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The Hitman

The sink looked white and clean at first glance. It was only when you focused in on it that you noticed the dirt and the filth. It was the same with the mirror above it. It had splashing’s of toothpaste, soap and saliva.

He noticed it. He always noticed things like that, he couldn’t afford not to. A single hair, a single fibre, a single mistake and it would all be over. No, he could not allow that.
He leant forward moving his hands into the bowl of the sink, he nudged the tap with the side of his hand and water gushed forth into the bowl. It ran cold over his hot dirty hands; he caressed it with his fingers as it cleaned the blood from his hands. The bloody water pooled in the bottom of the sink. He watched it as it twisted its way down the plughole. It reminded him of a red rose being sucked away from the light by some unseeing hand.  A mirror of his life, he the all-powerful unseen hand.

He smiled as he stared at his reflection through the grime of the mirror. It was a crooked smile and made him look quite frightening. He didn’t see that though, he saw a successful man running his own business and getting very rich in the process.

The sound of a child crying distracted him from his reflection. The smile vanished from his face and he looked down. Beside the sink his hunting knife, the blade still gleaming red with blood lie waiting for him to complete the job. He picked it up, gripping the handle tightly, and then he stepped away from the sink and out of the bathroom. He walked up the hallway, so softly was his pace that not a sound came from his footsteps.
He passed the master bedroom, peering in; the sight of red splattered over everything caught his eye. He loved the colour of blood. It was so pure and real to him. He didn’t even glance at the mutilated bodies that lie on the bed. He had finished with them and now to him they no longer existed. All that was left was the red dripping and slipping slowly down the walls.
He kept walking, going to the door that had pink paper flowers stuck on it. He could still hear the sobs coming from within. Had the child not woken he probably would have left. She was of no importance to him, but now his blood was up and when a killers blood is up it is hard to stop killing when once one has started. He stopped just outside the room, putting his hands into his pockets he pulled out some latex gloves and put them on. Always the professional, he could not allow his passion to let him get sloppy. Reaching for the door knob he took a breath, and then grasping it, he turned the knob and stepped into the room….

Should I continue?

Driving Miss Daisy at the Theatre Royal in Sydney

For Tues 19th March 1 pm performance 2013

Today I had the pleasure of attending a performance of Driving Miss Daisy at the Theatre Royal. Having never seen any rendition of the story before, I was not entirely sure what to expect. I did know the basic storyline; an African American driving around a grumpy old lady called Daisy. I chose to see the play based on the cast, and it is true what they say, it doesn’t matter what the play is; if you have a good cast anything can be a hit.
In this case; the play and the cast were superb.
Put simply, I loved it. Being a history buff I enjoyed how the story moved through the major events happening in the background but didn’t encroach in anyway on the story. I liked the tastefulness of the story, given the era it was set it did not have to be so.  James Earl Jones in the role of Hoke Coleburn was brilliant. His actions coupled with his facial expressions brought the character to life and made the smallest quip hilarious. Angela Lansbury played the leading lady as Miss Daisy. She was perfect and I since found out she is 87 years old, a magnanimous performance. Although I have seen her in many roles and recognise her voice instantly, she played the part so perfectly that I forgot I was watching people perform a show, they both owned their characters and I doubt I will ever see two such fine actors on the stage together again. Boyd Caines played Daisy’s son Boolie. I have not seen much of his work before, but found him to be a great actor that played his character excellently and rather amusingly too.
The set was your basic play setting, and that was all it needed, a good script and a great cast don’t need any modern extras. I did enjoy the small part of the stage rotating, and the chair moving back and forth was adorable. As much as I admire them for smoking on stage, they might need to get a less stinky brand or better ventilation. It smelt like one of those nicotine free cigarettes actors smoke, which smell worse than the real ones. A few of the elderly people coughed a bit when the smell hit them.
The costumes were well suited, only Hoke maintained the same costume throughout, with slight changes. The others changed and the clothes suited the era being portrayed.

Source of picture
The venue itself was one I had never been to before. It was easy to find and the main show room was well designed with good sound quality around the room and decent visibility, however it could use better ventilation in that room. The venue has far too many stairs. Most of the audience were elderly and there was no lift at all. It was fine for me and some of the other young ones there, but it could do with a lift or escalator for the more infirmed.

The show concluded with a standing ovation as well it should, it was certainly deserving of one, and it is so nice to sit in an audience where the applause keeps going after the actors have left the stage. It seems to be a rarity these days.
A must see before it’s gone.

