Greig + Greig + Dinner + Greig

Ladies and gentlemen,

This evening is going to be a very special one. Mainly because we'll travel through time and space, and we'll enjoy 3 evenings in one. Tonight's thematic menu's main ingredient is David Greig. To help you digest the theatre load, we'll have an interlude after the starter and the main dish for a dinner performance. I hope you enjoy yourselves.

L'arquitecte (The Architect) (February 2012)

Venue: Teatre Lliure
Play: L'arquitecte (The Architect)
Playwright: David Greig
Director: Julio Manrique

On the right, a well-off household and a deserted city roof. On the center, a building ground and a whole close about to be demolished because it makes its inhabitants unhappy. Left, a truck, a nightclub, an entrance hall and a high-up flat in the same building. The walls between those spaces are made of the difference between intense light and stark darkness.

The city ants that inhabit these spaces have lost the track of the ant in front of them and wander lost. The scarce dry crumbs they can collect from the gray pavement bring them depression, rape, rupture, loneliness, anxiety, Freudian needs, betrayal, destruction and failure. One, two, three... demolition. How soon is now?

Dunsinane (13 September 2013)

Venue: Theatre Royal Glasgow
Play: Dunsinane
Playwright: David Greig
Company: National Theatre of Scotland

Macbeth is dead. But his wife, Gruach, is still very much alive. Can a foreign English general's black-and-white simplicity work in a Scotland divided between a coward king whose (fake?) cowardice keeps him in power and a blazing queen whose look melts the snow? Will there ever be a "settling solution" as long as people are still alive? Is the power of words greater than the power of the sword?

Dinner interlude (21 September 2013)

Venue: The Butterfly and the Pig
Play: Dinner Interlude
Playwright: Chef and kitchen staff
Company: Waiters

A charming basement restaurant, with mismatched decorations that go well together for no apparent reason.

WAITER. Come this way, I'll show you to your table.

The lights are low. The table is set for two people, the candles are alight and there's a jar of ice-cold water and two glasses. The crochet mantelpiece gives the table a vintage look.

WAITER. Can I get you something to drink?

YOUR PARTNER. Yes, a pint of beer, please.

YOU. I'll have just water, thank you.

The WAITER leaves the stage and comes back with a pint and the menus. After a silent scene where YOU and YOUR PARTNER order their food, the WAITER comes back with the plates. 

Menu reads: "Cilla black is back in black in a pudding, with salad, apples,bacon and Parmesan, 

contains black pudden and a wee fried quail egg on top"

  Menu reads: "Fish cakes, but not as you know them, open in a pan made with smoked fish, haddock, trout and meltid leeks, potato and baked eggs. We do our best to remove all bones but some may be lurking"

Menu reads: "ATTENTION PLEASE!!! 

An old fave is back with gusto, Gammon Steak with a baked pineapple, fried egg and of course chips.

It simply doesn’t get any better, trust me."

After YOU and YOUR PARTNER have failed at eating the amount of food that has been served to them, they are brought the remains in a box with a lid with a handwritten message that reads "Love, Butterfly & the Pig" and the bill, on top of which are two rosy coconut sweets. 

WAITER: Thanks very much, come back soon!

YOU and YOUR PARTNER leave the stage with full stomachs and happy faces.

The Events (21 September 2013)

Venue: Tron Theatre
Play: The Events
Playwright: David Greig
Company: Actors Touring Company

Screams mixed with a motley-crew community chorus. A serene terrorist that has simply accepted the void, a tormented victim that compulsively needs to fill the void. "Humanity's obsession and destructive desire to fathom the unfathomable." Rudi Dharmalingam, the actor, possessed, by turns, by the souls of a dozen characters.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you've had a really good time tonight, and I hope to see you again. Any queries or complaints about the menu or the interlude will be answered by the "Comments" bar staff. Thank you very much. ;)

China and Glasgow

On the 24th and 26th of September, I attended two events the main focus of which was the sharing of Chinese culture. 

On the 24th, the event in question was a series of short performances by the UESTC (University of Electronic Science and Technology of China) Student Art Troupe, at the Mitchell Library Theatre. These included Highland Dance, traditional Chinese music and dance/theatre, Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up", etc.

Some of the songs and instruments I could track down are the following:

Descendants of the Dragon (song)

Chinese lute

Bamboos in the Moonlight (music/dance)

Jasmine Flower (song)

Erhu ("Horse Racing")

The last performance was, of course, "Auld Lang Syne". ;)

Actually, I found a video where the actual UESTC performers appear. It's just little bits of their performances, but you'll get a glimpse of their costumes, at least. =)

The second event was a celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, hosted by the Confucius Institute at the University of Glasgow.

There were several speeches about Chinese culture, then we enjoyed the performance of a magician, a prize draw (at which I won a Chinese paper lantern, haha) and, to round off the evening, a taste of canapés which included the traditional "mooncake". These are made of pastry, lotus seed paste filling and duck's egg yolk, and the tradition says that they bring longevity and harmony.

I had lots of fun! This is yet another example of how Glasgow is a welcoming melting pot of cultures and traditions. =)