After six

London, 2006

Vientiane, 2012

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. N'est-ce pas?

I was so happy to see Helene again after more than four years. We hope to bring the ex-housemates together for a reunion in Asia next year. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will be in Japan.

Meet me at St Pancras

St Pancras International, the new home of Eurostar.

In fog and frost

The goal in returning to Derbyshire was to see the view from Stanage Edge. Remember this scene from Pride & Prejudice? This was it.

But noooooooooo...
Presenting the abominable snowgirl, looking very Dickensian in Viv's hat and scarf (she took the images above while waiting for me in the car), a tramp walking over frosted moorland in below-zero conditions, visibility below 20m. I was scared of losing my way in the dull heather. My clues: frozen puddles and sheep droppings. When I reached the rocky path going up, it was too slippery and I couldn't see ahead, so I turned back.

It was still a very good visit. My hostess picked up a couple of Christmas trees and we had a potluck dinner with her friends that turned out quite well. I practiced clicking indoors.

Lyra's Oxford

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I had been planning it for months, but I went on my last free day. It couldn't have been better. It was terribly cold, but the sun was out.

I took the Oxford Espress coach from Marble Arch. I couldn't find the HDM companion book Lyra's Oxford from the library, so I was armed with only printed-out maps from the web. I took a two-hour walking tour from the information office. We went around the city, but only entered one college: Exeter. All the colleges but one (Christ Church) were open to visitors that day, as the students had gone down after the term.

Two days later, Viv gave me a copy of Lyra's Oxford. Surprise, surprise: Exeter is indeed Jordan college in the books. Much of the Ashmolean Museum is closed, so I can't say I've seen what Lyra has seen. The best bit: going up the tower of St Mary's (not for claustro- and acrophobes) and watching the starlings fly over the city.

Regent Street lights

Two feet from Baltimore

Watched another adaptation: Hairspray, which just opened in London a couple of months back. Queued for half an hour for days seats. I got the extreme right seat on the front row, with minimal legroom. (My knees touched the pit.) If I leaned a bit forward, I could see the band. No complaints, though our row had to do something slightly embarrassing towards the end of the show, which made the full house at the Shaftesbury Theatre see us on our feet. (Other than the standing ovation.)

Newcomer Leanne Jones (Tracy) did better than I expected. She is adorable. Also making his professional debut is Ben James-Ellis (Link), who looked better than I expected (I'd fancy him if he didn't have Elvis hair). Two feet away from him when he's downstage left, on spot 14, I was tempted to stand up and reach for his sneakers. Michael Ball was a terrific scene stealer. He suits Edna well and was totally in character. Mel Smith (Wilbur) couldn't help laughing in the Turnblads duet (and his fly was open that night). Elinor Collett (Penny) reminded me of Kelly Reilly. A strong ensemble, especially the black women. The American accents came out well, but James-Ellis said some of his lines way too fast.

There's also something about this show that causes ice cream to sell well. Hmm.

I suppose if you've seen the film (I haven't), it's unfair to expect just as much from the live version. This goes for just about everything that's made the transition. Better to see the show first than the movie. If you don't think you'll get to see it, the show's blog has videos.

LOTR onstage

A lot has been said about the Lord of the Rings musical. Reading other bloggers' reviews, I felt ready for this spectacle. I also wanted to see Laura Michelle Kelly (Galadriel) before she leaves at the end of the month.

It's the most expensive show I've seen this year, and it's easy to see why. There are around 150 people working in the production, of whom 50 are in the cast, 80% of whom are men. About 500 costumes, 150 wigs. A revolving stage with 17 lifts. It reportedly cost £12.5M to stage (£1M on the stage alone), which would make it a staggering flop if it closes too soon (it could). The school groups are keeping the show alive.

The stage looks amazing. The tree branches creep over to the boxes. There are some effects that puzzle me (I don't want to give too much away, but you can see a lot in the website). The audience interaction is so Ricky Abad.

LMK and Rosalie Craig, who plays Arwen, have such beautiful voices, the best I've heard all year. Owen Sharpe (Pippin) was quite funny. Peter Howe (Sam) and Michael Therriault (Gollum) share my vote for best actor. But in general, the acting can be uneven because they're on different levels.

From a 5 1/2-hour show in Toronto, it is now 3 hours including interval, which I think is a reasonable length. Of course a lot is simplified and the use of narration is necessary. Though the idea for the musical came into being before the movies were shown, no doubt, the films had some bearing on this show. On that note, Malcolm Storry (Gandalf) has a McKellen-ish voice.

I caught the pre-show Q&A and the post-show one as well, which was odd because the school groups didn't stay afterwards, so there were just five of us who were there in that big place. I got to ask a few questions to Stevie and Stuart, who are part of the ensemble.

