Tuesday the 13th

 According to Greek customs, the so called unlucky day of the calendar month is not Friday the 13th but Tuesday the 13th. There is of course a reason why this happens that is not lost in the past.  The story says that on a Tuesday, back in May 1453, the greatest city of them all, Constantinople, fell to the hands of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks. Losing that war meant the end of the Byzantine Empire and the start of almost 4 centuries occupation by the Turks, which is considered to be the darkest page of the Nation’s history. The occupation officially ended in 1821 with the Greek revolution!

However, I’m not superstitious and I don’t care about things like that. So, yesterday I went with Jeff to the ‘Duke of York’ theatre to see ‘All New People’ (after devouring an amazing meal at Yo-Sushi). That Zack Braff’s (Scrubs) latest play. Apart from starring in it, as expected, he’s written it too. To be honest I was a bit hesitant about it. I didn’t consider Zack to be an amazing actor and I feared that the play would be mostly fixated on him. Hopefully, I was wrong, not in everything, but in some stuff.

I was right when I thought that Zack is not that amazing actor. He’s not. He’s not bad either though. His co-stars however were the ones to steal the spotlight from him. Which bring us to the point where I was wrong. Although the story starts with Charlie (Zack Braff) and revolves around him, Charlie doesn’t have much to say apart from a small monologue near the end when he describes his story. The other three people that enter his life the day he decides to commit suicide (thus the play’s title), have a lot to share and do.

Generally the play is about life, its purpose, relationships and even the existence of god. Although these topics do seem a bit heavy, the play is a comedy with not that many dramatic moments. Braff’s writing style is inviting, modern and funny. There are some unavoidable stereotypes like the existence of the unintelligent bimbo / escort but they don’t spoil the fun. At some point I had to roll my eyes backwards but I also laughed and generally enjoyed the play. It’s not an experience not to miss but it offers a great night out. I’d give it a 7.5 out of 10.