The title kind of says it all. Thanks to a great rate from American of $168 each way before taxes- round trip from Miami (nonstops to Heathrow) and finding
which dates the coach front row exit/bulkhead seat was available for 6 feet of leg room, then matching up the time for my usual rental flat in Covent Garden --
I made the trip. I was ready for some theatre, so that clearly was the point of the trip and my flat makes it ideal for doing two shows a day, most of them
only steps from my flat for going back, changing or relaxing, or picking up an umbrella (which I ended up losing on my last day).
The Shows:
War Horse: This show was a big hit at the National and has now transferred to the New London, where it is performed in a very wide open thrust stage with great seating. I saw it the afternoon I arrived -- and was a little worried, having not slept on the plane and operating on about 30 hours of no sleep at that point how I'd do. But I was enthralled from beginning to end. The story is in England just before and during World War I. A rather poor farmer outbids his brother at an auction to buy an overpriced horse -- an odd mixed breed. His young son raises it. The father then sells the horse to the military to carry military leaders into battle. The horse (and other horses) as well as a goose, birds, and even some humans are done as "puppets". The horses are not realistic, but rather structural looking and are operated by three people each, one completely outside the horse operating the head and parts of the head, and two inside whom the audience can see as they skillfully move the legs and the rest of the body. It's something you have to see to appreciate -- but it remains one of the most exciting theatrical productions I've ever seen.
Enjoy: This is a revival of an Alan Bennet comedy about an old couple about to be displaced from their cheap row house and moved to a "home". In involves a group of sort of androids who are sent to study them, and one of those is actually the couple's long run-away-from-home who is now a woman. Surprisingly funny and often farce-like.
Carousel: A new revival at the Savoy -- quite good, particularly musically. Despite a Billy Bigelow who was doing something very strange to sound like a cross between a drunken Jimmy Stewart and a drunken John Wayne, he sang like a dream, and it was the first time I've seen Julie played like a "bad girl" herself, not just a total innocent.
Burnt by the Sun: At the National. Stalin's Russia in the the 1930s. Based on a movie, it plays rather like Checkhov -- without all the usual action and excitement (that's a joke, folks -- if you know Checkhov). But the action picks up in the second act. As usual at the National it is a stunning production, beautifully acted.
Peer Gynt: OK, I know this classic is always long and boring, but when I saw in Time Out a rave review about this production at the Barbican from Dundee Rep which is supposed to be "amazing", "cutting edge", and "wonderful", I wanted to see it. I thought the goal of seeing how many times you can use the F word in a sentence was only cutting edge 20 years ago --- not now. And the visual of a girl throwing up (pea soup ala The Exorcist?) all over the hero as well as squatting downstage and giving birth to a squealing bloody pig was not exactly "amazing", just silly and boring to me. I did something I never do -- I left at interval -- an hour and three quarters was plenty for me. I couldn't face a 30 minute interval plus another hour and a half or so!
Madame de Sade: Intersting play from the Donmar about the women in the life of the Marquis de Sade, particularly his wife and her mother (played by Judi Dench). The production was stunning with a spectacular all silver leaf seat and gorgeous costumes, each of the three scenes in a different color hue. The acting was brilliant, the script, maybe a little less so.
Sunset Boulevard: This revival is done on a very small stage, with props and a metal spiral staircase, a small company of actors who all also play instruments, and done in more of story-telling way rather than as a huge production. I saw the original production in London, and much preferred this. Who knew that Sunset Boulevard isn't all about the set and staircase?
Jersey Boys: The one big Broadway hit I've never seen because I can never get tickets even at face price but only through scalpers, which I refuse to do. But it's already at half price at TKTS in London. The production was really excellent. Loved it much more than I ever expected to and it is more play rather than review which is what I had expected.
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: This big new "hit" musical based on the movie is so over the top it makes La Cage aux Folles look like a John Wayne western! It's a hoot and very well done. Great cast, amazing costumes, and the bus that turns, lights up, and practically performs musical numbers on it's own is great. I thought they did a fantastic job of interpreting the movie to the stage, and I actually liked the interpretation given to Bernadette better than Terance Stamp in the movie, whom I adored!
Waiting for Godot: I had planned on getting half price tickets on Wednesday afternoon to A View From the Bridge as they were always available there, but I found the show was closing that week and TKTS didn't have any. The girl there had told me I could probably get a single by going to the box office, but I thought if I were going to do that, I'd rather try to get tickets for Waiting for Godot which is new, getting raves, and is totally sold out. So I did, and got a returned "house seat" exact center of 7th row. Perfect.
Ian MacKellan, Patrick Stewart, and Simon Callow, and the fourth (as well as a young boy) were all outstanding. Loved the show, the performances, and the staging. A woman next to me had seen the New York version just last week. She refused to pick one over the other, insisting both were great, but that perhaps the NYC one was a little more visual humor, while this one was a little more verbal humor.
