Call me old fashioned, but I still believe plays should have plots. That is, they should tell coherent stories with beginnings, middles and ends; and the audience should be able to discern the plot fairly easily. Watching a play is, after all, entertainment. John and I went to see Stereophonic last night. It was his idea, but naturally I’m always up for new things. Truth be told I knew absolutely nothing about David Adjmi’s 2023 play, but a night up in London always beats yet another evening watching TV.

What I found myself watching, however, was woefully disappointing: first of all, the wheelchair space at the Duke of York theatre was abysmal, and I could barely see half of the stage. That probably negatively effected my attitude, as quite frankly I found the performance as dull as ditchwater. It was set in a studio and was about members of a fictional Californian band creating an album. That, just about, is it. The way it dragged on about the character’s relationships frankly reminded me of a soap opera, and not a very entertaining one at that. I found the performance extremely dull, with very little in terms of action and intrigue, and quite frankly I didn’t see the point.

I know I should always relish going to the theatre. London is, after all, one of the most theatrical cities on Earth. The performance we went to last night, though, simply wasn’t up to scratch: The plot (inasmuch as there was one) was tiresome, the characterisation dull, the music uninspiring. I don’t know whether I missed some important detail or what, but last night could have been much better.