Food

I've been to Circa lots of times before, but it turns out I'd actually always been to Circa One. I didn't even know there was a Circa Two until last evening when I was ushered into a much smaller theatre than I had been expected to be seated in. I was there to see Red, a play set in the very year I was born,  in the New York art studio of Mark Rothko. I'd never heard of him before, but he was a contemporary of Jackson Pollock. Rothko was an 'abstract expressionist', producing the sort of artworks that would have had my father foaming with fury at the audacity of the artist and the stupidity of the purchasers.

An actual Rothko

The theatre was an intimate space and perfect for the two actor show, which they performed very well. Rothko was played by John Bach and he played the role with passion and a pretty authentic sounding american accent. Younger audience members would be at an advantage however, because as one of those who was exposed to Close to Home in the early days of New Zealand television drama the transformation can never be complete.

John Bach, in paint splattered role in Red

Close to Home. Feel free to watch episode one here

After an arty experience, food and wine was called for, and so my companions and I arrived at Ancestral in Courtenay Place. It specialises in chinese cuisine, only trendier and more expensive, with far less menu choice. I'm always up for pork belly, so I was happy to see it on the menu. 

Now I'm no master chef, but I'm fairly sure the sauce was inspired by Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers or similar feline cuisine. At the moment Millie continues to decline, and I am having to administer her food with a syringe. This is a messy business and we are both splattered by the end of it. My nostrils are now highly attuned to the not so subtle flavours of mushed up cat food. Millie and I were at one in respect to our opinions of our last night's dinners, only I didn't get to spit mine out all over the sofa.

Just missing chunks of pork fat, then set for Ancestral diners.