The Addams Family Review at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney

For Tues 12th March 7 pm performance 2013

This evening I attended a preview performance of The Addams Family at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. I usually attend the theatre with friends or occasionally on my own, however, this time it was a rather unique experience. I was with my parents.
They do not usually go to anything with a bit of culture, but they expressed an interest so I arranged it. I went in knowing nothing about the plot or cast. Not really caring, just looking forward to a good musical. I found the opening number quite enjoyable, but I noticed my father quickly crossing his arms and staying like that for a while. I thought, ‘great, they won’t want to sit through the lot and I’ll be left watching it on my own.’ I certainly wasn’t leaving. I observed them starting to relax as the story got underway, wonderful, and then I was able to ignore them until intermission and just enjoy the show.

When I had first seen the posters for this show I noted that Wednesday (Teagan Wouters.) was too old, I did not realise this was a sequel to the old black and white series that we all know and love. Wednesday is now in her teens and is discovering boys. That also explains why Gomez Addams’ (John Waters) hair is going grey, with an emotional teenage daughter that is to be expected. Morticia (Chloe Dallimore) was perfect, she could have been the original for all I knew she played the role to perfection. The story flowed smoothly and I found myself wrapped up in the plot. I adored the scene with the birds, and Lurch (Ben Hudson) was Devine throughout the entire show. Pugsley (Liam Faulkner-Dimond) was his adorable self too. I was overjoyed when cousin It made an appearance and his little romance is adorable, as is Festers (Russell Dykstra) moon bathing scene. The reference to the sound of music was hilarious and the show left us on a nice cliff-hanger for intermission. Naturally when the show recommenced everything was resolved and they all lived miserably (happily) ever after. My particular favourite scene had to be the tango scene, I loved every aspect of it.
I won’t ruin the story for you by adding details.
I only have one major qualm with the show. It is sold as “is appropriate for children ages 7 and up” There is one particular line about a sandwich by Grandma, (Meredith O’Reilly) which I wouldn’t want any child of mine hearing... If I was unfortunate enough to breed that is. I don’t mind it in the show, it made my jaw drop in hilarity, but there were a lot of children in the audience whose parents might have had to answer some interesting questions during the intermission. I myself, found it hilarious that my mother didn’t get it until after my instant reaction, yes my mind is permanently in the gutter, and I clearly drag others down with me when they realise from my reaction that something crude must have just happened.

The Costumes were stunning; they suited the characters and fit the story. The final costume change must have happened in seconds, they seemed to step off and back on again in completely different apparel. It was brilliant.
The sets were great and the transitions were well orchestrated, I won’t describe them for fear of ruining the surprise for anyone, except to say; brilliant! And I want that question chair.
The venue; as I mentioned on twitter, the Capitol Theatre is one of my favourite theatres. I first went there in 2000 to attend ‘Good News Week Farewell’ and have seen many things in it since, the last of which was ‘Love Never Dies,’ The LND Review on this blog is for the London performance at the Adelphi, not the Capitols one. The show changed a lot between those two.
The Capitol is old and classy with a charm all its own, it reminds me of that old book smell; you sit down and it smells like history, but you’re about to witness something new and exciting. It is a short walk through the park from Central Station, there is also nearby parking which is roughly around $10 from 6pm until midnight. The usher on door 3 is also very cute and very nice. No filming or recording or photography of the performance is allowed for obvious copyright reasons. There are restaurants nearby to dine and a bad coffee shop with a perfect view of the backstage entrance if you wish to wait around and meet the cast and get your merchandise signed and pictures taken.

The music and lyrics are by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The songs are catchy and stay stuck in your head for the train ride home. I don’t know whether I will still have them in there tomorrow. There is an audio recording available for purchase at the venue, but I’d imagine it is the Broadway recording with a different cast. I always like to have one of the cast I actually saw perform it.

Site that photo came from

I found the show and the performance brilliant.
It’s showing at the Capitol in Sydney until April 28^th. Do get along and see it, well worth the price of admission.

