Nice Fish

Later on Saturday, after a convivial meal at Carluccio’s near Covent Garden, James and I took our leave of the Smith family and we walked the short distance to the Harold Pinter Theatre. I had booked tickets ages ago for the Mark Rylance play “Nice Fish”, mainly because I’m a big fan of Mark Rylance, whose work I have admired in “Cromwell” and “Bridge of Spies.” To be honest, I had no idea what the play was about, apart from the fact that it was a comedy set on a frozen lake where some people are ice fishing. Our seats were excellent, in the middle of the front row of the dress circle. Well, I have to admit that the play was a little quirkier and more whimsical than I had anticipated. It was like a series of short monologues and a few dialogues, and it was more wistful than comic as the small cast of characters related episodes of their lives. It reminded me a bit of the reminiscences of Garrison Keillor, and in fact was co-written with Mark Rylance by a contemporary prose poet, like Keillor from Minnesota, called Louis Jenkins. The monologues had a certain bleakness about them perhaps relating to the frozen landscape. All in all, I enjoyed the experience; although it was not the best play that I have ever seen, I think it deserved credit for daring to be different.
James however had a completely different opinion, to which of course he is perfectly entitled! He thought that it was the worst thing that he has ever seen, and sat stony faced from start to finish. He did not find it in the least funny, and said that it was “The Emperor’s New Clothes” of plays! We discussed it all the way back to our hotel in Southwark, as we walked along the south bank of the Thames, with gorgeous views of the lights of London.