The really nice person in the next seat

Got chatting to a lovely Australian lady next to me at Pinter 2 last night. She was end of row and she was furious about how the people who sit in the middle of the row are always the ones who come back to their seats at the last minute.

Most of all I liked her attitude to the whole Pinter season. “Who am I kidding? I’m outcome oriented. Of course I am going to see them all.”

I also had a fantastic chat with someone at the end of the row in Pinter 2- a few weeks ago. Had a great chat before the show, through the interval. I though we might be friends but he left the auditorium when the lights came up as if he was running for his life - escaping my clutches?!

In general I'm rubbish at starting conversations with people but do really enjoy them. And if anyone ever sees me at a show you absolutely must say hello, I love making board friends.

On Saturday I was supposed to be seeing the Company evening show with my friend, but missed out on dayseats so went to the matinee instead without my friend and the person sat next to me was the brother of said friend who had got a ticket on TodayTix.

I wasn't really sure where to put this, but here's a multi-part saga on a woman who had a heart attack at Hadestown last night (told from the perspective of the husband of the guy who did CPR):

I took my seat for Nine Night yesterday afternoon with only five minutes to curtain up, and there's no internal, but what I don't now know about Diana from Otley isn't worth knowing.

My very stylish fleece was barely off before she shared with me, completely unprompted, that she was just back from watching the Grand Prix in Singapore. "I was as close to the cars as we are to that door," she told me, pointing. It's all her late husband's fault, I discovered. He was also a keen photographer, and combined the two.

Four children, but only one who likes motorsports.

New car, with wheels that have to be balanced every month. Along with a whole list of other errands, she'd been to the garage on the way to the theatre. "There's a warning light that comes on. You can't override it!"

Then we sort of got onto me...briefly.
"Where are you from?"
"Sheffield."
"Have you lived there all your life?"
"Not yet."
"One of my grandsons has just started university in Sheffield."
"Sheffield University or Sheffield Hallam?"
"Oh the University. He could have gone to York."
"Right."
"I was in Sheffield myself a few years ago, doing some filming..."

Of all the theatres in all the towns in all the world, I found myself sitting right next to someone who had also had a small part in Jamie. What are the chances? Turns out Diana does a bit of work as a supporting artist, so although my small part was massive, hers must have been even bigger.

"I'd never stayed in a budget hotel before. You had to pay extra for a window!"
"And did you...pay extra?"
"I did. I like to see what's going on. I'm not nosy, I'm curious. There wasn't even a kettle in the room. You had to use a machine in the corridor."

It was at that point that Mary arrived, from the wrong direction.

"I should have come that way, but there's a lady in a wheelchair. I'm supposed to be sitting there," gesturing to A6, "but I'm going to sit here. Gives us all a bit more room."

Mary and Diana continued talking, all the way through the phone announcement and as the lights dimmed. I now know quite a lot about Mary too. Guess what her husband's called? Joseph, obviously. You couldn't make it up! He's suffering with terrible sciatica at the moment, so like the three of us, she'd come on her own.

At the end, Diane and Mary exchanged telephone numbers. I left them to it and said my goodbyes. They didn't ask me for mine. ☹ I'm trying not to take it personally.

With so much material, all for free, it's no wonder Alan Bennett became a playwright.

I bet she didn’t go as far as stroking your thigh like “Our Kid” at the Osmonds! 😂

If im going alone I usually arrive just before curtain up, I always sit on the aisle so the person in the next seat in has probably concluded that the seat is empty. Then big burly me comes along and shatters their dreams. I usually just say “hello” as they look up so that comms channels are open. If they want to interact after that I’m fine, if not that’s fine too.
Didn’t get a choice with Our Kid, she was on me like a pigeon on a chip before my cheeks hit the velvet!