I came across this video some time ago. I have some friends who will be coming to London and while I’ll give them my usual 1-day in London tour suggestions, sometimes it’s fun to throw in something new and different. I think I’ll have to take myself out to see a few of these places:
Stop 1: New London Architecture on Store Street
Stop 2: Dog Cemetery inside Hyde Park (closed to the public)
Stop 3: Shunt near London Bridge Station (check website for opening times and tickets)
Stop 4: Traffic Light Tree in Canary Wharf
Stop 5: Marker by which distance to London is measured is found near Trafalgar Square
Stop 6: Miniature St. Paul’s Cathedral/Ladies Statues on Vauxhall Bridge
Stop 7: Wellcome Trust
Stop 8: Soviet T34 tank off Old Kent Road, Bermondsey
Stop 9: OXO Tower, Southbank
Stop10: Windsor, Pembroke, Dublin, Edinboro Castle pubs, Camden Town
The folks were headed to Europe on their way to Africa and decided to take a long layover in Amsterdam, which was convenient for me! After two failed attempts to see Amsterdam (due to flights and illness), I had high hopes for this visit.
I arrived at the hotel twenty minutes before they were to leave to find the excursion office for the Red Light District tour they had booked. While I was a bit unsure I really wanted to see the RLD with my parents, once there and we found it was no problem to book me in, I joined. I am *so* glad I did!
There is so much to learn about and see in the RLD. Our tour guide was fantastic. She was funny and smart and has been leading tours for something like ten years, I believe. She many times has to do it in both English and Spanish, but our group that evening all spoke English.
There was a lot of information to take in. Our first stop gave us some intimate details from Mariska, a former prostitute/sex worker who now runs the Amsterdam Prostitution Information Center. She told us about everything from prices, negotiations and how to rent a room/work a shift, to safe sex practices, tax regulations and why they use a red light (leaner, tanner, younger looking and less cellulite — hello I’m buying one now!). It was impressive. I was also surprised to learn that the age span starts at 18 and the oldest is/was 88!
The ladies as we walked through the streets were sometimes playful and sometimes indifferent. When I looked through the windows at some of the younger looking girls, I felt as though they looked back at me like I was judging them. If anything, I was just curious.
My father, somewhat jokingly, asked our guide during the tour: Is this where the term window shopping comes from?
She laughed and said she wasn’t sure. I cannot find anything yet about the origin, but it sure makes sense!
On Friday I was invited to see a dress rehearsal of Six Degrees of Separation at the Old Vic theatre. It was a small, select audience and we made it into the front row.
I used to live down the road from the Old Vic, but I never ended up attending a play. I kept thinking I would, but it just didnt happen. Then again, I used to think I’d see Kevin Spacey, the Creative Director, drive up on his scooter and wave on his way in to work. Never happened. Oh well.
So there I was in the front row, getting wet from spit, looking up noses and connecting with the eyes of the actors. Wow. It’s intimate. I wish my stomach hadn’t kept growling or my cough hadn’t started to act up. I felt as exposed as the actors on stage.
My review is short: great actors, simple but elegant set and super story. The play also runs complete without intermission, which allowed for the intensity to build.
I cant help but wonder how these actors nailed their American accents so perfectly? How could a couch and table rotating on stage make a backdrop for so many scenes? It is the mystery and delight of great theatre. I have never seen the movie version, however I can only imagine that if one set could convey so much, the movie could only accentuate the well-written script more. A few cues may have been missed, but they were subtle. After all, it was a dress rehearsal with a live audience. It showed where timing needed to be worked out and lights needed to be more on the ball. Still, the errors were minimal–nearly undetected by the ignorant eye.
Overall, I believe the show will be a success for the Old Vic and put Obi Abili on the fast track to success.
In my delight at seeing Priscilla, I put a note on Facebook with an update. From there, another friend let me know he had an extra free ticket to see Legally Blonde, The Musical. Again, this is one of those shows I might have gone to see for a tenner. I liked the movie well enough, but a musical of it? At least I knew how it would end and that it’d be a fairly upbeat show.
I arrived at 7 to find my friend and/or pick up the tickets at the box office if I made it first, which I did. Little did I know that the list we were on was a first-come-first-serve ordeal and we needed to wait in line for whatever tickets we were given. By the time I made it to the line, I saw my friend and he and I stood and waited to get tickets while he explained the show was not yet open and we were there for a sneak preview. Another friend of his does theatre PR and had told him when/where to show up. We proceeded to get tickets, albeit not together, in the grand circle. This, to those who dont know, is in the top of the theatre’s balconies. While the Savoy Theatre is incredibly deep, my friend decided the seats were not to his liking and gave me a hug and left. I sat down and the view from E1 was just fine.
