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  • Review // The Passion of The Playboy Riots at The Hen and Chickens Theatre

    Review // The Passion of The Playboy Riots at The Hen and Chickens Theatre

    The Passion of The Playboy Riots Cast

    Review // The Passion of The Playboy Riots at The Hen and Chickens Theatre

    2016, the centenary of the 1916 Rising, saw a spike in Irish historical plays here in London. Now in 2017, Neil Weatherall’s ‘The Passion of The Playboy Riots’ has been given the space it deserves to get noticed.

    Running in The Hen and Chickens Theatre in Highbury, the play is set backstage at The Abbey Theatre and is centred around conversations between W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory and Padraig Pearse.
    Starting on opening night of W.B Yeats’ Cathleen Ní Houlihan of 1902, we move to 1907 and J.M Synge’s Playboy of the Western World and finally to 1926 and Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars.

    A young Pearse is introduced, a barrister, trying to get Yeats to use some of his scripts. This is at a time when Yeats himself is surrounded by self doubt. As the play goes on through time, we see the relationship develop, with Pearse’s initial respect for Yeats changing into heated debate between the two about the future of Ireland. Yeats wanted theatre to spark a change in Ireland.

    If you don’t know much about this era of history, Yeats quotes from the corn laws and this will get you up to speed with the background.

    The staging is simple but works in this setting, using the dark curtain behind them as the curtain backstage at The Abbey, occasionally listening to the goings on that stage. Totally meta. Justin McKenna and Loclann O’Grady look remarkably like Pearse and Yeats which definitely adds to the piece. McKenna is particularly good, showing the changing in Pearse from the young barrister to future revolutionary. Cath Humphrys is very much at home as Lady Gregory.

    At 50 minutes long, the script packs a lot in and it never droops. It also features some very witty one liners. And almost..almost does a Mrs Doyle, here, with whiskey. It is an Irish thing no matter what anyone says.

    I really enjoyed the angle this piece took. We’ve seen films made set behind the scenes when making films. The Passion of the Playboy Riots takes that idea to the stage. A bigger stage and budget would take this to the next level.

    This production is intelligent, witty, and educational. Got an hour to spare? Go check it out.

    The Passion of The Playboy Riots runs at the Hen and Chickens in Highbury until July 8th.

    Thanks to the director of the play, Neil Weatherall, for inviting me to the show.

  • The London Ear on RTÉ 2XM // Show 157

    The London Ear on RTÉ 2XM // Show 157

    The London Ear RTE 2XM nessymon

    This week was a really tough one for me. The heat was a killer with temperatures here in London getting up to and over 30°C. It was enough for me and my pasty Irish skin to buy a UV umbrella to try and get away from some of the sunlight. (Just got an idea for another blog post).

    What people don’t tell you is that when you’re away on your holibobs, well, that’s lovely. But, when you’re trying to do your daily 9-5 it’s really tiring.

    For these reasons, this week I decided to play some songs that remind me of summer, even though they may not have been released in summertime.

    The London Ear on RTÉ 2XM // Show 54 June 24 2017 // Playlist

    1. Buffalo Springfield: For What It’s Worth
    2. The Doors: Riders on the Storm
    3. Santana: Smooth
    4. Oasis: Champagne Supernova
    5. The 4 of Us: Drag My Bad Name Down
    6. The Fat Lady Sings: Arclight
    7. Morcheeba: Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
    8. Faithless: We Come One
    9. Pulp: Common People
    10. The Cardigans: Erase/Rewind
    11. Phantom Planet: California
    12. Moloko: The Time is Now

    Listen On Demand to The London Ear

    Thanks for listening, The London Ear broadcast on DAB radio, Saorview and outside Ireland you can listen online.You can listen to the show again on the RTE player. The show is broadcast every Saturday at 1300.

    Don’t forget to check out the RTE 2XM website. You can keep up with me here.

    Check out The London Ear on Facebook and Twitter

  • Summer in the City // Tip for Surviving Smelly Armpits

    Summer in the City // Tip for Surviving Smelly Armpits

    Summer in the City // Tip for Surviving Smelly Armpits

    It’s that time of year when it heats up a little, which for the most part is a good thing. Less rain and a bit of warmth can make us forget for a little while that winters, in this part of the world, are for the most part cold and dank.

    On most public transport systems, temperatures can get uncomfortable, especially while the world and their mother are trying to get home at rush hour. Take this onto overground trains, where people are squished together to get to work. Then go underground. It gets a bit warmer and even the early morning commute can be a form of torture. According to Gizmodo, the Bakerloo line is can reach 31 degrees and the Central line 30 degrees.

    With most rush hour commutes, you can, unfortunately, get to know your neighbour pretty intimately. During the summer months, that means you old sweaty armpits too. And let’s be honest, it can be pretty revolting.

    Surviving Smelly Armpits

    Let me clarify, everyone perspires, yes, even the Queen. (Hey Liz, hope you’re enjoying the read) But, by evening time on a packed train, after a hot day, it can get potent. So much so, I’ve wanted to be physically sick.

