From Sean Hughes to Shakespeare

So how is this for a weekend triple bill - stand up comedy, premiership football and Shakespeare?

Stand-up was in the form of Sean Hughes at the Fox in Palmers Green. For those who don't know him, he is an Irish comic who was one of the original captains on Never Mind the Buzzcocks before Bill Bailey. I hadn't ever seen him doing stand-up, and he must have wondered what had gone wrong playing the back of a pub in Palmers Green. But was good to see him in action, and to see him dealing with a real crowd. You have to deal with the odd loud mouth drunk in Palmers Green - its not a set-piece like the Hammersmith Apollo. But both my mate and I really enjoyed him, and indeed the other acts, especially an autistic Indian chap (think of all the PC ticks you get for having disabled members of an ethnic minority on the bill).

So that was Friday night. Saturday afternoon I went with my boss to see Spurs play Bolton. Not the most attractive of games, and indeed not attractive enough to tempt his wife to leave the xmas shopping, so I went on her season ticket. Now it has to be said Spurs fans are great moaners. If their team are not a goal up in the first ten minutes they tend to turn on the team. But luckily Spurs went one-up in 6 minutes. although the fans didn't really start singing until the second went in, as if they weren't sure until then that they would be backing the winning side. But when on form, as they were for much of this game, they really can turn on the style.

And from there straight up to Milton Keynes to see a production of Henry V. Yes, Milton Keynes. Milton Keynes even has a theatre district (according to the menu in the nearby Chinese restaurant in which we ate. Well I suppose its the district around the theatre, so not a technical breach of Trades Descriptions Act.) But actually its a really nice modern theatre. Attractive as all the West End theatres are, they aren't very practical for the modern audience. This one had good sight lines, a wide auditorium, a spacious foyer and comfy seats. It makes a difference. And for this production, an excellent and versatile cast, part of whom came out into the foyer while we were downing our interval drinks and gave us a few songs. Indeed there were songs between the acts in the play, including London Calling by the Clash and Chanson D'Amour. It actually fitted very well. And a bit of French battering doesn't go amiss for an English audience, does it?