eiffel_71 | (no subject)

This evening we were guests at the Really Necessary Travelling Actors' production of Maskerade at the New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth - my first introduction to the weird and wonderful world of Terry Pratchett. The play was very good, with lots of offbeat humour and an engaging murder mystery storyline. Peter, husband of Katrina the Fareham deputy mayor, said hello to us in the bar before the show. He was brilliant as Mr Bucket. Just before the start we met someone my mother knew from community work, who also had a husband in the cast, though he was a minor character.

When the audience resumed their seats after the interval, one of the theatre group's organisers got up on stage and announced that it was time for the fancy dress contest! We wondered whether this was part of the play, especially when two of the witches from the cast joined the lineup (till they were shooed off by the producer) but it soon became clear this was a real fancy dress contest, with six of the seven contestants dressed as Pratchett characters (the other was dressed as Terry himself).

As we left, we said goodbye to the theatre group's president, who gave us a complimentary metal witch's hat badge each, and went out onto a Guildhall Walk bursting with Friday night clubbers. John, who was clearly dismayed by his surroundings, was out in the road to lead us to the Mayoral car parked at the far end of the side street opposite.

We leave for Porthmadog first thing tomorrow morning. Have a great weekend, folks, and see y'all Tuesday.