Laugh And Be Happy

Technically, this should have been Friday’s blip, but circumstances (i.e. a lack of inspiration for anything to photograph today) have dictated that it appears today.
This is our favourite comedy/farce ever since we first saw it in the West End just after it opened. Since then we have seen it a further four times though obviously not in the past couple of years.
We’re not due to go to London for a couple of months but finding that the touring production was going to be at a theatre twenty minutes away from our Chester flat on a weekend we were staying there anyway, meant that booking two tickets was a no brainer.
And we were not disappointed. Despite a slightly fraught journey - we got tangled up in bank holiday traffic heading for North Wales - we made it in time and had excellent seats close to the stage. I laughed just as much as every other time I’ve seen it, despite knowing what was going to happen - a testimony to the talents of the actors.
The plot - a murder mystery being performed by an amateur theatrical company, where everything that can go wrong in terms of scenery, props, lines and actors does go wrong - strikes many a chord with me. Having done amateur theatricals for the past thirty years I have experienced my fair share of on stage disasters. Which means I can appreciate the skill and timing of those involved in this production as it is very easy to cock up accidentally, but it takes a lot more effort to do the same “mistakes” on purpose, night after night, without telegraphing the moves.
If you get a chance to see it - either in London or on tour - I heartily recommend that you do. God knows, we can all do with something to cheer us up and make us laugh at this time.