K.A. Laity's Blog, page 172

A Dandy, Van and Rude Britannia

No time for anything but a quick recap in reverse time order: last night saw Dandy in the Underworld , the one man play at the Soho Theatre about Sebastian Horsley. It was quite good and alternately funny and sad, particularly with the fact of his death last week hanging over the production -- though Horsley was apparently delighted by the play based on his autobiography of the same name. With Soho likely to go the same way as Times Square as the forces of gentrification take hold, it's sad to...

Pelzmantel Book Trailer

BitchBuzz: Shakespeare Lunch

My latest column for BitchBuzz takes up another theatre experience:

Shakespeare for Lunch at the Bridewell Theatre If you like your Bard on the light side, C Company and the Bridewell Theatre offer you the chance for a taste of the Elizabethan drama cut down for lunchtime viewing in the intimate surroundings of the tiny theatre. Tucked behind the historic St Bride's Church just off Fleet street, it's a magical little spot. Eat a sandwich in the churchyard...

PELZMANTEL Publication & Review Copies

Yes, it's true! Pelzmantel is available for order (or should be any minute now) at Immanion. Let the champagne corks fly! Or perhaps prosecco, as I prefer the Italian sparkler to the French. Whoohoo!



I'll be doing signings and cons next month in the States. Not sure I have time to put something together here. We shall see -- pop up book signing, anyone?!



If you bought the original edition, let me tempt you with some of the extras. Not only is there a brand new introduction by the wonderful ...

Time

I woke up with this song in my head. Tick, tick, tick; is it already the middle of June? Must find a way to stay here...



Weekend fun with the Brookses: Sophie and I played footie in the back garden because the air is full of World Cup fever here. Yes, we even watched the England-US match (very poor!); well, Liz and I drank some wine and giggled a lot while Brad watched it. Fun!

Double BitchBuzz: Tea and Fairy Tales

Busy week and I'm making good use of it! Two extra columns:



Fox's New Biscuit and Tea Tasting Guide "I prefer a nice cup of tea to sex." - Boy George

What could need less thought than your tea and biscuit? Kettle on, package open, insert in mouth. Well, Fox's Biscuits wants you to reconsider everything and to get you to approach tea and biscuit combinations as if you were pairing wine with your dinner. I had my doubts, but I have to say I was won over.

Pearl ...

BitchBuzz: Women Beware Women

My latest column for BitchBuzz is another theatre review:



"Men buy their slaves, but women buy their masters." – Isabella



Shakespeare gets all the love when it comes to Elizabethan theatre, but that's because people tend to forget that the stage was the television of its time, cheap and plentiful, aiming only to get bums on benches and crowds in the yard. They were up against bear baiting and the groundlings cried for more jokes and more violence. One of...

Review: After the Dance + NT backstage tour

I love the NT! What could it be? Their wide variety of programming? Plays old and new? More female directors in this single building than on the whole of Broadway? So many reasons!



I found yet another reason when I took their backstage tour. Yes, I am so enamoured of theatre life that it was bound to be fun. Plus I got previews of the two productions I was going to see this week. Although it was the dinner break for most of the crew, there were a few people around including some of the actor...

Publications: "Touched by an Angel" & 21st Century Gothic

I just received a copy of the cover of the new collection 21st Century Gothic which features my essay on Graham Joyce's [AKA William Heaney's:] Memoirs of a Master Forger. It was one of those projects that comes out of the blue and then -- typical for me anyway -- I forget all about it and am pleasantly surprised to be reminded again. I had actually overlooked the deadline in the midst of all the tenure folderol and was tempted to beg off the project, but Danel convinced me to give it a go and...

Review: The Real Thing

[image error] Wednesday I caught The Old Vic production of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, as I mentioned in a recent post.  Most of you know how I am enamoured of Stoppard's work and I had heard good things about this production. The bar was set high by the most recent production of his Arcadia, which was one of the most compelling productions I have seen despite an unbelievably hot theatre.



The cast included the wonderful Toby Stephens, Hattie Morahan, Fenella Woolgar and Barnaby Kay.  It's a surprisingl...