The Wasp

This week’s entertainment was at Circa Theatre, to see The Wasp. Normally we’d go together, but on this occasion, Nicola went and saw it a day early as she was auditioning for a part at Circa. The part for which she was trying out was not, alas, on the stage, but as an usher. Yes, she’ll be getting in to see some of the shows for free from now on (assuming she’s accepted!) whereas I’ll have to remain as a paying punter. On the downside, you don’t get to choose which show you have to ush (is that a word?), so may have to take the rough with the smooth.

As I was on my own I decided to try out Circa Theatre’s in-house food offerings. They have a short menu, from which I selected the dumplings. These were tasty, but somewhat overpowered by the chili sauce, which they were served in, rather than on the side.

The play is described as a thriller, and is a two-hander with Miriama McDowell and Bree Peters, both of whom we’ve seen before at Circa, notably in Burn Her. Heather and Carla were at school together, and meet again twenty years later. Their lives have diverged somewhat since school, and the meeting has been initiated by Heather, now living a comfortable middle-class existence, compared to Carla’s poverty. The difference between the two is not only class, however: there’s also the matter of babies. Heather has so far failed to conceive, whereas Carla is pregnant with her fifth. This becomes a crucial issue as the history of the two characters unfolds. Normally, I’d say “spoiler alert” but the play was first performed in the UK in 2015, so you may know how it ends. It’s also “in development” as a film, which means it may or may not come to fruition in the next twenty years.

As ever, the production is excellent, and the details are fascinating – down to Heather’s fluffy slippers. The ending is unexpected and shocking. Go see it!

Postmodern Jukebox

Postmodern Jukebox are a cover band. They do versions of (mostly) modern pop songs in various jazz styles, sometimes re-writing them so much that they’re almost unrecognisable from the original. What’s not to like about that?

First, of course, we went to dinner. Having been disappointed by Floriditas last time we went out, we decided to go whole hog and just do Logan Brown instead, which is always top quality. They, too, have been affected by inflation, and their three-course dinner is now $89; but even so, with cocktails and wine, it came to about the same as Floriditas, but with Logan Brown food. So guess where we’ll stick to next time?

 A short walk down Cuba Street took us to the Michael Fowler Centre, where we took our seats in the circle. The band came on, and played a load of mostly American hits – Thriller, I’ll Be There For You (the Friends theme song), Last Nite, Seven Nation Army, and All About That Bass were notable numbers. I’d post the entire set list, but setlist.fm don’t even acknowledge that the gig took place (although they do recognise Auckland’s), let alone remind me what the songs were.

At the beginning of the show, and in direct contravention of the usual rules applicable at Wellington venues, the MC explicitly allowed us to take pics and video, and encouraged us to post them online with a #PMJ tag. I’m sure there were a few pursed lips from venue staff who usually police the “no photography” clause with neo-nazi ruthlessness.

The songs are performed by various singers, sometimes solo, some duos and some in three-part harmony. Also included in the entertainment was a tap dancer, who tapped his way through a couple of numbers…fortunately not too many, because tap dancing, for me at least, wears thin pretty quickly.

Here’s a sample of them in action:

The party went on quite late, and we stayed up past 11 o’clock!