Well, I finally get around to another post after an unusual week; some of it fun, some definitely not. And, in that, all sorts of reasons why I couldn't post any earlier.
Starting on Saturday with a panto, which was great. A friend of mine, who has recently started a curacy in a rural parish near Worcester invited us to see him in a panto he was in. Apparently, his parish started Martley Amateur Dramatics as part of their outreach several years ago, and have put on one ever since the 100th anniversary of one of the churches. Some of the group belong to one or other of the churches (mainly the men, which is unusual), and some don't-it's a very good way to both build community and get the church involved in the community. And as he's now started in a rural parish where getting into the community is vital, he was basically told he had to be in it. His vicar takes one of the main parts, as he does conjuring and juggling-apparently the main problem they have is getting him to stick close to the script.
So, anyway, I was picked up by a friend after work, and off we went to Martley for their production of 'Cinder Ella' (the German version) 'a small but subtle difference'. And a most enjoyable time was had by all, especially the cast. It was clear that most of the audience was connected in some way to some or all of the cast, and they seemed relaxed and enjoyed themselves. One of the best amdram shows I've ever seen. And afterwards, we were invited to the after-show party; which was basically everyone in the hall heading down the road to the local pub, The Admiral Rodney, and generally having a good time. The food was good, the company better, and the overall atmosphere was great-I found a perry I hadn't had before, so that's a good excuse to go back there.
And then on the Sunday, there was the latest Seek His Face event, at Elim Church, which was interesting. I've been having a difficult time praying recently, because I've been thinking that I've been praying about the same things for ages, and my life doesn't seem to be much different than it was X number of years ago. Or any different. I suppose I may be different, but it's difficult to tell how much and in what ways. And, more importantly, what difference this may make. I don't see what I can do to make much of a change in my circumstances, so it's really up to God; but I don't see Him doing anything (much). Anyway, the guy leading worship had a prophecy for me-that God was tattooing something on me, that I would have a ministry to people who no-one else would want to/be able to. This was very interesting, as one of the things I've been thinking about recently is getting a tattoo, though I haven't decided yet-and also, I went to a prayer meeting recently where the phrase 'soul tattoo' was used. So it seems that it wasn't just something general that could have been said to anyone, the way he said it was as important as what he said. Something to consider, anyway.
After that, it was back to work Monday, as usual, and then on Tuesday (my day off), my mum came round to help me clean the flat. As my flatmate is leaving soon, it will have to be looking good for a new tenant, or the landlord will complain. So, that was both intense and exhausting. And then, after that, what really held up the posting of this post, I got ill. I don't know why, as I don't really get ill that often, but I felt bad enough to be off work. As the last time that happened was about 6 years ago - I can't actually remember - you can see that I wasn't really in any fit state to do this post. Or, indeed, to do anything much. And, just as clearly, you can now see that I'm better. ;). Which is good. And now I have posted. Nice.
Showing posts with label theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theatre. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
New Friends And Old
Had a busy weekend just gone, starting with the first (and only?) Christmas party this year. Which was fun. just a relaxing time with a few friends and some mulled wine, chatting. Nice. And then I went up to Manchester after work the next day. I support a Christian theatre company called In Yer Face, who are connected to the Message Trust, and have done for a while.
But, obviously, them being in Manchester, and me, well, not, means that I don't get to see them that often. So, when they wrote to me recently with the dates of their version of the Nativity, I figured that would be a good opportunity. I'd get to see them perform, and get to meet their newest members, Emily and John. Nice. So I sorted out staying over with John on the Saturday, and arranged to go to their performance at Ivy Manchester, which is the church where a couple of friends of mine go.
