Apologies for not updating the blog recently, but things have become very busy around here! It's almost Christmas, and that means Christmas shopping, but also the arrival of the awesome Mr. Poulin for a week's vacation in London!
Now for as much travelling as I have done in my life, I've never been able to go with a friend. I've always been to England, Italy, and France either on my own or with my family. Don't get me wrong--that has been loads of fun, but it's a nice change of pace to have the opportunity to share it with someone else. Plus, I think after all these years, I've become a pretty good London tour guide.
I've taken Will to a lot of my favorite places: Covent Garden, Portobello Road (awesome scarf at Stumper and Felding), Houses of Parliament, Liberty, South Bank, Tower of London, Farmer's Market, Brick Lane...you name it.
Some highlights...
A tour of the
Royal Opera House. This place is a-mazing! Not only is it a beautiful old theatre full of history and a permanent Opera and Ballet company, but it is probably the biggest, best, well-oiled Theatre Machine I have ever seen. Permanent staff: 950. Seats in house: 2500. They have their season planned years in advance, down to the hour two years prior. They have full sized spaces to assemble sets for rep and to rehearse. Though the theatre itself remains the same, the facilities were updated from 1997-99--everything from the rehearsal spaces, school for dance, and tremendous work space were added. And they came in...On time. And On budget. Wow. Sign me up please?
War Horse last night. What a show. I will review in my next post.
Dinner at
Hugo's with Justin and Fran (Jazz jazz jazz live jazz!) and Jelly Bean Tasting party.
And now,
The Mousetrap...
For those of you who are fans of Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap is a show to see, mainly for the novelty. Personally, I have been reading and loving her novels since I was fourteen, and yet every time I came to London my response to seeing the show was "meh." Yes--a show that is the record holder for longest show running in the world sounds pretty cool, but at the same time it always seemed like it might be a little boring because of it. It took almost ten years for me to see it, but Will and I went last Saturday night.
The Mousetrap has been running in London since Nov 25th, 1952, and at the St. Martin's Theatre since March 25th, 1974. They have never missed a performance, not even when they moved sites or updated the scenery. Because of this, the reputation that has been built on the show is "let's keep it going!" and not necessarily "is it a great piece of theatre?" In fact, at the end of the show, the cast (in a very cute manner) asks the audience to not reveal the ending, so as to preserve the show for many more years. And not spoil the surprise for others.
The show, in some respects, feels more like a museum experience than a show. But its fun, its light (yes, even with murder), and if you like Clue (boardgame or movie), Murder on the Orient Express, or just a good old fashioned Whodunit, it's the show for you. Word to the wise: the theatre is very old, and sitting in the Upper Circle (or Balcony), is not a good idea. We sat there because of the cheap tickets, but the angle is so steep that the sightlines are truly awful. Shell out for front Dress Circle or anywhere in the Stalls.
More reviews to come.
xoxo,
Antonia
No comments:
Post a Comment