Ane Brun, ghosts and exes

Busy few days lately - had my chum Linda from Postcard of a Painting in town, as she wanted to go and see singer Ane Brun. I'd never heard of her - hardly surprising given I buy 2 CDs a year - but really enjoyed the gig. Brun has a beautiful voice and a pleasing stage presence: she reminded me a little of a Scandinavian Martha Wainwright. Plus seeing the occasional gig where you actually have to stand up (!) makes me feel young. Youngish, anyway.

Linda also being a horror lover, we went to see the Theatre of the Damned production Revenge of the Grand Guignol at the Courtyard. As ever with a portmanteau production, some bits were better than others - I'm not a fan of historical horror, so the two that really got me were the modern ones: a tale of an old man plagued by guilt had me jumping out of my seat, and a story of Skyping gone horribly wrong felt fresh and creepy.

Ex at the Soho Theatre

In total contrast, last night's show, Ex, was light and funny - a modern British musical, it was profanity laden but ultimately sweet, with a talented cast and some really laugh out loud moments: I'd recommend popping along.