pumpkinstrokemarrow

While we were there, popped into the next door Rose Theatre to take in the Filter version of 'Twelfth Night'. A presently fashionable outfit who turned the play into a pantomime from 'Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare', pruning perhaps two thirds of the lines on the way. An athletic affair with a lot of bounding around and a lot of music - of the pop variety which made a refreshing change from the authentic music on sackbutts and foghorns which you get at the Globe. Set in a sort of low grade pop recording studio with lots of clever sound effects and gimmicks. Rather too much audience participation, which I found rather distracting. Rather too much doubling up, which I found rather confusing. Malvolio, as is usual, but I think wrongly, made out to be a complete prat. Olivia rather flat and not at all convincing as a beautiful noble woman, although clever to cast her past her first flush of youth. A new to me angle. Overall, good fun and a handy introduction to the story line, in preparation for seeing the play done properly, which was perhaps part of the intention. Not that this is what say in the rather pretentious programme notes which talk of, for example, ' ... stripped away design serving to highlight the timelessness of the writing ... '. I'm not sure how one highlights writing which has largely been omitted or gabbled nor why writing written in Elizabethan English, festooned with Elizabethan interests and allusions should be described as timelessness - but they clearly are.

I rather suspect that once one has seen one Filter production one has seen them all. So their version of, say, Chekhov, would seem much the same. Rather as we found with the Young Vic pantomimes.

Jelly lichen in really good shape this morning. Eerie pale green glow when viewed from the kitchen window. Pale green seems to be winning out over the dark green, although the latter has not given up.

PS: just had the second crash on take-off, post defrag..