First Act: Lots of pink, squealing and high-pitched and nasal-sounding girls. Bruiser is cute and got just as much of a cheer as Elle did when she appeared. The plot follows closely to the movie script, but with a few subtle changes. The voices were good, but the songs were a bit corny. The comedic timing of the cast was spot-on, while the spotlights were not. I was incredibly disappointed by the lighting and the set design.
During the intermission, the girl who was sitting in front of me wrote a text to someone that basically summed up my thoughts: Better than expected. Sheridan’s (Elle) voice was great. Spotting and design were incredibly rough. Looked like a touring show.
That final sentence was exactly what it looked like. It did feel like a touring show, not a show in its home theatre. They had a great cast, but the sets (especially from our upper view) were lacking polish and we kept seeing the giant trap door opening/closing to raise and lower sets. Anyone in stalls would not have seen it, but I imagine from dress circle you can see it too.
Second Act: Lots of navy, still some squealing (OH MY GOD!), lots of good laughs. The second act was much stronger than the first. I think it might be due to Paulette’s character getting her ‘bend and snap’ on, Brooke’s song and jump rope routine and the UPS man’s entrance being some of the most hilarious moments of the show. We also saw Paulette’s bulldog on stage when she goes to reclaim him from her deadbeat ex–another ‘awwww’ moment from the audience.
In general, it was a fun show. The sets may not have been as sophisticated as others I have seen, but it looks like they spent their money on a spectacular cast, rather than fancy props. I think the show will not win the critics’ hearts, but for pure entertainment, it’s a nice piece of fluff for the rest of us.
Priscilla is one of those shows that I never thought that I’d go see unless I had cheap tickets. It’s had such a good run that getting discounts had been hard to come by. So really, I hadn’t put it on my must-see-soon list. That changed, however, after receiving an email from a friend who works in theater admin with an offer for free tickets to the show. Of course, I jumped at the chance!
This is a fun, feel good show. It has familiar music, good comedy, a nice plot and plenty of glitter! The costumes were fantastic, and I was incredibly envious of those wearing them. I also found the eye masks genius! Imagine slipping on a small mask that gives a drag queen her massive eyelashes and shadow. With the many costume switches, it allows the actors to change their looks quickly and flawlessly. The set decoration was also pretty fantastic. I loved the way the bus was used on stage. There was smart use of interior design, external lighting and graphics, and the famous scene on top of the bus was cleverly worked in.
Even though it uses a lot of popular music, the old test of a good musical still works, in my opinion–I left humming tunes from the show in my head. A musical should have a song that sticks with you and keeps you humming long after you’ve exited the theater. Priscilla sure has it.
Having spent some time in Australia, where the play takes place, I found the stereotyping hilarious. I think there were quite a few Aussies in the audience, because certain words and characteristics got some definite hoots and hollers and you had to know the references to find them truly funny.
Priscilla Queen of the Dessert is at the Palace Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. This is probably one of my favorite theaters due to the seating arrangement. I cant imagine there is a bad seat in the house!
Ever since hearing that Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was coming to London with their Broadway cast, I knew I had to go. I mean, check out the headliners! Holy cow.
Not a bad seat either!
I booked my tickets somewhat last minute for 20gbp. I had a great view despite paying the lower amount. Normally I buy the tickets for a tenner, but I wasnt sure this time how the theatre was inside and whether I’d be able to move with it being the holidays and theatres being much busier. In the end, I probably could have bought the ticket for a tenner deal, but for once I didnt have to move around. I just had my ticket and was done with it.
As for the play itself, wow. It’s long. It’s all about mendacity. And there are some serious monologues in it. Can I just say James Earl Jones rocked my world? He’s so fantastic. Everyone was, really. The set was great. The southern accents, except for one of the child’s, were spot-on! I could go on and on and give it some proper review, but there really is no way to say how fabulous it was. So just know and go with that.
What I will comment on, and I hope this doesnt upset anyone, is that I loved to see such a diverse audience. Most plays I attend are a primarily Caucasian audience and I really feel that this cast widened the appeal. I’m not really a fan for plays being all white or all black, etc. Unfortunately, most plays when they were written did not have parts in them for minorities beyond the servants seen but not heard. So adapting it for an all-black cast was, honestly, perfect. Again, look at that cast and director! Was it going to be anything other than amazing?
Today is my last day in London. I had eggs on toast with baked beans for breakfast. We dont normally eat baked beans at home for breakfast, but I think it’s good.