So. After a slight(ly strange) mix-up with the trains, which resulted in me having to leave work early, I got into Manchester in the early evening. And then had the slightly surreal experience of going to the house of someone who wasn't there, as John was out for the evening. He is on the Board of Trustees of another theatre company, and they were having a celebration of some kind, which he was attending. But I wasn't left on my own; Emily was there to keep me entertained. We basically chatted for the next few hours, or I did anyway-or, at least, that's what it felt like. Which is strange, as I can be quite quiet when first introduced to someone. We also found time to fit in a couple of episodes of 'Lie To Me', which is a fantastic progamme. So that was the evening.
Sunday morning was also a little strange, because they had to be at the church for about 6:30 to set up and do a run through, and obviously, there was no need for me to be there that early. So they arranged a taxi for me at 9:30, so comparatively I had a fair lie-in. Still earlier than I would normally be up on a Sunday, but as I'd also gone to bed quite a bit earlier, that wasn't a problem. Not likely to happen on a regular basis, though. The taxi arrived, dead on time, which was unexpected, but I was waiting for it-almost as unexpected-and off I went to the church. Or, rather, the Cineworld, which they hire on a semi-regular basis. As I was early for church (also unusual for me), I didn't really know what to do, so I asked someone on the Message Trust stand, and she showed me inside, where I saw a friend I hadn't seen for a while, since he moved up to Manchester to work with the Message Trust. That was unexpected-but brilliant. It was nice to chat to him for a bit, and I did get to chat with the In Yer Face guys before it all started, and I was on my own. I was sitting in the front row somewhere I'd never been before with everyone I knew onstage. But on the other hand, I did have a pretty much perfect view.
It was a bit unexpected, as it turned out to be a bit of a multi-media performance, with carols and live music from Twelve Twenty Four (one of the Message Trust bands), and, of course, In Yer Face. with their version of the Nativity, set in Moss Side. When I first saw the publicity shot, it made me think about the fact that the first Christmas wasn't nice and fluffy at all, like the impression we sometimes get from Christmas cards; and when I saw the show, this was the overwhelming impression I was left with. When God came down to earth as a man, He didn't choose to make it easy-it almost seemed as if He went out of His way to make things difficult for both the people He chose, and by extension, Himself. A very powerful piece all round.
And then afterwards, after all the packing up and goodbyes, as they had to rush off to their next performance, I went out to join the church for tea and cakes. Thumbs up to that! I met up with the friends I knew who go to the church, and went to lunch with them and some of their friends. Which was nice, spending time with them-and their kids, who are smiley, lively and very noisy. Also a nice thing.
And then I went home, in time to get to church on time-so that was twice in one day, and neither was down to me. During the service, the pastor spontaneously asked if anyone had any encouragements of things God has done, so I got up and told them about the play. Which, 'coincidentally' led into what the speaker was talking about-that when God does stuff, it's very rarely nice and easily understandable, except with hindsight. Something I hope I'll remember.
But, obviously, them being in Manchester, and me, well, not, means that I don't get to see them that often. So, when they wrote to me recently with the dates of their version of the Nativity, I figured that would be a good opportunity. I'd get to see them perform, and get to meet their newest members, Emily and John. Nice. So I sorted out staying over with John on the Saturday, and arranged to go to their performance at Ivy Manchester, which is the church where a couple of friends of mine go.
So. After a slight(ly strange) mix-up with the trains, which resulted in me having to leave work early, I got into Manchester in the early evening. And then had the slightly surreal experience of going to the house of someone who wasn't there, as John was out for the evening. He is on the Board of Trustees of another theatre company, and they were having a celebration of some kind, which he was attending. But I wasn't left on my own; Emily was there to keep me entertained. We basically chatted for the next few hours, or I did anyway-or, at least, that's what it felt like. Which is strange, as I can be quite quiet when first introduced to someone. We also found time to fit in a couple of episodes of 'Lie To Me', which is a fantastic progamme. So that was the evening.