    Enter a tip I’ve been using for the past couple of years. A major hat tip has to go to Mr Mulley who passed this gem onto me. This will be my third year of using this and I feel, now, it’s my turn to pass on this simple effective tip to survive smelly armpits.

    a tub of vapour chest rub

    Make Your Own Travel Pack

    Pop into your local pharmacy or supermarket. Go to the aisle with all the cold remedies, and look for the decongestants. Now, you see the stuff you rub on your chest? Yes, that minty eucalyptus rub? Pick it up. You can go for the well known Vicks brand, or you can go for a generic brand. If you’re allergic to any of the ingredients, don’t to this! Seek a pharmacist/doctors advice before you go ahead.

    I’ve gone for Boots own brand. I think the jar was about two pound something. You don’t need to spend much on this. If you’re in the pharmacy, spend a pound and buy those little travel containers with a screw top lid.

    Don’t use your hands for this, an old spoon or something you can throw away. Take a spoonful from the jar and put it into the travel container. Wipe the outside clean.

    So now you have your own travel pack. It’s small enough to pop in your bag or even put in your pocket.

    Make Your Nose A Happy Nose

    There’s two ways to make your nose happy now. Pre-empt the event of smelliness and go straight ahead or wait until you board the train and see what it’s like. Just remember though, if the train is totally mad busy, you may feel uncomfortable doing this.

    Get a tiny dap of the chest rub on your finger and dab it on the inside of your nose. It may tingle a bit and if you’ve a tiny cut, it will probably sting. The upside though, is that is all you will smell. You can’t smell your overly intimate neighbour, just minty camphor eucalyptus smells. Enough to make any grandmother proud of you but not enough for the rest of the Tube’s inhabitants think you’re an oldie.

    It’s so easy, I never would have thought of this. But as I said, I’ve been using this now for a couple of years and it definitely makes life a lot easier for me. If you’ve a sensitive nose, turn it into a happy nose. Let me know how you got on in the comments below.

    Happy travels!
    London Underground

  • Visit Borough Market

    Visit Borough Market

    Borough Market sign - nessymon

    I love Borough Market. I love the buzz, the atmosphere, the food, the colour. I love wandering and seeing fruits and veg I’ve only ever heard about on telly. I love having an array of vegetarian food to choose from when I’m getting a bite to eat.

    Tradespeople, staff, business owners and customers have all been affected by what happened in the area on June 3rd. But, as the market reopens we have to remember what Borough Market stands for, what we love about it and we need to go back, we need to visit and we need to give the businesses there our custom.

    Green Market

    Bread at Borough Market

    Myself and Talulah often pop into Borough Market on a Saturday afternoon for a bite of lunch. The street food on offer is second to none. As a veggie, it’s almost like there are too many options. It takes me ages to make up my mind as to what to eat. A lot of the food stalls I eat from are in Green Market. Indian, Thai, Ethiopian, vegan, it’s all there. If you’re a meat eater, there’s everything including burgers and German sausages.

    Once the main course has settled, it then time to roam for some desserts. Again, everything from the most delicious cheesecake and fudge I’ve ever tasted to the stall that always has a queue. A stall complete with free from options including dairy free. I forget the names of the stalls, it’s doesn’t matter what their names are. These guys are the material that make Borough Market, they are the very fabric of the place.

    Turnips

    Turnips Borough Market
    A quick skip across to Middle Road brings you to Turnips. I love Turnips – the shop, but actually dislike the turnip vegetable itself. (Please don’t hold that against me). These guys know how to get the best of the best. You might pay a little more than you would in your local supermarket but the quality and standard of produce in their emporium is mightily impressive.

    I’ve walked around Turnips in awe at the rows of pumpkin and winter squash of every variety. It’s a cornucopia of delights. Heard of some strange herb or veg on a TV show? I’ve been in Turnips and exclaimed ‘Oh, THAT’S what it is!’. So many gorgeous foods, I always wish I had a bigger fridge!

    Full of Yummy Goodness

    I never remember the names of the meat eating establishments in Borough Market, for that I apologise. Normally, I go one way and get the food I want to eat, Talulah goes the other. Then we find a spot and munch. The whole place is full of yummy goodness, to eat on the spot and to bring home.

    Some other favourites include the Chegworth Valley shop. I can’t pass without getting a bottle of their apple juice. During winter, you can get a hot cup to have at the market. They’ve also got a spiced blend. I always get a couple to bring home for the long dark evenings.

    There’s a stall that sells mushroom pate (gorgeous), a French shop that sells mustards and condiments. Highly recommend the tarragon mustard. The Spanish shop that’s the best place to get all your ingredients for paella.

    I could go on.

    Visit Borough Market

    Borough Market Mid Week

    The traders of Borough Market now need our support, the staff need our support. These guys are independent traders and ten days of absolutely no business will affect their livelihoods and the future of their enterprises. We need to go visit and enjoy savour everything we’ve always loved about the place. We’ll never forget those who lost their lives, we won’t forget the injured.

    Borough Market has always been a bustling part of London. It’s been somewhere that tourists flock to and will again be flocking to again. It’s somewhere people go to restaurants for meals, for an after work drink, for laugh, to have fun.

    I know where I’m going for lunch this weekend, will you join me?

    Apples at Turnips

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