... Googled "66a Church Road"

No, I'm not looking for a new apartment (well at least not yet anyway).

Last night, I saw an amazing show titled 66a Church Road - A Lament, Made of Memories and Kept in Suitcases. It was written, and performed, by stand-up comedian Daniel Kitson. But it wasn't stand-up. It was a beautifully executed piece of theater. And I have to qualify that last comment be saying I am NOT usually the girl who's all aboard the theater train. Ask anyone. Ask them about the time I drank a whole jug of beer on an empty stomach before a third year Creative Arts performance and then nearly suffocated on my own stiffled laughter because the penis on the nude man being yelled at in German and hit with books was wobbling and then shrinking back up into itself with every blow.

I hate performer nudity in confined spaces. Can't stand interpretative dance pieces. Am quite comfortable not to have my bourgeois perceptions of "art" challenged. Would probably be much happier watching Die Hard 2 on TV. Thank you very much.

But this piece was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Set-dressed and staged with visual grace and sensitivity to the subject matter. The monologue itself full of wit and pathos. Delivered with galloping momentum, perfectly punctuated by stillness and darkness and pause.

And it was also very, very funny.

I loved it. So today, I googled it to see what other people thought. Here's some of what I found.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/arts-reviews/daniel-kitson-66a-church-road/2009/11/29/1259429301467.html

This review, I'm convinced, was written by a soulless twat with a fake tan, who is clearly the type to walk around on the weekends in Italian leather loafers with the collar of his "casual" shirt popped up.

He completely missed the point. You don't leave the theater with a feeling of "moral superiority". You leave feeling so deeply and completely the beauty, and the loss, that comes with remembering the people and places from your past who were once "home". I don't know who can still be in possession of their soul and conjure up "superior" as a concluding emotion, when walking away from a performance which invites you to dig through the box containing all the things that made you feel safe and loved that you lost somewhere in the past and you can never, ever have back again.

I believe that somebody probably should have pointed out to this reviewer (a.k.a Satan's lapdog) that this show wasn't JUST about Daniel Kitson's old flat. Like Heart of Darkness is not JUST about a guy who goes on a river cruise in the jungle to find some other guy and bring him back. Sweetie, have you ever heard of narrative complexity? Layers of meaning? Symbols, allusion, allegory, metaphor?! Any of these concepts ring a bell?!!! FYI the show was about NOSTALGIA. Something that Kitson's voice-over actually signals at the start of the show when he defines "nostalgia" for us. Though perhaps that was something you missed as it did coincide with the "ukulele" music (which, another FYI, I'm pretty sure was actually a guitar).

For quick reference, I much prefer this summary of the show:

http://www.perthfestival.com.au/66a-church-road

This one below is fitting too. Interestingly, I think Satan's lapdog from the first review even read it for "inspiration" (but on account of having no soul, missed the point when attempting to plagiarize parts of it):

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3558475/Edinburgh-Festival-66a-Church-Road-and-A-Festival-Dickens.html

And this one concludes with the very thing that resonated with me so deeply about 66a Church Road:

http://www.australianstage.com.au/200911273028/reviews/sydney/66a-church-road-a-lament-made-of-memories-and-kept-in-suitcases-%7C-daniel-kitson.html

What I'm trying to say is - if you can, go see this show. It's on until January 31st at The Arts Centre.

Thanks. You've been a wonderful audience. Try the veal and don't forget to tip your waitress.