After breakfast, we went to Covent Garden and to a creperie and I had a crepe with Nutella. I went shopping and I got a magic trick and my mom got two scarves for us to share. I also got to mix my own tea for my teacher Mrs. DiLeo. It has cinnamon in it. Cinnamon smells sooooo good. I sat in an area between the market and another building and watched a street performer. He made five boys dance and three people be judges and the guys that had to dance were probably embarrassed by what they had to do. It was funny because one of the guys had to do a somersault.
From Covent Garden we grabbed a taxi to the Houses of Parliament because we were going to have a tour of the inside. My favorite parts were seeing the throne that Queen Victoria sat in where she rubbed the velvet off the armrests because she was nervous when she had to speak in front of people. My other favorite thing was seeing where the Queen sits when she visits the House of Lords.
When we finished the tour we went across the street to Westminster Abbey for Evensong. The choir is made up of boys and men. There were some boys my age in the choir. As we were leaving, we looked at the steps where the King or Queen walks up when they are being crowned King or Queen. We also asked one of the Reverends how many people are buried inside Westminster Abbey and he said approximately 3000!
After the Abbey, we went to a pub where I saw a special bell for the members of the Houses of Parliament (a division bell to signal the members when to return to Parliament — km). Then, we got on the tube and went to Chinatown. It had lots of hanging paper lanterns and bright colors like red, yellow, orange and pink.
For dinner, we went to Inamo. It had magic tables. There was an overhead projector over the table that made all these different colors and designs on the table. You could choose which one you wanted by using your finger as a mouse on a round place on the table (like a touchpad — km) and you could also play games like Battleship or picture puzzles, order food and drinks, and even call a taxi. I accidentally called one! I liked going to the chef cam where I could watch what was going on in the kitchen. I ate steak, rice and edamame. Yummy!
We left Inamo and went to Snog for frozen yogurt. I had chocolate yogurt. We walked back to Chinatown and went to a food shop to see all the different foods. Above the check-out desk were some candy toy guns and I got one for Evan and one for me.
We came home and packed because we go home to Kansas City in the morning. I wish we had the London Eye and the [architecture and interiors of the] Houses of Parliament and a Queen in Kansas City. I want to come back to London again some day to see the Thames River, do all sorts of fun things and try all kinds of different foods. I had a wonderful time.
See you all soon!
(More videos coming next week when I have time to finish editing them. As you can see, we have been VERY busy during our visit. Keep checking and I will try to post them within a week. The clips are hilarious. It’s hard to know what to choose! — km)
We began our day with a visit to the Tate Modern museum. It had a lot of art and sculptures and paintings. My favorite paintings were a big, colorful one by Matisse and Water Lilies by Monet (which we studied in art class at school). I also liked this thing that looked like soap on a rope, and it really was soap, but on a wire. I also thought Thirty Pieces of Silver was awesome because it was all these silver things, like forks and plate and trombones, that were flattened by a steam roller and hung from the ceiling. (There are my faves too — km)
We had lunch at the museum. I had a burger and a hot tea! Then, we walked across the river on the Millenium bridge, and there were no cars allowed on it, only people. The bridge is famous from the last Harry Potter movie from being destroyed, but they didn’t really destory it.
Then, we went into St. Paul’s Cathedral. I took my mom to the very middle and showed her where Christopher Wren is buried (he’s actually down in the crypt — JI) and I showed her the words about him on the floor, because I saw it on my GlobeTrekker video. A priest heard me and he ended up taking my mom and me on a tour to see the American Chapel, some special art, and a famous spiral staircase that you usually cant see because it’s behind a locked door. (This staircase is in Harry Potter: Prizoner of Azkaban as the stairs to Dumbledore’s office, among other movies — JI) I even got to use this really big key to lock up the door. Then, I went all the way to the top of the cathedral. It was a lot of stairs, but we could see all of London from there. It was awesome.
Next, we took a taxi to the Tower of London. I saw the Crown Jewels, they were in a vault. There was a lot of gold in there. Then, I saw Henry VIII’s armor and weapons. We walked all around the tower and saw all the rooms and I dont know why anyone would want to live in the White Tower, it does not look comfortable. (Lauren has said that she thinks it would be “inappropriate” to talk about the executions to her class on the blog, but she sure loves the phrase “off with their heads;” thus, the title of the post.)
When we left, we walked across Tower Bridge to get back to the tube so we could meet my Aunt Kate for dinner at her flat. They say flat instead of apartment here! After, we went back to the Tower of London for the Ceremony of the Keys. This is where the soldiers and beefeaters lock up the tower for the night. We got home really late, but I am always out late in London!
