cancelled

Life I'm wandering around a theatre foyer waiting for Shakespeare to begin. There is a queue at the box office. An announcement:

"We are sorry to announce, but due to technical difficulties tonights performance has been cancelled. Please return to the box office for a refund, credit or comp ticket for future performance..."

Bugger.

This was to be Much Ado About Nothing and the first time I'd managed to get out to the theatre in about a year since a disasterous local production of A Winters Tale which was so annoying I left at the mid-section.

I'd prepared well this time. Sometimes theatre is like a sporting event. You need to be in right mood, your mind needs to be ready. I'd only done some light work this afternoon after my lunchtime lecture, getting my diary in order and deciding what a future essay topic might be. But your body must be constitutionally correct for all the sitting. I'm still on a caffeine high now from all the cups of coffee I've drunk today to stay awake. I'd eaten a hearty meal of posh chicken noodle soup at Wagamama. I'd walked around town a lot to get some air into my lungs.

Instead I'm here writing about a play I haven't seen. The photographs of the show looked good. The programmes were expensive though. One of the lead performers put his back out unfortunately and there wasn't talk of an understudy so the theatre doesn't know when the show can go on ...