Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 472

Re:View – 'End Of The Rainbow'

I've never understood the supposed fascination gay men had for Judy Garland. It was before my time and all too self-pitying, but I went to see a preview last night because I was given a heads-up by someone whose opinion I respect. Mercifully, it's not a one-woman show trawling through a star's back catalogue, but [...]

'Celebrity' Special Offer!

Incredibly, we've nearly sold out our entire run for 'Celebrity'!

But there's still a chance for you to see the play on a few available dates, including Saturday 27th (matinee) or the final day Saturday 4th December (matinee). And to make it worth your while, the next 15 bookings for those dates will be able to [...]

Two Hidden London Museums

The Petrie Museum houses an estimated 80,000 objects, making it one of the greatest collections of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology in the world. It illustrates life in the Nile Valley from prehistory through the time of the pharaohs, the Ptolemaic, Roman and Coptic periods to the Islamic period.

The museum tells the story of the [...]

Holy Smoke!

Batman's in London. The latest issue of Batman has him visiting the city for the first time. And of course it's bloody raining.

But hang on a minute…there's something odd going on here.

Isn't Batman currently at the O2 in a big 'na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na' bat-bombs and bungee-jumps-type multi-media show? And now DC Comics suddenly have Batman in [...]

You May Need To Top Up Your Oyster Card

This World Tube Map reaches me via Annie Mole at the fabulous Going Underground website. What a lovely, romantic idea – except that the views of the journey would be a bit rubbish, and you'd really have to top up that Oyster. Oh, and Auckland is in Zone 4,562.

A Pop-Up Hallelujah

It's nice to think that a big crowd of people could do something other than sing a Michael Jackson song spontaneously, so this pleasing 'Random Act of Culture' makes a great alternative. 650 choristers, tucked in a Macy's in Philadelphia, unleash the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's 'Messiah on unsuspecting shoppers. It's music that transcends religious [...]

Wordplay

I was sitting in Paternoster Square reading the paper when a woman from Reuters came up and asked me for a quote about what I thought of the impending marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I misheard her and thought she was talking about someone on 'X Factor' and said I'd never heard of [...]

When Authors Meet

…they tend to drink and be rude about other authors. As was the case after the sellout Foyles bash for 'End Of The Line', the excellent tube tales anthology edited by Jonathan Oliver.We ended up at the Phoenix (coincidentally the venue for my play – as if I'm not going to be spending enough time [...]

Restaurant Runners

The topic du jour is Restaurant Runners, the new breed of fine diners who run up spectacular bills in restaurants, nip outside for a fag and never come back. One, Janis Nords, has been caught after blazing a trail through Michelin-starred restaurants, but the couple who knocked back a £500 bottle of Bolly and a [...]

Entomological Smut

Sadly an all-too-rare combination these days. The sign was snapped by my friend Rick Drew as he passed through the less glamorous parts of Soho. Perhaps they shouldn't get the sign fixed – they might reach a new specialist market.