Little Shop Of Horrors

My darling boyfriend sent me an email yesterday saying "Oh cr*p I forgot I booked this for us" in his usual romantic way, forwarding on tickets to Newtown's production of Little Shop of Horrors the very same day. Obviously this rendered a few other evening plans abandoned but worth it all the same (and there's a lot to be said for last minute theatre trips).

I suppose having performed the same show at The Palace Theatre 7 years ago - I can't believe it was so long ago - aside from singing a long to all the songs, I also appreciated a lot of the technicalities of the performance. The story itself is great, a green plant appears on Skiddrow, Downtown, and persuades its ambitious owner the geeky, gawky Seymour to feed it fresh blood in exchange for his fame and fortune although you soon realise that this inevitably comes at the cost of his relationships with those around him.

The performance was really, really good. It was funny without trying to force bad jokes and superbly entertaining. The play has its homage to old school sci-fi and quirky stereotypes. I loved the whole 'edgy cool' place the characters came from. Very fitting for a Newtown audience. I can't say I was wholly convinced by the acting but I think it added to the charm of the performance, it's not meant to be taken too seriously.

So a really nice evening all in all. I squeezed in some time at the gym beforehand (a first in a long time) and we sniffed a pizza in the taxi on the way there to ensure I undid any good I did on the treadmill. It did make me wonder how do people juggle their lives ensuring they get fit, work hard, are fed and entertained along with a good nights sleep all in one day!? I mean, my life's pretty simple at the moment, I don't have children, my works a 10 minute walk down the road, I live in Sydney (as opposed to my previous London habitat), my responsibilities at present are pretty minimal. Its a scary prospect. It seems we live in a world where its normal to be doing more than one thing at a time. Sit on a ball at work, watch TV whilst on a treadmill, eat on the go... there must be a solution... that said, there's something satisfying about a fast paced existence as long as you get a break once in a while.