from Scorp

In spite of Dr Misnuneris' sudden disappearance, I still managed to
attend a performance of 'The Voysey Inheritance' last night at the National (which I must add was a very good show) as part of the ongoing research into mishaps.

Unfortunately I did not notice a great deal of mishappenings in this performance; almost everything went smoothy, and I hasten to add that for the duration of the first act I was seated behind someone of incredible stature, which proved to be somewhat problematic for someone who fits the bill of "small is beautiful".

The only mishap in this performance I really noticed occurred at the beginning of the second act — here Edward had a line in which he seemed to have meant to say "barber", but instead accidentally said "father", before quickly correcting his mistake.

I did notice several other peculiar things with regard to the content, however. A few of the lines seemed to be direct echoes of that peculiar message discovered on the NTT website. The one of which I am absolutely sure featured in the play is:

"Reason, my friend, does not get us very far. Common sense is a dry diet for the soul, you know."

However, there were other lines in that message which I seem to remember hearing in yesterday's performance — whether or not they are actually in the play I cannot guarantee. These were:

"...the material world is an illusion - what counts is the world of dreams"

"And they project their own restlessness onto the physical world.”

"Trust is to be earned. Is it not?"

"Look to the world, and how things are outside these walls"

and

"So no one is watching us..." that's what they'll say.
"We're here. There is no role for us"

Also, I definitely remember hearing Mr Voysey's line: "I have done what I had to do", which carries striking echoes of this line from the mysterious NTT text: "We all must do what we must do."

This is not all I have to report on, however. A few weeks ago, as you know, I bought tickets to see the excellent 'Life of Galileo' at the National Though I momentarily forgot about them soon afterwards, I do now recall two mishaps in the performance I saw:

- About ten minutes into the beginning, Ryan Watson, the actor playing the young Andrea Sarti dropped some kind of piece of paper or notebook (I do not remember what exactly it was) that had been handed to him by Simon Russell Beale's Galileo.

- Somewhere in the middle of the piece, a member of the public found entry into the back of the circle and shouted a very audible "Galileo!" in the style of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Though clearly heard by all present, the actors remained unperturbed by this sudden intrusion and did not once fall out of character.