So last night we went to a live show of Give My Head Peace in the Grand Opera House in Belfast and what a laugh. They had done another 3 TV shows recently and this live show carried the story on - very clever, very colloquial and very very funny. 46,000 people applied for the 200 tickets to the 3 live recordings of the TV shows so naturally this theatre tour sold out very quickly.
You've got MLAs (local politicians not currently sitting in government but still getting paid much to everyone's annoyance), a bad marriage, the police, flags (or 'flegs') a clerical henchman, stand up ... basically anything that can be lambasted and by golly they lambast very well this group - no-one gets missed.
The woman sitting beside me was a bit put out by the elephants and got worse after she managed to down 4 pints of cider in the 2 45 minute halves of the show! She reckoned they should be taken down!
But I love the elephants - it makes me feel like I'm back in a different era and still watching modern theatre. (Apologies for the photos - it was hard to get anything clear with all the lights on).
That theatre is awesome & I'm not so much put out by the elephants, but curios as to the connection between them & Ireland. I too enjoy the humour behind all the goings on in so called political society. Glad you got to go if it is so popular. Take care.
ReplyDeleteIreland was under British Rule at that time Susan (the North still is), so the Grand Opera House is a very typical Victorian theatre - I'm guessing the elephants were symbols of the Raj. It's a beautiful theatre
DeletePolitical satire is brilliant when done well.
Hi Fil - sounds like a lovely time ... and how wonderful watching in that delightful looking Victorian Theatre - gosh so lucky with the history - an appropriate title piece too "Give my head peace" from the lady to my right ... so pleased for you - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteIt always feels more special seeing a show in a gorgeous old theatre :)
DeleteMy old boss used to say to her children give my head peace. She came from Northern Ireland.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful theatre
Julie xxxx
hahaha - yes, very definitely from here Julie :)
DeleteLove the elephants too - I know they will have gone up in a time when it was seen as acceptable but now that style of architecture has fallen out, so many people want to destroy them. Historically speaking - like the visible reminders in places like Liverpool of the slave trade by the ornamentation on buildings - it comes from a time now not approved of by the modern generation. The fault does not lie in the building (or theatre) itself but in accepted norms from a time gone by and the display of wealth by the then owner.
ReplyDeleteWhoa - where did that come from.... as she gets off her high horse and shuffles off apologetically!
Where I am coming from is this - if all the visual displays of previous misdemeanors and now-unacceptable practices were to be removed - we would not learn from the past or see how such practices were displayed.
PS beautiful theatre by the way :)
I agree with you completely Kate - it's like watching TV shows that have been made PC for our generation - we can't rewrite history, nor should we.
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