Monday, September 26, 2011

the play’s the thing…

Current work: new book – beginnings and seeing where it takes me
Listening to: Del Amitri
Reading: next on TBR

The Madness of George III was absolutely excellent. Real roller-coaster stuff – you went from laughter (witty banter between George III and Pitt and some fairly pointed commentary on politics) through to shock (the bit where George was restrained and the entire cast was singing ‘Zadok the Priest’ – and the scene where the doctor prescribed ‘cupping’ – I had to cover my eyes) through to laughter again at the end. And there was some very sharp commentary in between – the equerry who double-dealt was promoted, and pointed out to the equerry who was kind during George’s illness (and wasn’t promoted at the end) that ‘a blind eye’ is the only thing that gets you forward in politics. (Deeply unjust, but it reflected the zeitgeist. We might think politics is corrupt, today, but it was much worse back in the 18th century.) And I loved the inclusion of a bit of King Lear.

Very, very well acted by the entire cast, but David Haig in particular was superb. If it’s touring near you, I’d really recommend getting tickets.

Dinner beforehand was also very nice; and the pudding was beautifully presented. The smartest ‘Eton Mess’ I’ve ever seen. (Foodie daughter thinks that the one at Delia’s has better meringue and a better proportion of strawberries. Bless.)

Today I’m a bit unfocused, mainly because I’m waiting to hear back from my editor – I know I should just get on with it, because it could be a while yet and I'm just wasting time being fidgety, but this is the bit I find really sticky. Big-time antsy. And I’ve realised that all the work I did yesterday has to be scrapped because the premise is completely wrong. So. Backup outline, because I think lovely ed will nix one or both outlines? Admin? Nerdy side projects 1 or 2? Sigh. Time to switch on the kitchen timer...

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