The new-look Theatre Royal – officially ‘unveiled’ any day now – is looking lovely, isn’t it? …or is it? Opinion about the new facade (‘that’ awning; ‘those’ etchings) seems to be dramatically divided already, with supporters swooning over the glamour of it all (a golden canopy! Who’d have thought it?) while naysayers accuse the whole facelift of already looking ‘cheap’. Could the Theatre Royal have put their £3m refurbishment budget to better use? Perhaps we should all wait until the theatre reopens to the public before we comment, but as soon as you’ve got an opinion, let us know what you think. Meanwhile, if you happen to spot any of the TRB’s Autumn Season board-treading superstars hanging out on the pavement tables outside the Garrick’s Head on St John’s Place (or rather Luvvie’s Lane, as The Pig prefers it to be known) let us know about that, too. Between now and Christmas we’ve got Penelope Keith, Peter Bowles,
Martin Shaw, Stephanie Beacham, Alison Steadman and, erm, Pam Ayres to stalk, with Walford Square heartthrob Ricky Groves (strictly come) dancing his way across the stage as Abanazar in December, when Aladdin is set to put the Christmas magic into Sawclose. Huzzah!
No smoke (or service) without…?
While we’re on the subject of Sawclose (sorry, but The Pig just can’t let it lie), Gascoyne Place’s second ‘Jazz in the Square’ event went with a swing on August 22, when a loud, proud line-up of acts graced the articulated lorry, attracting revellers from miles around. This being The Pig, however, there is just one tiny niggle to nag about: when an establishment spends so long sorting road-closure planning applications, dozens of extra tables and chairs and a market to compliment the entertainment, surely they could make sure that staffing levels are sufficiently high enough to serve all those who come along to join in the merry-making? The average wait for a food order hovered around the hour-long mark during peak times (pretty much all day), and chaos ensued whenever anybody asked for the bill. Still, neither frustration nor the inevitable rain (which kindly held off until mid-evening) stopped play; dearest BANES, can we have some more,
please? But what happened to Market, just across the square, on Bank Holiday Monday itself? The lovely, lively bar’n’burger haven turned into a zeroes version of the Marie Celeste, leaving the normally rammed alfresco terrace to provide Schwartz Bros fans with a convenient patio on which to scoff their takeaway in style. Apparently this hiccup was caused by an over-zealous fire department worried about smoke emissions from the Market kitchen; air vents have now been thoroughly cleaned, and normal service has (thankfully) been resumed.
Bath’s Got Talent!
Local painter and decorator Oliver Gwyn-Jones is one of the eight finalists in the Bluebeard shaving cream-sponsored ‘Britain’s Manliest Man’ competition, Bath University graduate Stephen Fox has been shortlisted as a ‘Mr England’ finalist and Bath entrepreneur Paul Kane has been entrusted with one of the ‘keys’ responsible for controlling the World Wide Web – three tasty bits of news about local ‘talent’ announced at the same time as Komedia confirmed that they will indeed be hosting a second bout of their search for ‘Bath’s Top Talent’ from February next year. Perhaps the organisers might consider inviting Mr Manly, Mr England and Mr Controller of the Universe along as judges – or even prizes? After all, prizes – not talent – were the only element sadly lacking from the BTT 2010 shebang.