I looked at the pit and was not surprised that there were synthesizers, not a full orchestra. There are some beautiful melodies. I would like to get a copy of the cast recording when it comes out early next year.

The show is playing at the historic Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which has been in that spot since the 17th century. Incidentally, the longest running musical in that theater's long history is Miss Saigon.

Practically perfect

I thought of how to best spend this week by looking at the half-price shows. I saw that Mary Poppins in closing in January. Since my housemates enjoyed it, I thought it would be worth seeing.

The seat I got was in the Grand Circle, but it was perfectly alright. Scarlet Strallen and Gavin Creel, who played Mary and Bert, were wonderful. For a moment he dropped the accent, which gave me the idea that he's American (I was right). If Creel sounds familiar, perhaps you've heard him as Jimmy in the Thoroughly Modern Millie soundtrack. And he blogs, too!

Aden Gillett, who played Mr. Banks, was obviously not a singer, preferring the Professor Higgins approach, but as an actor, I couldn't ask for more. Overall, the Banks are a likeable bunch.

The structure of the show has minor flaws, but maybe they're for the best. A lesson or two, with a spoonful of sugar, will do. Everybody had a wonderful, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious time.

Image from Covent Garden Kids Week by contactmusic.com

The Moor's second sigh

Obviously I've been under the spell of the angel/dæmon of theater lately. But I assure you that my priority is study. (I'm a scholar of life. Ahahaha!)

The hottest ticket in town?

I saw Othello for the second time this year in London. Yep, Shakespeare deserves to be retold watched again. If are reports to be believed, this Donmar Warehouse production is the hottest ticket in the country, with tickets are being offered for £350 on eBay up to as much as £2,000. You gotta be crazy, or crazy enough for Ewan McGregor to fork over that much.

This review almost made me stay away, but other papers like the IHT, The Independent, Evening Standard and The Guardian had something else to say, so I gave the play a shot. And what did it take to get hold of those very limited tickets? Two and a half hours of standing in the rain for day seats. It's not easy to hold an umbrella in one hand and a book in the other, so I gave it up at talked to someone in the queue instead. I arrived at five minutes before 8am and I was 12th in line, which was good enough, as I got a pretty good £20 seat in the stalls for the matinee.

[The whole run sold out in one day but there are 10 seats and 20 standing places available for every show, available only at the box office from 10:30am. Two tickets per person, payable by credit/debit card only.]

Worth it
Yes, it was a good show. But not because of McGregor. I was unconvinced when he said, "I hate the Moor." He can do Shakespeare, now we know, but he lacks the villainy of an Iago. Probably I'm comparing him to Tim McInnerny's evil portrayal at the Globe this summer. But Chiwetel Ejiofor's Othello completely makes up for him. (You've probably seen him somewhere: American Gangster, Children of Men, Amistad, Love Actually as Keira Knightley's hubby.) I think I under-appreciate Kelly Reilly as Desdemona because her deep-set eyes are small and I can't connect to her though she sometimes reminds me of Pinay thesp Ana Bitong. At least she was nothing like her roles in Pride & Prejudice and L'Auberge Espagnole. Her barely sung "Willow" was a treat.

Michelle Fairley as Emilia and Tom Hiddleston as Cassio also deliver strong performances. Too bad Edward Bennett's Roderigo didn't match the level of the other supports.

The cast was tight and the staging simple, with beautiful lighting and a very filmic score, both of which work for such a tiny venue. (It took a few minutes for me to get over that fact that the actors were so close that I could reach their legs if I stretched my arm a bit.) I love the way the stage looked so damp when the performance started. Such a fine quality of mist, too, thatlets you see the sweat on Ewan's brow.

Donmar West End 2008-2009
Let's toast to a bigger theater with Donmar prices. Next year's Wyndham's Theatre lineup looks promising: Kenneth Branagh in a Tom Stoppard version of Chekhov, Derek Jacobi in Twelfth Night, Judi Dench in Madame de Sade, Jude Law in Hamlet directed by Kenneth Branagh... I have reservations about the last one because Branagh's Hamlet is my favorite. I cannot see Jude Law getting anywhere close to that, but let's hope he proves me wrong. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I'll be lucky enough to be in London then.

Christmas trio

Covent Garden is dressed up for the season

Blue Door turns up very red of the occasion

But Senate House is just its usual imposing self

Art and unrequited love in Russia

I enjoyed RSC's The Seagull. It made me laugh (and shed a single tear). Recognizing the cast from King Lear was interesting because you can see their versatility.

