Hedda Gabler

In the spirit of getting to know the neighbourhood we visited Bristol's pub-with-a-theatre The Alma Tavern to see Hedda Gabler last Tuesday:

Hedda Gabler is the portrait of a beautiful, tormented and pathologically destructive woman who is trapped by her safe middle-class marriage. Caught between feelings for her old lover and the grasp of a predatory confidant, Hedda’s frustration and isolation manifests itself in a calculated and chilling manipulation of those around her, with ultimately devastating consequences.

I won't stray into theatre critic territory - I wouldn't know a good production from a bad if it bit me on the nose. That said, if there was one thing I noticed it was some of the casting was not quite up to scratch (see also the review in this weeks Venue).

But as one of the last people you'll ordinarily see in a theatre the idea of having a meal and a pint, then venturing upstairs for a bit of board-treading before heading back downstairs for dessert and maybe another pint for the road sounds to me like a rather pleasant way to spend the evening. And it was. We skipped food but were able to take our drinks up to the intimate 50-seat theatre - wherever you sat you were barely more than an arms length from the actors. Plus the play clocked in at 70 minutes which meant I wasn't squirming around in my seat with a sore backside. Great - can't wait to go again.