Gallipoli

Mk and I usually see our Sydney Theatre Company subscription plays on Monday evenings. The plays commence at 6.30pm on those evenings, so we don't face a late night at the theatre. But this Monday when we were due to see Gallipoli, Mk woke with a heavy flu so I exchanged our tickets for Thursday night gambling that he would be well enough to attend by then. Unfortunately he wasn't.

It was a bitterly cold night and I would have been just as happy to stay at home with the heater on and watch umpteen television replays of the day's surprise Gold Medal win at the Watercube by the Aussie Women in the 4 x 200 metres relay. I had already seen the race live and numerous replays during the afternoon.

But I went off to the theatre and I'm glad that I did. The STC Actors Company supported by the third year class of the National Institute of Dramatic Art put on a terrific performance. The play, somewhat lengthy, sets out the history of the ill conceived attack upon the Dardanelles using music and verse in echoes of Oh! What A Lovely War.

The staging, deceptively simple, was stunning and really made the night.

The evening ended ironically. I started my car after the play and the radio was broadcasting yet another full replay of that Gold Medal win.