La Cage aux Folles: This also is a revival (from the successful Menier Chocolate Factory) being performed on a very small stage. It's certainly the "smallest" production of the show I've seen and also one of the best. The only issue was the Albin, who was wonderful in the role, simply is NOT a singer -- at all. Well he "acted" I Am What I Am and the other songs beautfully, his voice made me wince every time he tried to actually hit a note. That was too bad. Still great fun.
The Food: Prices listed are in pounds and include service and taxes.
While I often travel to eat, this trip wasnt' about that, and I'm still trying to be comfortable traveling alone and eating by myself. Still I ate very well -- and cheaply. A few to mention:
Belgo Centraal: Mussels and frites on arrival -- I had to. Cheap and delicious lunch with a good Belgian ale. 8.43
Amalfi on Olde Compton Street in Soho: after theatre, delicious carpaccio, plus a chicken, linguini, tomatoes, and basil dish, with good wine. 23.11
Joe Allen: crammed to the rafters after theatre. Half a grilled marinated chicken with roasted peppers, a cheese plate for dessert, and two dry Robroys. 30.30
Anchor and Hope: This gastro pub on the Southbank near the Young Vic for lunch was great as always-- and I sat at the bar. Had a special of braised kid chop on a bed of a chickpea, tomato and potato stew with leeks. Great multigrain bread. And a Bloody Mary. 24.10
Four Seasons: Chinatown (this used to be called the Dragon Inn,but they changed names to match one of their other restaurants outside China Town. Famous for it's roasted duck -- so I had half a duck and a plate holding about 3 pounds of bok choy steamed with garlic slices. Drank tea. 20.80
Chowki: Modern little place for Indian for lunch. Very good and cheap. A set luch of four things nicely served and a beer for 12 pounds.
Baozi Inn: on the edge of Chinatown -- a great little comfortable noodle house. This is now my Wagamama replacement. Better bowls of brothy noodles or stir fry noodles at about half the price. Mine was a big bowl of wonderful broth, lots of slices of fragrant beef and delicious broad noodles with bits of chilis and other spices. 8 pounds including a beer.
Strada: This is a new to me chain. Modern interior Italian. After theatre I had a great carpaccio of beef with lots of arugula, then a gorgonzola rigotoni covered with paper this slices of proscuitto. Delicious. Also a good robust red wine (big glass!) 23.79
Chaing Mai: In Soho around the corner from Jersey Boys for a quick lunch. Nice Thai. Perfectly spiced for me -- hot but not too hot -- which is often difficult for me to know what I'm getting. A big plate of a Pad ____something or other (not Pad Thai) and a beer. 10.00
The Forge: This place at the corner of Floral Street and Garrick is almost next door to my flat and fairly busy after theatre. It's a lovely place with candles and tablecloths, brick walls and modern fixtures. It's rather pricey, but I did the two course after theatre with three choices eash for 13.50. Rabbit terrine with a grainy mustard sauce and some mixed greens, and perfectly grilled salmon on a bed of sauteed spinach all topped with a light tomato sauce. With a glass of good Malbec (the best wine by the glass I had on this trip) it was 21.94
Rules: Taken there for lunch by an old friend from the St. Albans theatre group. Lovely two hour lunch of Jerusalem Artichoke soup with leeks, smoky bacon, and cheese/hazelnut crisps. Then a mutton cobbler, rich with barley and vegetables. We split a creme brulee and had coffee and drinks. The total -- probably half of all my other meals combined. I still love Rules.
Other:
Hit the Victoria and Albert Museum, mainly to see their newish Theatre permanent exhibition and a special exhibition of hats. Great fun. Spent a couple hours picking other things there as well.
My new favorite cocktail bar for before theatre -- the bar at One Aldwych, right at the Strand and across from the entrance to Lion King. Lovely high ceilinged room with comfortable chairs, sofas and tables, widely scattered so it's even possible to talk. Great cocktails and super nibbles. Met JanisJ there before theatre on my last evening.
All the travel was great, although I sure had my share of trouble amid my limited Underground travel with closed lines, particularly on the weekend. And on my return to Heathrow, I got on the tube at Covent Garden, just around the corner from my flat only to find after the first stop that we were terminating at Hyde Park Corner sue to an accident on the line. We had to exit, there were NO buses to replace the line and no one knew when or if there would be. Fortunately a businessman spotted me -- we both had suitcases -- and asked if I wanted to share a taxi to Heathrow. We did, so that cut the cost from 60 pounds with tip to 30 each.
The Bittersweet:
As I mentioned this was my first major trip without my partner, Lee, since he died in January. The flat we've stayed in about 14 times or so now seemed totally different and lonely. And I spent much time in shows thinking how much he would have loved them.