Sunday morning was also a little strange, because they had to be at the church for about 6:30 to set up and do a run through, and obviously, there was no need for me to be there that early. So they arranged a taxi for me at 9:30, so comparatively I had a fair lie-in. Still earlier than I would normally be up on a Sunday, but as I'd also gone to bed quite a bit earlier, that wasn't a problem. Not likely to happen on a regular basis, though. The taxi arrived, dead on time, which was unexpected, but I was waiting for it-almost as unexpected-and off I went to the church. Or, rather, the Cineworld, which they hire on a semi-regular basis. As I was early for church (also unusual for me), I didn't really know what to do, so I asked someone on the Message Trust stand, and she showed me inside, where I saw a friend I hadn't seen for a while, since he moved up to Manchester to work with the Message Trust. That was unexpected-but brilliant. It was nice to chat to him for a bit, and I did get to chat with the In Yer Face guys before it all started, and I was on my own. I was sitting in the front row somewhere I'd never been before with everyone I knew onstage. But on the other hand, I did have a pretty much perfect view.
And then afterwards, after all the packing up and goodbyes, as they had to rush off to their next performance, I went out to join the church for tea and cakes. Thumbs up to that! I met up with the friends I knew who go to the church, and went to lunch with them and some of their friends. Which was nice, spending time with them-and their kids, who are smiley, lively and very noisy. Also a nice thing.
And then I went home, in time to get to church on time-so that was twice in one day, and neither was down to me. During the service, the pastor spontaneously asked if anyone had any encouragements of things God has done, so I got up and told them about the play. Which, 'coincidentally' led into what the speaker was talking about-that when God does stuff, it's very rarely nice and easily understandable, except with hindsight. Something I hope I'll remember.
Monday, 10 December 2012
GODSPELL
I had a good evening out on Saturday, first going for a curry (at the splendid Kashmir), and the going to see the Jacob's Well production 'GODSPELL'. And all to welcome back Lydia from China. No need to tell you about the curry, I'm sure you can guess what that was like-and if you can't, I recommend you get along to the Kashmir as soon as you can. But the play was brilliant!
If you've seen 'Godspell' before, you might think you know what it would be like, but it promised that you wouldn't have seen it like this. As I hadn't, I didn't have anything to compare it to, and can just say it was an amazing production in its own right. From the strong, though confusing, start through to the powerful and emotional end, it grabbed my attention and didn't let go.
The way it was set up onstage was to look like a post-apocalyptic children's playground, as if the characters and world were shaped, defined, by something that had happened in the past. Think 'Mad Max', though I also felt it was something like 'Waiting for Godot'-I don't really know why. So, it started with God coming on and walking through His creation, and then He left. And then the people came on. And from that point, it was pretty much non-stop movement, going from one story to another. Word had got around that there was something different about this performance, and the first thing was pretty obvious-there was no-one playing the character of Jesus. Something you might think would be fairly central to the story, but it was something they used to great effect by the simple device of having a coat that got passed around-the wearer playing Jesus for that moment.
There were a couple of other things added to this production that I don't think are in all versions of this play. one thing was that the characters were responding to what Jesus was saying, as the play went on; and as they 'got it', they were spotlit for a moment, pointing up there was something more to their response than just understanding. And this led to the second part of using the coat-there were a couple of people who never wore the coat, never played Jesus, and when the betrayal scene came about, they were the ones who betrayed Him. And then the crucifixion happened. The first point in the play to have a sustained time of silence and stillness, only broken by one of the betrayers' heartbroken repentance. And then darkness fell. And when the light came back, the characters discovered that the gate at the rear of the stage, which had been locked all through, was standing open. The characters were unsure about what to do for a bit, but it wasn't long before they started to make their way through, including one who finally 'got it' just at that point. And they all left the stage through the gate-except one. He refused, and the lights fell with him just sitting, staring at the floor.
That's what I meant by a powerful and emotional ending. All through the play, it was high energy and a hefty dose of humour, which meant that that ending, when it came, was as moving and memorable as it was unexpected. Congratulations, guys, I'm sure this will stay with people for a long time to come...
