A night out at the theatre...

Recently I received an email from La Boite theatre offering 40% off tickets to the previews of the show about to start there. We decided to book and we went last Tuesday night. La Boite is now part of the Creative Industries precinct at 'my old uni', QUT. The actual theatre is an example of  'theatre in the round'. The play was called 'Ruben Guthrie' and starred Gyton Grantley. Grantley has made quite a name for himself especially for roles such as 'Underbelly' a TV series.

Inside the theatre

In the first part of the play I wondered what we'd let ourselves in for. The language was pretty bad and came in rushing torrents. The play is about a 'high flyer' (Grantley) who works in the advertising world and has  problems with drink and drugs as he lives his 'fast lifestyle'. The play examines relationships etc and also the implications of when he tries to give up these addictions. As the play went on the audience became more and more engrossed in the action onstage...there were times when you could hear a 'pin drop' as 'we' almost held our communal breath waiting to see what Ruben would say or do next. Grantley deserves all the accolades he's received for his work and I include this play. He was brilliant. It was a play with everything...humour, pathos, disappointments, love, inter-generational addictions and was thoughtful as well as thought-provoking. There were so many layers to this story...
DH and I had quite a discussion on the way home...you know it was almost like being back at uni after a great 'tute'!

The weekend...

The weekend has just flown! Firstly yesterday, the builder who is going to do the repairs on our side verandah came around with the contract to be signed. Then in the afternoon, DH and I went to a matinee performance of the 'Mikado' which was presented by an amateur theatre group called  The Savoyards. The director turned out to be an actor, Eric Hauff,  who had worked with DH in the 1999 production of 'Tarantara' in which  DH played the role of Sir Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame). And that's how Eric greeted DH yesterday as 'Sir Arthur'. Eric is now 81 years old and shows no sign of slowing down. the show was wonderful; I enjoyed every minute of it!  The amateur theatre groups here represent good value for money and are much more affordable than the ones in the performing Arts Centre.

DH as Sir Arthur Sullivan

Today DH and his brother D trimmed some branches of 2 trees that are near the side veranda. There is now a clear go for the builder who plans to start work tomorrow. My SIL rang at one stage to check whether D was not climbing up the ladder as he is still experiencing discomfort in the leg in which he broke a small bone earlier this year. I passed the phone to him to explain... Let me add that it was very windy today and later I was looking from the kitchen towards the veranda and saw my BIL on the ladder which was propped against the tree which was swaying. He was trying to hang on to the ladder AND the chainsaw!! DH was down the front and couldn't see this. I called out for him to come quickly, which he did...and the big bro' rescued his little brother.phew!

BIL in the neighbour's yard setting up

To the rescue

eddie didn't like the noise of the chainsaw

This afternoon was the NRL grand final between Manly and the NZ team the Warriors.  It's a bit of a tradition that my brother comes over for grand finals and this year was no exception. My nephews didn't come this year so the tray of snacks I prepared was just for DH and my brother. Manly won but I didn't take much notice as I was still knitting squares for the K4BN weekend challenge.

In the last month DH and I have been fortunate enough to see three shows put on by 2 of the smaller theatre groups here in Brisbane. The ticket prices of such groups are so reasonable compared to that charged for the 'bigger' productions and the outcome is still very good theatre and an enjoyable afternoon or evening, also representing good value for money.
 Firstly we saw 'Grease' and I just loved all those songs and the fashions! Last weekend we went to see 'My Fair Lady' and again hearing all those beautiful songs and music was wonderful. The lead actors did such a good job too and their enthusiasm was infectious! Last night we went to a production of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and it was magnificent!!! DH has seen a number of productions of this show dating back to the 1970s and he was impressed with last night's performance. Our next theatre outing is next month and it will be one of those 'bigger productions' I mentioned before. 'Dr Zhivago' is coming to Brisbane and DH's lovely daughters gave him the money for our tickets (and then some!) for his birthday! So as I said, we're very fortunate!
Despite having the house on the market, last week I dug over my vegie garden beds, put dolomite, compost and manure in them and then 'forked' it all through. It was a bit of hard work, but well worth the effort as next week I'll take advantage of our milder winters and the lack of pests during colder weather, to put some seedlings in. A bit of a bonus though...I thought that I had dug up all our sweet potatoes (kumaras) but I found these beauties when I dug over the bed!



The marigolds are flowering well. These were originally planted to try to control a nematode infestation which killed a lot of plants in this bed. The marigolds obviously love this spot! 


Knitting update...I didn't get much knitting done this weekend but the length of the throw is now 69cm. Even though I went to a 'Knit and Natter' group at a local wool shop, I worked on another rug there which will be for the Knitting for Brisbane's Needy (K4BN) group.