Pirates

The Union Theatre was a favourite when I worked in the City. Handy to walk to and they reliably staged impressive, small- scale musicals.

Cabaret, Barnum and The Pyjama Game are just a few of the shows I enjoyed in their dilapidated theatre under a railway arch in Southwark. They have since moved to better premises nearby but I haven’t been – a bit far when the Jermyn Street Theatre is so handy. Anyway, this evening the Union is meeting me halfway. They are re-staging The Pirates of Penzance at the Palace Theatre; its USP is that it is an all male cast.

The area around Victoria is not great for restaurants, especially on a Sunday evening so, faute de mieux, I booked a Thai cafe. Robert didn’t want to come (“seen it before”) so my guest this evening is Richard Mawbey, doyen of wig makers. Luckily I rummaged around in my emails this morning to find our tickets. PoP is in fact on at the Palace Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, not the Victoria Palace Theatre. Cancel Thai cafe; book Brasserie Zedel; call RM to explain new plan and remind him that he took Robert and me to the Palace in Shaftesbury Avenue in 2013 to see The Commitments. I remember enjoying the show a lot but found some of the North Dublin accents unconvincing. I also noticed the fabric of the theatre was in poor repair. I hope the House doesn’t come down tonight.

Two venues on Fulham Reach have adapted to comply with Covid. Sam’s warns its clientele their terrace is draughty and suggests dressing up as for skiing – good advice as I was frozen on yesterday’s Seeing Architecture walk.

The Blue Boat next door has igloos. Meanwhile Hammersmith Bridge is closed and the hotel demolition continues. Our first port of call yesterday was Charterhouse Square that has this tenuous link with The Pirates of Penzance.