In which Helen spots a (minor?) celebrity

The show was worth going to see. I feel sorry for anyone who wasn't familiar with the novel. They would have been totally lost. I thought it would be something of a disaster, as it is a student performance (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) of a novel that no one else dares go near. But the twenty-something year old English kid who played the forty year old french professor Monsieur Paul was only mildly laughable. The girl who played the lead was so so sososososososo soos sososososo good. Amazing. Wonderful reserve when needed, perfect delivery. Able to move swiftly from quiet nonchalance to fiery passion with realism. Even better was the actress who played Madame Beck. The actress has such a roundness of the face -- a rather large face too -- that her features, with the right amount of make-up, allowed her to realistically portray a woman twenty years older than herself. The girl spoke french (whole sentences!) throughout. All of them spoke French at some point actually (as 3/4's of the novel is set in Belgium). Pitch perfect accents. I'm sure many of these kids are well-versed in french, as most English students are anyway. It is relatively easy to adopt a french accent while speaking English, not so easy to keep the form while actually speaking french. Not everyone can roll their "r's", of which I am a testament.

A (semi) interesting occurrence...occurred. I was mucking about the theatre before the show, looking at current student headshot photos on the walls, when a guy walked past me. I looked at him and instantly thought -- I've seen this guy before. He looked like he was thinking to himself -- oh, shit, this girl knows me and is going to want to talk to me. I didn't think much of it. I figured he may only look like someone I know. Saw him again as I left the theatre. This time it donned on me that I had seen him in a show, that it was a comedy, and that he played a bit part. While I left the tube station at Waterloo I remembered that I had seen him with Ricky Gervais (but can't be THE OFFICE because I've only seen one episode....and so, yes, it must be EXTRAS) -- and then finally it hit me that he had played Gervais's boss, the BBC executive, not the little super-gay one, but the tall curly black haired guy who gets really pissed when Gervais's character decides to quit the show.

I don't really know who he is, or if he's done other things that are well known. But cool anyone way to run into him.

Now if only I could bloody well run into Hugh Grant! I'd be scared of what would happen if I did. I don't think I could very well vouch for my behaviour.