RESTRICTED VIEW #2

February: the only month when the pre-set dates in my (i)phone calendar are exciting. July just serves up the Battle of Boyne, whilst February has Shrove Tuesday and before that … St Valentines Day.

St Valentines Day shall be the focus of this Restricted View, because where better to spend it with your lover/mother/friend than in a theatre. It falls on a Saturday this year so you can go to a matinee or an evening show, or both…

“Why have a date in a dark theatre? Unable to talk! Limited opportunity to get to know each other!”—shrill the naysayers.

Oh, how I disagree! It is an incredibly intimate experience to sit next to someone, seeing and sensing their immediate reactions to what is unfolding on stage. Are they cringing, laughing or crying? Or are they an unfeeling philistine made from concrete?

Even the choice of what to see is revealing. Someone places their trust in your taste, or you place your trust in theirs. It’s personal and potentially exposing. It’s always better to find out he’s a fan of Cats before he meets your parents. Going to the theatre is an act of love and care: towards your date, and the show you select. Supporting the arts shows heart.

If you’re unsure on what to book for February 14^th, I have a few recommendations for you and your date, depending on who they are to you:

Potential or Recent Lovers: Something short, ideally interval-less so you can maximise talking (drinking) time. I’d suggest shows at Soho Theatre (I will be going to the appropriately titled: The Virgins), or its shiny new outpost, Soho Theatre Walthamstow (the comedian Kate Berlant is performing, a ‘laugh them into bed’ fail-safe). Both have exciting programmes, and excellent boozers in their respective vicinities.

Long-term Lovers: Two steady Eddie’s looking to mix it up should head to the National Theatre: a stalwart of London’s theatre scene which has had a refresh courtesy of its new Artistic Director, Indhu Rubasingham.

Friends: Girlie girls should lean into glittery high camp and book Pretty Woman: The Musical or Six. Or The Devil Wears Prada The Musical, in anticipation of The Devil Wears Prada 2. Whatever you see, generously patronise the theatre’s bar and sing so loudly that the performance is (temporarily) paused. Lads love a film or book adaptation so settle into Operation Mincemeat or The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Sadly, The Lehman Trilogy isn’t still playing so I can’t suggest that.

Family: Alongside patience, family members require an all-age appropriate classic. I’d book The Mousetrap which I saw for the first time a few months ago. A charming, wintery and crucially, surprising show. Who doesn’t love a whodunit!