If you've seen 'Godspell' before, you might think you know what it would be like, but it promised that you wouldn't have seen it like this. As I hadn't, I didn't have anything to compare it to, and can just say it was an amazing production in its own right. From the strong, though confusing, start through to the powerful and emotional end, it grabbed my attention and didn't let go.
The way it was set up onstage was to look like a post-apocalyptic children's playground, as if the characters and world were shaped, defined, by something that had happened in the past. Think 'Mad Max', though I also felt it was something like 'Waiting for Godot'-I don't really know why. So, it started with God coming on and walking through His creation, and then He left. And then the people came on. And from that point, it was pretty much non-stop movement, going from one story to another. Word had got around that there was something different about this performance, and the first thing was pretty obvious-there was no-one playing the character of Jesus. Something you might think would be fairly central to the story, but it was something they used to great effect by the simple device of having a coat that got passed around-the wearer playing Jesus for that moment.
There were a couple of other things added to this production that I don't think are in all versions of this play. one thing was that the characters were responding to what Jesus was saying, as the play went on; and as they 'got it', they were spotlit for a moment, pointing up there was something more to their response than just understanding. And this led to the second part of using the coat-there were a couple of people who never wore the coat, never played Jesus, and when the betrayal scene came about, they were the ones who betrayed Him. And then the crucifixion happened. The first point in the play to have a sustained time of silence and stillness, only broken by one of the betrayers' heartbroken repentance. And then darkness fell. And when the light came back, the characters discovered that the gate at the rear of the stage, which had been locked all through, was standing open. The characters were unsure about what to do for a bit, but it wasn't long before they started to make their way through, including one who finally 'got it' just at that point. And they all left the stage through the gate-except one. He refused, and the lights fell with him just sitting, staring at the floor.
That's what I meant by a powerful and emotional ending. All through the play, it was high energy and a hefty dose of humour, which meant that that ending, when it came, was as moving and memorable as it was unexpected. Congratulations, guys, I'm sure this will stay with people for a long time to come...
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Bits And Pieces
Well, this week has been another relatively busy week. Which is good, but it has meant I haven't got round to doing another post. On the occasions I did have time, I was often too tired. But it was a good week, all in all. Started off pretty much as normal, what with a quiet day Sunday and church in the evening-and then the pub, which is always fun, just spending time with friends. I did mention to a friend about meeting up to talk about a creativity course I've been planning for a while, but that never happened, as I didn't find my notes-note to self, must remember to look them up this week. And apart from work, all I did Monday was finish off a letter to a friend.
Tuesday was again my day off, and it was quite relaxing this time-I got up late, and just pottered around doing bits and pieces, this and that. A bit of cleaning, a bit of recycling, and attempted to find the notes. I did manage to post the letter, though. And then, in the evening, I went to the theatre. It was the day of 'The Woman In Black', which was definitely not how I was expecting-not least because it appeared to be the play of choice of most of the schools in the locality. Definitely a most watchable play, and amusing, as well as tense in places, despite the over the top screams from some of the teenage girls in the audience. To be honest, that probably made me take it slightly less seriously than I otherwise would. Unfortunately, I can't actually tell you any more, because it would be difficult to describe without giving it away, and it's definitely worth seeing. I recommend it to anyone who likes good theatre-and if you aren't really up for that, then it's almost certainly worth checking out the film. Which meant that Wednesday evening, I relaxed again. I probably should have tried to write a post then, but I was honestly too tired. I fell asleep in the middle of the evening. And then Thursday I was pretty tired, cos I couldn't sleep properly later. And in the evening, it was Hungry For God-our weekly prayer meeting during term time. Also something I would recommend to pretty much anyone. Recently, there has been a lot of God taking charge and really getting us deeper into Him. We had a time of several people sharing what God has been doing in and/or with them. I shared how He has changed me since He first took hold of me all those years ago. And then we prayed and listened to what He wanted to say to us. He told me to stop. I'm not entirely sure what He means by that, so I'm not going to jump the gun. I'll meditate on it for a bit before sharing it-if there's anything clear to share. And then after that, we went to the pub again, and again had a good time chatting with friends. Which is always good.