On Friday, I took some of his ashes to Queen Mary's Rose Garden in Regent's Park -- a favorite place of ours in London. I scattered them among two groups of roses -- 'Remember Me' and 'Keep Smiling' -- couldn't have been more appropriate. I expect those roses now in full bud to bloom just a little brighter this summer
The Shows:
War Horse: This show was a big hit at the National and has now transferred to the New London, where it is performed in a very wide open thrust stage with great seating. I saw it the afternoon I arrived -- and was a little worried, having not slept on the plane and operating on about 30 hours of no sleep at that point how I'd do. But I was enthralled from beginning to end. The story is in England just before and during World War I. A rather poor farmer outbids his brother at an auction to buy an overpriced horse -- an odd mixed breed. His young son raises it. The father then sells the horse to the military to carry military leaders into battle. The horse (and other horses) as well as a goose, birds, and even some humans are done as "puppets". The horses are not realistic, but rather structural looking and are operated by three people each, one completely outside the horse operating the head and parts of the head, and two inside whom the audience can see as they skillfully move the legs and the rest of the body. It's something you have to see to appreciate -- but it remains one of the most exciting theatrical productions I've ever seen.
Enjoy: This is a revival of an Alan Bennet comedy about an old couple about to be displaced from their cheap row house and moved to a "home". In involves a group of sort of androids who are sent to study them, and one of those is actually the couple's long run-away-from-home who is now a woman. Surprisingly funny and often farce-like.
Carousel: A new revival at the Savoy -- quite good, particularly musically. Despite a Billy Bigelow who was doing something very strange to sound like a cross between a drunken Jimmy Stewart and a drunken John Wayne, he sang like a dream, and it was the first time I've seen Julie played like a "bad girl" herself, not just a total innocent.
Burnt by the Sun: At the National. Stalin's Russia in the the 1930s. Based on a movie, it plays rather like Checkhov -- without all the usual action and excitement (that's a joke, folks -- if you know Checkhov). But the action picks up in the second act. As usual at the National it is a stunning production, beautifully acted.
Peer Gynt: OK, I know this classic is always long and boring, but when I saw in Time Out a rave review about this production at the Barbican from Dundee Rep which is supposed to be "amazing", "cutting edge", and "wonderful", I wanted to see it. I thought the goal of seeing how many times you can use the F word in a sentence was only cutting edge 20 years ago --- not now. And the visual of a girl throwing up (pea soup ala The Exorcist?) all over the hero as well as squatting downstage and giving birth to a squealing bloody pig was not exactly "amazing", just silly and boring to me. I did something I never do -- I left at interval -- an hour and three quarters was plenty for me. I couldn't face a 30 minute interval plus another hour and a half or so!
Madame de Sade: Intersting play from the Donmar about the women in the life of the Marquis de Sade, particularly his wife and her mother (played by Judi Dench). The production was stunning with a spectacular all silver leaf seat and gorgeous costumes, each of the three scenes in a different color hue. The acting was brilliant, the script, maybe a little less so.
Sunset Boulevard: This revival is done on a very small stage, with props and a metal spiral staircase, a small company of actors who all also play instruments, and done in more of story-telling way rather than as a huge production. I saw the original production in London, and much preferred this. Who knew that Sunset Boulevard isn't all about the set and staircase?
Jersey Boys: The one big Broadway hit I've never seen because I can never get tickets even at face price but only through scalpers, which I refuse to do. But it's already at half price at TKTS in London. The production was really excellent. Loved it much more than I ever expected to and it is more play rather than review which is what I had expected.
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: This big new "hit" musical based on the movie is so over the top it makes La Cage aux Folles look like a John Wayne western! It's a hoot and very well done. Great cast, amazing costumes, and the bus that turns, lights up, and practically performs musical numbers on it's own is great. I thought they did a fantastic job of interpreting the movie to the stage, and I actually liked the interpretation given to Bernadette better than Terance Stamp in the movie, whom I adored!
Waiting for Godot: I had planned on getting half price tickets on Wednesday afternoon to A View From the Bridge as they were always available there, but I found the show was closing that week and TKTS didn't have any. The girl there had told me I could probably get a single by going to the box office, but I thought if I were going to do that, I'd rather try to get tickets for Waiting for Godot which is new, getting raves, and is totally sold out. So I did, and got a returned "house seat" exact center of 7th row. Perfect.
Ian MacKellan, Patrick Stewart, and Simon Callow, and the fourth (as well as a young boy) were all outstanding. Loved the show, the performances, and the staging. A woman next to me had seen the New York version just last week. She refused to pick one over the other, insisting both were great, but that perhaps the NYC one was a little more visual humor, while this one was a little more verbal humor.
