26 April 2019. Three Sisters at Almeida

I was really absorbed by this three hour immersion in the Russian countryside as the three sisters wrestled with the stultifying boredom of their existence. Longing to return to the gaiety of Moscow, for most of the play they are distracted by the soldiers garrisoned nearby. The middle one - Masha - has an affair with one of the officers to relieve the tedium of her early marriage to a local school-teacher while the youngest - Irina - is pursued  by several suitors. The eldest meanwhile - Olga - seems to have consigned herself to an early spinsterdom. The brother is married to the nasty selfish Natasha, a woman who the sisters hate and who gradually takes over their house while having an affair with the local mayor.
All the while, the play wrestles with the meaning of life - or its meaninglessness. The air of lethargy is summed up by the retired doctor who has turned to drink and in this version by Cordelia Lynn comes out with the ditty "Ta ra ra boom de ay; I've drunk my life away. What does it matter?"
Under the direction of Rebecca Frecknall, the actors were positioned on stage in arresting tableaux, adding to the theatricality of the evening. By the end, I would have happily have gone through it al again - passing my life, like the migrating birds referenced in the play, just doing something - which gives as much meaning as one can hope for.

23 April 2019. Sweet Charity at the Donmar

Anne-Marie Duff in the title role was one draw for me to book a ticket for this  musical, the swansong of Josie Rourke's time at the helm of the Donmar. It's a sad tale of a woman looking for love and escape from her life as a hostess which culminates in her engagement but subsequent jilting by a man from a very different world.
The other draw was that the choreography was by Wayne McGregor. However, it did not really feel like a production in which dance was to the fore. The musical element predominated.
All in all, a pleasant enough evening but not one that was particularly challenging - except for making me think about the dangers of trying to marry oneself into happiness and security. 

19 April 2019. SS Mendi at ROH Linbury

This production tells the sad and shameful tale of  Africans recruited to work for the British in the first world war. It turns out that they are only to be allowed to dig trenches rather than act as soldiers because their ethnicity confines them to a support role. They are to travel to Europe on the SS Mendi and the production recounts the journey which ends with the sinking of the ship after a collision with another under the reckless control of its Captain. He is given a mere year's suspension as a Captain despite drowning several hundred of the Africans.

This tale is told very effectively with a minimum of props and instruments by the Isango Ensemble.