And then yesterday was a pretty busy day, what with the birthday celebration in the evening. It was a friend's 50th-which to be fair, surprised me. I didn't know I had any friends of that age-apparently I do. So, after getting home, I got ready to go out, before another friend came round. We arrived at the restaurant a little bit late, though we weren't the last to get there. It was just a generally good time-The Everest is a fantastic restaurant for large groups, though I don't go there often. Anyway, there was fine food, fine friends, and good company and conversation. Which was a good way to start the evening. And then we decamped to John's parents house to continue the party. A cake was brought out, though with only 10 candles-no way he's going to convince people he's that age. And presents were unwrapped and the piano was played by one of the guests. John said he was good, but he managed to play 'Bohemian Rhapsody' unaccompanied well enough for (some of) us to sing along. And so I got back lateish, and to bed even later, which again isn't good for my sleep patterns, as I had to be in work today. And when I got back, I fell asleep again, before sorting out going to Leeds tomorrow. More on that later...
Tuesday was again my day off, and it was quite relaxing this time-I got up late, and just pottered around doing bits and pieces, this and that. A bit of cleaning, a bit of recycling, and attempted to find the notes. I did manage to post the letter, though. And then, in the evening, I went to the theatre. It was the day of 'The Woman In Black', which was definitely not how I was expecting-not least because it appeared to be the play of choice of most of the schools in the locality. Definitely a most watchable play, and amusing, as well as tense in places, despite the over the top screams from some of the teenage girls in the audience. To be honest, that probably made me take it slightly less seriously than I otherwise would. Unfortunately, I can't actually tell you any more, because it would be difficult to describe without giving it away, and it's definitely worth seeing. I recommend it to anyone who likes good theatre-and if you aren't really up for that, then it's almost certainly worth checking out the film. Which meant that Wednesday evening, I relaxed again. I probably should have tried to write a post then, but I was honestly too tired. I fell asleep in the middle of the evening. And then Thursday I was pretty tired, cos I couldn't sleep properly later. And in the evening, it was Hungry For God-our weekly prayer meeting during term time. Also something I would recommend to pretty much anyone. Recently, there has been a lot of God taking charge and really getting us deeper into Him. We had a time of several people sharing what God has been doing in and/or with them. I shared how He has changed me since He first took hold of me all those years ago. And then we prayed and listened to what He wanted to say to us. He told me to stop. I'm not entirely sure what He means by that, so I'm not going to jump the gun. I'll meditate on it for a bit before sharing it-if there's anything clear to share. And then after that, we went to the pub again, and again had a good time chatting with friends. Which is always good.
And then yesterday was a pretty busy day, what with the birthday celebration in the evening. It was a friend's 50th-which to be fair, surprised me. I didn't know I had any friends of that age-apparently I do. So, after getting home, I got ready to go out, before another friend came round. We arrived at the restaurant a little bit late, though we weren't the last to get there. It was just a generally good time-The Everest is a fantastic restaurant for large groups, though I don't go there often. Anyway, there was fine food, fine friends, and good company and conversation. Which was a good way to start the evening. And then we decamped to John's parents house to continue the party. A cake was brought out, though with only 10 candles-no way he's going to convince people he's that age. And presents were unwrapped and the piano was played by one of the guests. John said he was good, but he managed to play 'Bohemian Rhapsody' unaccompanied well enough for (some of) us to sing along. And so I got back lateish, and to bed even later, which again isn't good for my sleep patterns, as I had to be in work today. And when I got back, I fell asleep again, before sorting out going to Leeds tomorrow. More on that later...
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