An Evening at The Theatre

    Despite the fact I host a radio program that alerts the greater Perth metropolitan area to all the exciting events that are happening or coming soon, I rarely get to see much of it myself.  And that includes media previews. So when Kev, normally a very reluctant escort to even these infrequent opportunities, heard of a play  about political intrigue at the Vatican, he made it a date.

    The Last Confession, starring David Suchet (best known for his portrayal of Agatha Christie's Hercule

Poirot) is about the the extremely short time- 33 days- that Pope John Paul I  served as pontiff and his dubious end at the start of his era of reformation. Many had much to lose. It is not so much a whodunit as a did-anyone-do-it.  A fictional play based on real people and events held at the glorious, velvet-seated His Majesty's Theatre starring no small amount of notable actors.

   Oh boy, my big chance to dress up!  I brush the dust off my black velvet dress (a bit shorter than it should be but lots of Australian mutton dresses like lamb so no one notices) and the archbishop purple cape I wear over it.  I decide against wearing my black velvet with pearl trim Juliet cap (it's not premiere night after all) but don real south sea pearls on my neck. Slip on those patent leather shoes with the one-and-a-quarter inch heel (which is as high as I go anymore), splash on some expensive perfume and grab the crocheted clutch for the finishing touch.  This gal was styling!  So were most of the women there.  The slender females wore impossibly artsy outfits. The less fashion forward put on their best earrings or a very sparkly brooch on their lapel. We know how to dress for an evening at the theater.

   The menfolk were sadly a different matter.  The best you  could say for some of them was that they remembered to wash their hands after the last time they went to the bathroom...and were proud of the accomplishment. A few turtlenecks surfaced and a couple of guys stayed in the business suit they wore during the day. Kev himself didn't get too exhausted in preparation. He wore heavily patched up blue jeans and a rugby top. He did manage to shave four days worth of stubble from his chin...and wash his hands. Perhaps he thought no one would notice as our seats were rather high up and behind two Strand stage lights.

    The last thing that remains is the upsell. Now, a pair of tightwads...er, thrifty people...like us walk on past the merchandising opportunities that exist in such a case.  The program costs $20.  A hardcover book about David Suchet's Hercule Poirot is priced at $40.  And for those who prefer to have the Good Book read to them, David Suchet obliges with a six-CD box set of the NIV version.  I suppose this is a natural tie-in with a price tag of $70.  Missing from the "merch" table was a selection of  papal-approved tee shirts.

    Kind of explains the disappointed look on the faces of several men shaking water off their paws.