The Blue Bicycle Helmet - The first installment

The sun was shining bright as Bonny sipped her cappuccino; she was seated at a table outside the Hyde Park café enjoying the warmth of the morning sun on her face. She sat alone as was her preferred style, Bonny was an observer of others; she found their day to day habits most amusing and it was on this morning that she sat watching others in their morning routines. Many bustled by, busily scurrying off to work, others moved slower, a desire to enjoy the day, but their expressions couldn't hide the disappointment of having to work on such a lovely day. Bonny sat off to the side of the café, a position she had chosen specifically for its isolation from the passers-by.  She wished to observe in solitude, the only contact she had sought was from the waiter, but now that she had her morning cappuccino she had sank back into her own little observers’ world. That is probably why she didn't notice the bicycle helmet rolling slowly toward her until it hit her leg; she looked down in time to see it spin leisurely to a stop just under her table. Bending down, she took hold of the helmet and picked it up, she looked at it, confused to find one at her feet. It was blue and had the word, ‘Melbourne,’ stamped on the side with white paint. She found that slightly odd considering they were in Sydney. Turning around on her seat so that she could see behind her, she saw the source of the helmet. There on the ground lie a man, a bicycle was on the ground beside him, he appeared to have fallen from the bicycle and a crowd was beginning to gather around him to stare, but not to offer assistance. As it quickly became apparent that he wasn't moving, someone moved close enough to actually check the man’s vitals. Bonny watched through the crowd from her table, it all looked very interesting the way the people reacted to such an event. She stared at the man that kneeled beside the accident victim, the kneeling man seemed to her to be in his late 40’s or early 50’s, with the products these days Bonny was finding it harder and harder to judge a man’s age, but she could tell he was married, was left handed and was some sort of tradesman or gardener. Although he wasn't wearing overalls or carrying tools his current pants were well worn around the knees and dirt was wedged under his fingernails, the left hand also bore a wedding ring, which was the hand he was using to check the bicycle victims pulse. These things Bonny instantly noticed, it had become a subconscious habit of hers to notice things like that, but big things like a man falling from a bicycle right behind her, those things she never noticed until after they happened.

“He’s dead!”

She had been lost in thought, but those words snapped her back to reality. She looked back to the fallen man, now very interested in the victim himself and not just those around him. To some, the thought of a dead man seemed intriguing and the gathering crowd grew.
“Someone call the police,” a woman standing nearby said, and at least twenty people pulled out their phones and made the call.

Bonny chuckled to herself, surely these people had seen a dead body before, it wasn't that interesting, but then again, it was a good excuse for them to arrive late to work. Interested to see how the affair would progress, Bonny motioned to the waiter and ordered herself another cappuccino while she waited for the police to arrive. She did after all hold a possession of the dead man’s in her hand which she should probably hand over to them when they arrived.

You can, then, of course imagine her surprise when they did not appear, instead an ambulance arrived, two paramedics quickly examined the man and found that he was still dead; they quickly covered the body and took it away leaving the bicycle strewn across the foot path. 
Bonny watched on confused, it was clear by the gathering crowd that they too were expecting something more.  Bonny stared at the bicycle wondering if anyone would come to claim it or would it be left there to rust, she looked back to the helmet.
“Now,” she sighed, “what to do with you?” She patted it like it was a lost pet.

Sawdust

1. I love the smell of sawdust, not because some tree suffered and lost a limb, but because there is the possibility that from it something beautiful is being created, so a bit of the tree lives on forever as a thing of beauty. If you ever murder someone you should make a necklace out of their phalanges that way a peace of their beauty will live forever, or at least until everything turns to dust, bu...

   t that would take a very long time.
   I think I must associate the smell of sawdust with a memory and that is why I love it so, perhaps it was when I saw guitars being made, or it might have been that trip to the coopers, (the barrel maker, not the ranges). Who knows, it's like the smell is trying to trigger a memory I can't quite reach. Oh well, I'll always have this beautiful wooden box I made for myself when I was a child, and it will always carry my pretty collection of bone necklaces.

Paranoia.

It is dark, so dark I can't see my hands in front of my face. I hear a crash, it has come from the garage. My garage is not isolated from my house. If there is something out there it has access to everything, to me. I stare at the door to the garage, well, I stare to where I know the door is, but I cannot see it. I don't move. I am frozen in place with fear. My mind conjuring up every terrifying possibility imaginable, but never a good one. When I do finally move, it is to grab a weapon. I have no idea how I will use it, or if I could, but it makes me feel safer. I eventually make my way to the door, turning on every single light in the house. I open the door and boxes are scattered everywhere, their contents expunged and strewn about everywhere. My eyes glared around the room, searching it for a trace of movement, a sign of something that didn't belong. Nothing. Somehow this made me even more scared. I ran out, sliding the chain across as I left, scared that whatever it was, was coming to get me.

It was not until 3 am that I finally got to sleep, even then it was a restless and fearful sleep. When the sun shone I made my way back to the garage, bayonet in hand. It was just as I left it, the boxes on the floor blocking the path between the wall and the ladder. I looked around again, it seemed safe enough. I went to take my washing out of the machine only to find the spin cycle hadn't finished. I turned it back on. The machine shook so violently that it bashed into the wall over and over.

Now I see what had caused the boxes to fall. My fear and paranoia did the rest, though I still put the chain on at night.