Theatre in London fitted that bill quite nicely With relative stage newcomers Adam Rickitt and Charlie Brooks fresh from Coronation Street and EastEnders respectively and the well established Richard O'Callaghan. A basic office comedy with all the usual shenanigans that follow a important figure being embarrassed by a mistake that is then blamed on a junior who then seeks some sort of revenge. With being set in the British Foreign Office after the first world war this one had the added comedic value of historical attitudes. A modestly entertaining evening I recall little of the plot or the characters but what I do remember is that we bumped into Adam Rickitt at the tube station on...

Going back, back in time, Before The Lockdown... in 2019 Back in 2017 I saw a wonderfully energetic, joyful, and also savagely poignant play about the promise of the Tony Blair's 1997 election victory so I was delighted that the same company, the Bristol born Wardrobe Ensemble, were bringing their earlier hit 1972: The Future of Sex back to the Bristol Old Vic. It was just as good. The same great soundtrack, energetic precision choreography, sharp humour and genuinely heartfelt personal stories. By deftly alternating through several stories of emergent sexual awareness in the, supposedly, simpler 70s we're reminded that getting to grips with sex, sexuality, gender, and the associated 'politics' is as it has always been ... a minefield.

On this day Before The Lockdown, we have a clutch of fresh faces: in 2007 I had seen the film version many years previously but this was the first time I would see Equus on stage (currently at three and counting 😎). The Gielgud theatre in London achieved quite a coup, by getting Daniel Radcliffe to star in his first significant stage role during a break in filming the Harry Potter series. He had already done some other TV work but live in a theatre is quite a different skill. Without the magic of cameras and post-production could he convince as a live actor? In the company of well respected and well-versed stage veterans like the excellent  Richard Griffiths and Jenny Agutter this was a very daring move by the young actor. The problem I have now is that this was thirteen years ago and in 2019 I saw a wholly new version of the play was was simply outstanding and will etched in my memory for years to come. But I cannot recall any specific emotions I felt for this first produ...

A mathematical conundrum Before The Lockdown in 2013 There are many reasons for why I might enjoy a particular play but I never thought mathematics would be on that list! The conceit that is at the centre of Proof , which I saw at the Theatre Royal Bath, is the death of a mathematical genius and the discovery of a new world-changing mathematical proof amongst his unpublished papers. Around this swirl issues of family loyalty, guilt, thwarted ambitions, and mental health. In this production, as well crafted and performed as it was, the emotional bonds and needs that should have been at the heart of the play weren't quite as clear as they needed to be so I left thinking that it made valid points about sexism in intellectual circles and how guilt can fester within families but I didn't feel the story, which is what I particularly enjoy about good theatre Interestingly, a few years later I saw an amateur presentation of the play and enjoyed it a whole lot more.  Whether i...

Mental health is something we are all more aware of these days so it's interesting that on this day Before The Lockdown I saw two productions that, in quite different ways, raise issues of mental well-being. in 2012 There are some works that have become 'national treasures' and Abigail's Party is, without doubt, one of those. This production, which I saw at the Theatre Royal Bath, came from the well-regarded Menier Chocolate Factory with an interesting mix of established stage and TV actors, most of whom had significant success in TV soaps. Their familiarity with the heightened domestic drama of a TV soap served them very well in this excellent production. With a wonderfully evocative 1970s kitsch (in today's terms anyway) living room set these (mostly) appalling characters were brought to life as we laughed and cringed in equal measure at how awful their behaviour was. Back then, it was showing off our taste in terrible decor or music choices that we used ...

For the last two year, Before The Lockdown, I've found some theatrical entertainment to amuse and entertain me ... in 2018 Local theatre company Black Dog Productions put on Orphan at the Mission Theatre in Bath. A dark and bloody exploration of the nature of friendship (real & obsessive) and guilt (hidden & realised) under the violence and oppression implicit (& explicit) in all cults. It was horrifyingly engaging as the disturbing story of a boy known only as 'Orphan' is revealed to us, and the means by which he seeks justice against those who were knowingly, or not, complicit. in 2019 One of the great things about living close to a visionary and adventurous theatre such as the Bristol Old Vic is that it actively engages and promotes creativity throughout the communities it serves. The BOV has a number of outreach programmes that encourage and help various groups of people develop both their ideas and skills. One such programme is Bristol Fe...

Another triple hit day, I don't think I've found a day across four years yet ... but I'm sure there must be, y'know, probability and all that! Anyway, Before The Lockdown on this day ... in 1999 This is the furthest I have gone back so far and it's quite an interesting one. On this day I was in London to see Rent at the Shaftesbury Theatre. I would actually see this same production again later in the year, for the last performance and then again a couple of years later with a new touring cast. The main motivation for this trip was to see Joe McFadden who had so impressed in recent TV successes The Crow Road and Sex, Chip, and Rock'n'Roll . It had been a smash hit in the US but apparently didn't work quite so well  in London, but I remember enjoying it and although McFadden wasn't perhaps the most convincing lead he had enough charm to carry it off and I thought, as a whole it worked well, and there were certainly some very powerful and e...

Ahh, and we have another busy day in history, Before The Lockdown: in 2002 My first visit, of admittedly few, to the National Theatre in London was to see Vincent in Brixton at the Cottesloe. It's strange what, if anything, you remember of a work. Sometimes absolutely nothing or, as with this production, an odd detail like that they actually had a working kitchen as part of the set! Though, to be fair, I do also recall an impressive performance from Clare Higgins as the landlady of the house Vincent van Gogh was staying in. Escaping a traditional Christian Dutch environment to the more progressive and permissive London, Vincent found a muse of sorts, someone who recognised his talent, and also a love interest or two. As I recall it, a gently paced tale of the two lead characters recognising their likely futures one bright and creative, the other returning to a hum-drum day-to-day existence after a brief moment of excitment. This production was also interesting in terms of...

Is anyone sensing a theme in my Before The Lockdown posts? 🤔 Yes, on this day I was, once again, at the theatre ... in 2018 A trip out to the Bristol Old Vic to see a new touring production of A Streetcar Named Desire . A cramped container was essentially the entirety of the set which, with excellent lighting design, provided a physical representation of the constrained lives of our characters that give vent to the despairing anger and, brutally, the sexual violence that is often barely restrained in most of us. By dispensing with the traditional trappings of a 'realistic' set the source and impetus of those raw, searing emotions and the hot, sweaty sexuality at the heart of this classic American story was all the more powerfully captured as we were taken on a dark and explosive journey leading to a devastating conclusion.