Arta's report on the death of her computer (and Coriolanus)

[ARTA DICTATING THIS POST TO REBECCA BY PHONE]

My computer crashed. I knew something was happening when the keypad seemed to have a life of its own, closing some files and opening others it seemed to prefer more.

So I went to buy a new one at Market Mall, but I didn't know they didn't open til 11am.  At 10am, the parking lot is empty, and you can be the first person in line. Lucky me.

I did get in and bought a new one, but I have to wait 2-4 days for them to load it up with programs and data from my dead hard drive.

In the meantime, computer-less as I am, I am learning to use my telephone. 

Last night, I used my phone to watch the NT live version of Coriolanus.

Coriolanus all bloodied up, but with other peoples blood.

Earlier, I had decided that I was not going to watch it.   When I still had my laptop, I had gone out to do my preliminary investigation.  I read the wipedia summary.  I checked out the 10 most famous lines from the play.  I watch 'reunion episode' where the some of the cast (coriolanus and his mother) met up a few years later to talk about their experience of the play. 

They told of going to the theatre in their pre-production work to hang him (Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki in the Thor movies) upside down, and to keep him that way, so they could see how long he could be in that position before he fainted.  That would help them know how to arrange the final scene, where he is hung upside down and gutted in front of the audience.  They needed to keep it timed so that he would still be able to stand up an take a bow at the end.  That was enough for me.  I decided that I would give this play a miss for a second round.

But there I was last night, with nothing but my phone to keep me entertained.   The only thing I get access to (when i asked google to give me youtube and nation theatre) was the play itself.   Restricted to my capacity to use my phone to cast to the TV, I accepted my fate, and watched Coriolanus again.

I must not be losing all my faculties, because I did successfully use my phone to add captions, and to pause the play to get a sandwich!