'Hamlet: Hail To The Thief'

Tomorrow is the Great Manchester Run, and Charlie, Milly, Hannah, and I agreed that we’d run in support of the LGBT Foundation.

Then my brother said he’d like to run, too, and suggested he bring Mum up, too, which resulted in Dan and Abi saying they’d like to come along! Such is the power of FOMO!

The Minx and I collected Mum and Wol from Piccadilly in the early afternoon and took them back to Hannah’s where we all congregated. 

Later on, Wol and I went to check into their AirBnB, only to find the apartment was completely empty! I mean, completely; nothing in there except some grubby carpets. 

It was, it transpired, an error by the company that leased the apartment out via AirBnB, not that that helped us at all. But with the Minx’s assistance, we found a hotel, and I left Wol to that while I walked home to change, taking the route via the Meadows and Peel Park. (Look at my first Extra: all the people sunning themselves in Peel Park!)

My second Extra was taken by the waiter at Don Marco’s where we all had dinner. 

After that, I walked across to Aviva Studios to meet the Minx. We were off to see ‘Hamlet: Hail To The Thief’, which I probably wouldn’t have got around to booking but my friend John had a couple of tickets that he couldn’t use, so we ended up going along.

And I’m glad we did! I’m no real fan of Shakespeare; every time I’ve seen a play of his at the theatre, I’ve struggled to follow it. This was completely different, possible because it was somewhat abridged. 

But quite apart from the writing, the performance was extraordinary. Great music - which I wasn’t expecting, as I don’t really like ‘Hail To The Thief’ - fantastic dancing and stage set, and terrific acting. I’d say it was the best experience I’ve ever had in a theatre.