And We Can Do It Together, You And Me (But Mostly Me).
th_esaurus: Hey, do you want to see The Book of Mormon in the West End?
Riona: I suppose it might be fun to watch a stupid, fun, offensive musical I've got no chance of getting emotionally invested in.
The Book of Mormon: It's time for a stupid, fun, offensive musical about friendship, and the power of stories, and a naïve, self-absorbed, overwhelmed teenager who fucks up and falls apart and struggles with guilt and questions everything he believes in!
Riona: oh goddammit
I didn't know anything about the musical going in beyond 'it's fun and offensive and about Mormons'; I wasn't expecting it to have as much heart as it did, and I really wasn't expecting Elder Price to be perfectly calculated to hit all my fictional-character weaknesses. I just wanted a mindless, enjoyable evening out! I had no intention of caring!
I don't think I'm going to write fanfiction for The Book of Mormon, but I will admit that as I watched I caught myself trying to come up with ideas.
The guy who played Elder Price, Dom Simpson, was absolutely perfect; he managed to strike just the right balance of arrogance and earnestness. I've heard that the likeability of Elder Price can vary a lot depending on the actor, so I'm extremely relieved we saw a likeable one. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to see it again, because it wouldn't feel right seeing anyone else in the role.
A recent conversation with my mum:
Riona: I've been doing some work for a men's grooming website.
Mum: What??
Riona: A men's grooming-
Mum: (scandalised whisper) You mean - grooming men for sex?
Riona: ...no, I mean they sell razors.
(Another thing my mum said to me recently: 'I don't like how they're producing cocaine for cats.'
It turned out she was talking about Felix soup; she was very concerned that the illustrated cat on the packet looked 'completely addicted'.)
I've just remembered that we once went as a family to a Chinese restaurant - I think it was in Manchester - and we noticed that some items on the menu had asterisks next to them. We checked to see what the asterisk meant, and we found this:
* Not recommended