La Cage aux Folles: This also is a revival (from the successful Menier Chocolate Factory) being performed on a very small stage. It's certainly the "smallest" production of the show I've seen and also one of the best. The only issue was the Albin, who was wonderful in the role, simply is NOT a singer -- at all. Well he "acted" I Am What I Am and the other songs beautfully, his voice made me wince every time he tried to actually hit a note. That was too bad. Still great fun.
The Food: Prices listed are in pounds and include service and taxes.
While I often travel to eat, this trip wasnt' about that, and I'm still trying to be comfortable traveling alone and eating by myself. Still I ate very well -- and cheaply. A few to mention:
Belgo Centraal: Mussels and frites on arrival -- I had to. Cheap and delicious lunch with a good Belgian ale. 8.43
Amalfi on Olde Compton Street in Soho: after theatre, delicious carpaccio, plus a chicken, linguini, tomatoes, and basil dish, with good wine. 23.11
Joe Allen: crammed to the rafters after theatre. Half a grilled marinated chicken with roasted peppers, a cheese plate for dessert, and two dry Robroys. 30.30
Anchor and Hope: This gastro pub on the Southbank near the Young Vic for lunch was great as always-- and I sat at the bar. Had a special of braised kid chop on a bed of a chickpea, tomato and potato stew with leeks. Great multigrain bread. And a Bloody Mary. 24.10
Four Seasons: Chinatown (this used to be called the Dragon Inn,but they changed names to match one of their other restaurants outside China Town. Famous for it's roasted duck -- so I had half a duck and a plate holding about 3 pounds of bok choy steamed with garlic slices. Drank tea. 20.80
Chowki: Modern little place for Indian for lunch. Very good and cheap. A set luch of four things nicely served and a beer for 12 pounds.
Baozi Inn: on the edge of Chinatown -- a great little comfortable noodle house. This is now my Wagamama replacement. Better bowls of brothy noodles or stir fry noodles at about half the price. Mine was a big bowl of wonderful broth, lots of slices of fragrant beef and delicious broad noodles with bits of chilis and other spices. 8 pounds including a beer.
Strada: This is a new to me chain. Modern interior Italian. After theatre I had a great carpaccio of beef with lots of arugula, then a gorgonzola rigotoni covered with paper this slices of proscuitto. Delicious. Also a good robust red wine (big glass!) 23.79
Chaing Mai: In Soho around the corner from Jersey Boys for a quick lunch. Nice Thai. Perfectly spiced for me -- hot but not too hot -- which is often difficult for me to know what I'm getting. A big plate of a Pad ____something or other (not Pad Thai) and a beer. 10.00
The Forge: This place at the corner of Floral Street and Garrick is almost next door to my flat and fairly busy after theatre. It's a lovely place with candles and tablecloths, brick walls and modern fixtures. It's rather pricey, but I did the two course after theatre with three choices eash for 13.50. Rabbit terrine with a grainy mustard sauce and some mixed greens, and perfectly grilled salmon on a bed of sauteed spinach all topped with a light tomato sauce. With a glass of good Malbec (the best wine by the glass I had on this trip) it was 21.94
Rules: Taken there for lunch by an old friend from the St. Albans theatre group. Lovely two hour lunch of Jerusalem Artichoke soup with leeks, smoky bacon, and cheese/hazelnut crisps. Then a mutton cobbler, rich with barley and vegetables. We split a creme brulee and had coffee and drinks. The total -- probably half of all my other meals combined. I still love Rules.
Other:
Hit the Victoria and Albert Museum, mainly to see their newish Theatre permanent exhibition and a special exhibition of hats. Great fun. Spent a couple hours picking other things there as well.
My new favorite cocktail bar for before theatre -- the bar at One Aldwych, right at the Strand and across from the entrance to Lion King. Lovely high ceilinged room with comfortable chairs, sofas and tables, widely scattered so it's even possible to talk. Great cocktails and super nibbles. Met JanisJ there before theatre on my last evening.
All the travel was great, although I sure had my share of trouble amid my limited Underground travel with closed lines, particularly on the weekend. And on my return to Heathrow, I got on the tube at Covent Garden, just around the corner from my flat only to find after the first stop that we were terminating at Hyde Park Corner sue to an accident on the line. We had to exit, there were NO buses to replace the line and no one knew when or if there would be. Fortunately a businessman spotted me -- we both had suitcases -- and asked if I wanted to share a taxi to Heathrow. We did, so that cut the cost from 60 pounds with tip to 30 each.
The Bittersweet:
As I mentioned this was my first major trip without my partner, Lee, since he died in January. The flat we've stayed in about 14 times or so now seemed totally different and lonely. And I spent much time in shows thinking how much he would have loved them.
On Friday, I took some of his ashes to Queen Mary's Rose Garden in Regent's Park -- a favorite place of ours in London. I scattered them among two groups of roses -- 'Remember Me' and 'Keep Smiling' -- couldn't have been more appropriate. I expect those roses now in full bud to bloom just a little brighter this summer