This time, Ian McKellen is just one of ensemble. Melanie Jessop's Arkadina is not played too big but was still effective. Although I feel that Romola Garai's voice can be her worst enemy, her portrayal of Nina is so innocent, like a newborn angel, much more fleshed out than the opportunity Shakespeare gives her Cordelia. (If she looks familiar, that's because she has parts in the films Amazing Grace, Vanity Fair, Dirty Dancing 2 and Atonement, plus she kinda reminds me of Cameron Diaz and a friend sometimes.) The discovery, really, is Richard Goulding, who showed the change in Konstantin between acts. At first, I thought he was fumbling with his lines, then I realized he was doing it on purpose. Sorry.

I left the theater feeling low, but don't let that put you off because it makes for a satisfying evening at the theater. If you can get a ticket for £5 (or even full-price), I suggest you do so. I was hoping to get seats on the left side for a change, but I guess the under-26s day seats are really for Dress Circle right, which, for this play, is just perfect.

Image copyright Manuel Harlan via KCRW

In for a scare

Since watching King Lear last Friday, I've been gripped by theatre mania. I thought I wouldn't be seeing shows this year, but now I just have to.

Early yesterday morning, I went with H to the New London box office to get tickets for the evening (food for tomorrow's post), then went to class. After the session, within the span of an hour I went to the tkts half-price theatre booth (the legit one) for matinee tickets, munching crisps as I went, walked to Donmar Warehouse for advice on day seats, made a detour to Covent Garden to eat half a sandwich, popped into Theatre Royal Drury Lane to check notices in front of the box office, then finally arrived at Fortune Theatre, which has the smallest toilet cubicles I have ever seen in my life.

I normally don't watch scary stuff because I can scare myself easily enough. But I made an exception for this because it was recommended. The Woman in Black is a thriller based on the book by Susan Hill. It's been running in the West End for quite a while now, and it's no surprise why it's still there. Two words: school groups. I was scared they'd ruin the show, but they were quite well behaved.

The play leaves a lot to the imagination, and how it adapts the novel to the stage is quite interesting. In the process it tricks you into forgiving it for its faults. But the object is to scare, and it did that well enough. I think my imagination will get the best of me tonight when I lock up the house.*shudder*

It's beginning to look a lot like...

...Christmas




Sunday in Angel, Islington

London Bridge to Shad Thames

A Saturday afternoon walk. Proof that you don't have to go far on foot to see a lot in this city.

One Erasmus that will always be in London. But as for me, I've got two weeks left.

There's the Reuters Sport in the 21st Century photo exhibit outside City Hall. Then there's the European Christmas market at Potter's Fields a few paces away. They tried to look German, with bratwurst, flammkuchen and beer. But the sweets...!

A little way east at Tower Bridge Piazza, I found Antony Donaldson's bronze fountain sculpture Waterfall (1991). It-she-they spoke to me. Everything about the sculpture resonated somewhere. The ballet slippers, the recorder, the books, the camera, the watercolor set and brushes. It was as if somebody froze my life right now.

Is she me?

But I'm a Canon girl

Cartoon Museum

On Little Russell Street, parallel to the British Museum a block away, is this small museum mainly of British comics and caricatures, the size of an average house.

Interesting to note would be the model of a machine to aid in eating peas, based on Heath Robinson's drawing. The current exhibition is €urobo££ocks, on the relationship of Britain to 'Europe' (always in inverted commas).

The Cartoon Museum is free for students and under 18s

Oh Lear

Bring a book. Queueing for under-26s day seats for Royal Shakespeare Company's King Lear meant that we arrived in front of the theatre at 8:05am and H and I were already 6th and 7th in line. The first in line was a girl who was used to queueing for six hours for operas in Vienna. But considering that I've had my fair share of queueing this week, that should be enough. But then, there's next week's quota to fill, if I get my writing done in time.

Ian McKellen as King Lear is unparalleled. The standing ovation was well-deserved. I don't see the fuss about the nudity, though staring would be rude. There was only one point that I thought, hey, he sounds like someone...oh yeah, Gandalf. And that was already more than halfway into the play. Then the thought promptly left my mind.

The lighting and stage design were great. Sometimes the sounds worked for me, sometimes they didn't. I liked how Trevor Nunn put in the procession-like opening scene. I felt sorry for the Fool because I thought he would be hanging on a noose for the entire interval (fortunately not). Forgot about him when I got myself some expensive ice cream. My issue with the production is that the pacing is too slow and 3 hours 25 minutes seated feels like forever.

As McKellen pointed out not too long ago to the full house at New London Theatre, it's World AIDS Day today. Spread the love, not the virus.

King Lear image by Manuel Harlan via Sir Ian McKellen Official Home Page, copyright RSC 2007