Stop the World, I Want to Get On

We went to Edinburgh yesterday, mainly to go see the play Do I Mean Anything to You /// Or Am I Just Passing By?, written by Gerard McInulty (ex-The Wake) and sondtracked by The Pastels. But we took the bus in the early afternoon sun, to have time for a bit more. First record-shopping at the Cockburn Street Avalanche (the other one and the Glasgow one are not nearly as good). Andrew Tully from Jesse Garon & the Desperadoes was behind the counter. He watched with interest as the other guy handled my purchase of Nixon (the second Desperadoes album). I also found the Groovy Little Numbers single collection (another Avalanche release), the first Altered Images single (written by Caesar who played guitar with them before forming The Wake), and the new Revoling Paint Dream retrospective. We then walked around for a while, but didn't get very far because of the drizzling rain and the storm-strength wind. We did pop in at The Scotch Whisky Centre however, to buy some presents, and a little something for ourselves. Suddenly seized by hunger, we went down to West Nicolson Street to get a bite to eat at vegetarian café/restaurant Susie's. A rather big bite, I should say, because there was nothing medium about their Medium Plate! I had an enchilada and some tasty greek and rice salads. Then there was just enough time for the walk to the Traverse Theatre. It's a very nice place and if you're ever in Edinburgh you should go there, if only for a drink. Other people seemed to have done just that, by the look of it. The no. 2 theatre was not even half full as the play started. The stage was U-shaped with the audience sitting on three sides, and Stephen and Katrina in a corner with their equipment. Most of the music was pre-recorded anyway, except for some cymbals and glockenspiel. The Pastels' music was really good, but the play itself stood up on its own as well. It consisted of four monologues, by two men and two women. I liked the first and the last ones best. One thing I remember thinking about was a line by the third actor on: "Stop the world - I want to get on." There's a line in "What the World Is Waiting For" by The Stone Roses that goes: "Stop the world, I'm getting off!". I'm sure McInulty knows that song. That line encapsulates what the play was about, I think. I also reflected on the theatre-specific elements of the performance, as it was in many ways not unlike an avantgarde film, having a soundtrack and all. And why McInulty had chosen to do it as a play instead of film, which would have been more expected from someone of his generation. I enjoyed it, I mean.