First Night

[superhero]

At £100 a ticket, the food ought to be good!

[a_person]

When is Beate going to post her review?

[evilzadi]

Yes, i bet tonights event was fun!

[superhero]

Let's give her some time to digest the food....opps I mean the film

[evilzadi]

[Beate]

So we got there for 6pm and it was properly dead. We were told to go to the upstairs bar which has a wonderful view of the car park, and we didn't even get free drinks. So OH and I left PXC and friends there and went down to the screen in which we were told the premiere was to be held. We sat around for over half an hour in the hallway, then finally the clipboard ladies arrived and we were allowed in and asked to fill up from the back. Not a problem! Not a problem indeed! There was some info about Boisdale including the "Boisdale Telegraph" at every seat, but no water or popcorn.

We sat around again with PXC and friends for another 15 minutes with barely anyone in - then, shortly before 7pm, the masses suddenly begin streaming in. Blimey, so many people, and they streamed and streamed, very slowly, until 7.30pm. I couldn't believe it. Then, finally, we got a speech by someone who stood in the dark in front of a mike who though he was very funny but wasn't. A few of the actors were in the audience, and stood up when name-checked. Honestly, oddest premiere ever. There wasn't even a red carpet or any photographers!

The film finally started at 7.35pm. It wasn't bad but it wasn't wonderful either. It basically tries to be a kind of Shakespeare in Love, where reality and art intertwine. In this case the opera Cosi Fan Tutte, rehearsed in a splendid English manor house by a variety of opera singers. If you love opera, this is a great film, but the constant singing and rehearsing began to get on my nerves a bit after a while. The toings and froings between the singers were amusing but not really comedy-funny. A Bunch of Amateurs this wasn't. It was also too long in my opinion.

We were then herded to Boisdale Canary Wharf which is huge and soon began to fill up with people. As we were one of the first ones in, we managed to get a table, and the waiters were very attentive. The canapes were plentiful and gorgeous, and I soon couldn't eat anymore. The OH was also very happy with his Sardinian beer. I saw Nancy Dell'Olio in the crowd, looking very thin. PXC and friends then had enough of stalking celebrities (she found an actor I've never heard of and started hugging him) and went on the dance floor (the music was really good) but we had enough at 11pm and went home on the DLR.

7/10 for the film, 10/10 for the after-party

[evilzadi]

Glad someone enjoyed their night

[Beate]

This was also free preview no. 100 this year!

[evilzadi]

Well then it was the perfect way to reach the big 100!

[ejwrank]

This was also free preview no. 100 this year!

Bravo Beate!