A streetcar named Stella

Here's something you might not know. I called my car Stella , not after the cheap Belgian beer but the character of the same name in the Tennessee Williams play, a street car named desire. 

I think I was imagining some scenario where the car might break down and it would be raining and I would drop to my knees shouting stellaaaaaa like the iconic scene from the movie. It's funny because I've never actually seen a streetcar named desire. 

That seems to be as good a segue as any to bring up the fact that tonight I am going to a national theatre live screening of a street car named desire. And all from the comfort of my local cinema. Just in case you're not familiar with national theatre live its part of an initiative to make the theatre more accessible by live streaming a number of plays into selected cinemas across Ireland and the UK. 

The odeon cinema in Waterford is part of it but unfortunately they show about 4 plays a year instead preferring to show the usual blockbusters and more operas and ballets ( live streamed) than you could ever wish to see. The cinema in Dungarvan shows a much better selection but I find the shows often fall on days when I'm working too late to feasibly make it down for seven pm. It's a very sad state of affairs indeed. 

 The only real downside to this is that it lasts from 7-10 which can make for a long night in the cinema but you do get a 30 minute interval in the middle whether you like it or not. National theatre live really is live so you have to take an interval when the real theatre audience do. Mostly that's fine provided you bring some snacks but there was one occasion when I went to see a lesser known Shakespeare play (or at least one I wasn't familiar with) in Dungarvan and it had all been a bit of a rush to get down there plus the cinema seats there are like proper theatre seats (all fancy and plush and the seats don't spring up when you stand up) anyway I found myself getting quite sleepy which only made the play harder to follow. 
Its around €15 a ticket which is not bad when you think that's the average ticket price for local productions and it's a fraction of what you'd pay to see it in the national theatre. Gillian Anderson (from the xfiles) has a leading role in tonight's production and the two other lead roles are being played by actors who have also had tv or movie work. So for your ticket price you get treated to stellar acting on brilliantly designed sets and very well directed. I think if it wasn't for the likes of National Theatre Live, I'd never get to see theatre like this. Certainly not on my wages so long as I'm stationed in Waterford so I am very grateful to whomever started this up.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The darker side of romance

Image
  For some reason I felt compelled to write about a corner of my past that hasn't been part of my blog before. a heads up to anyone who might be upset by this topic I will be delving into emotional abuse so feel free to stop reading now if you don't feel able to carry on. When I was in my late 20's I met a guy on a night out. He was a few years younger than me and honestly looking back threw up a couple of red flags early but I didn't trust my own intuition plus I was only a few months away from finishing college and planned to move to Edinburgh in a few months so it wasn't like it was going to be anything more than a brief fling. However as time went on I became more infatuated with him, there was an intensity there and he seemed sweet but damaged. Like a perfect modern fairytale I thought I would be the one to fix him. somehow plans changed and he was going to follow me over to Edinburgh, get a job there and we were going to live happily ever after. at this point
Read more

Help, I think I'm autistic

Image
 So I, at the age of 41, have come to the realization that I am autistic.  Growing up I always had a feeling something about me was a little bit off. I never quite fit in and I wasn't sure why. It was like everyone had been given a book of rules of how to exist in society but no one had thought to hand me a copy. Looking back with hindsight the signs were there. I was a super sensitive kid, a sensitivity I have not lost in adulthood, I cried very easily and felt every emotion very deeply. I was a picky eater and very particular about the textures of different food. I was very sensitive to light and noise and the feel of different fabrics. I was never a hugger. all of these things are as true about me now as they were when I was younger. I am socially awkward, I don't make friends that easily and will joke I am an acquired taste. Eye contact is something I have to actively work on and small talk feels like torture.  I thrive on alone time, I am incredibly sensitive to the moods
Read more

Sometimes I open my mouth and my mother comes out ..

Image
I have been told on more than one occasion that I'm sarcastic. Often that I'm too sarcastic (as though there could be such a thing) and I have retort up my sleeve for such occasions which is if you think I'm sarcastic you should meet my mother. No, really you should because my sarcasm is but a pale imitation of hers. Every so often though I come out without something that makes my friends or other family members pause because sometimes when I open my mouth, my mother comes out.  It's funny how people always take the words you are turning into your mother as such an insult because the reality of the matter is it's a both a good and bad thing. Obviously there are certain qualities I am perfectly happy to emulate and others not so much and on the whole I am not entirely sure how much control I have over it. It's not quite a pick and mix counter here. I think there are some habits you are not even aware you have picked up until someone else kindly points it out.
Read more