Player Kings and Keane

After breakfast yesterday morning we caught the 9 o’clock train from Braintree into London, getting off the train at Stratford, where we stopped for coffee and pastries. James pointed out a Café Nero up the stairs with lots of seats beside it, and it was an excellent choice, we were able to relax in a little oasis of peace, overlooking the busy station. The day was heating up already. We journeyed onwards to Cat and Ally’s flat, and thence to an Italian restaurant in Holborn with outdoor seating which Ally sometimes frequents. The service was slow but we had plenty of time so it didn’t really matter, and it was nice and cool in the dappled shade of the trees. Onwards to the afternoon performance of Player Kings, an interpretation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Parts 1 and 2. I was worried that it might be a bit dull, but in fact it was very good and full of action. Ally and Cat enjoyed it too. Ian McKellen stole the show; he has such stage presence. It’s hard to believe that he’s eighty-five. The Prince was played by Toheeb Jimoh who played Sam in Ted Lasso and he was very good too. It was quite a long play; the first half was two hours and the second half was one and a half hours, but it held our attention. 

By the time it ended it was time for James and I to head to the O2 to see Keane, pausing for a quick bite to eat at one of the many restaurants there. I was amazed yet again at the sheer size of the O2; so much bigger than the Hydro in Glasgow. Keane were full of energy on their 20th anniversary tour. The audience was of all ages, however although we weren’t the oldest by any means, I noticed that most people were in their thirties and forties; I missed Keane first time around and have only started listening to their music in the last five or six years. The queue for the underground was massive after the concert so we went for a walk along the Thames, enjoying the city lights, and then joined the end of the queue just as it was it was diminishing. At their flat we found Ally and Cat watching the end of Eurovision with Iain; they were all full of the joys and showed us their favourite songs which were the usual outlandish mix. Apparently the contest has been full of drama behind the scenes this year. We joined the young folks for a drink, the chat was excellent and we ended up rather late to bed!