The weather this morning caused a bit of a dilemma. I had an interview in the afternoon. It was only 15min walk, but if the snow was still coming down, what could I wear? I had my suit, but the pant legs would be too long to wear without heels and would get wet and gross. I didnt want to tuck them in boots because they’d wrinkle. I didnt want to wear heels because that was neither comfortable or practical. Fortunately, my mom had brought me the wrong black skirt from my closet (it was close, I asked for a black, knee-length Gap skirt and this fits the description, just not the one I meant) on her last trip over, but it matched close enough to my jacket that I could wear boots.
Then, the boot dilemma. My black boots are the ones that always cause to me slip or fall. I thought it might be icy out. If not, it’d certainly still be wet and slushy and they aren’t waterproof. So E offered to let me wear her rubber boots. Typically I cannot wear any of her shoes. Her feet are smaller than mine. Yet, these were a 40. I can usually wear 40s, and these fit! Hoorah.
But rain boots to an interview??
I decided to suck it up. I could take other shoes and change or I could just get over it and wear the boots proudly. I decided to go with the boots. I talked myself into believing they would show how sensible and practical that I am. They also demonstrated my ability to get to the office regardless of the weather. I also figured that if nothing else, they’d be a great conversation topic.
It never came up, sadly. E’s boots are a pretty chic pair and not really the standard garden variety, literally.
On Sunday, I joined the London Photo Walk group on their afternoon of photographing the area around Brick Lane. The day started at the Ten Bells Pub, known for infamously for being where Jack the Ripper met some of his victims.
The area around Brick Lane is filled with funky offices, galleries, boutiques and homes. Brick Lane, itself, is a mix of Bangladeshi restaurants and shops that turns into a hipster haven of bars, cafes, record shops and vintage markets. On Sundays, however, Brick Lane is filled with people roaming the street stalls for a great find, eating from one of the street food vendors (yum!), or sipping on coffees or lagers while people watching. It is, in short, a fantastic area for taking photographs. The variety of people, architecture, and offerings yields a fantastic array of subjects.
I’m still fascinated by doors and shop windows as photo subjects, but alas my battery did not retain enough charge to allow me as many as shots as I was tempted to take. I also felt like I had the pip-squeak of cameras. Oh well, someday I’ll own some amazing camera with a gazillion lenses. Maybe. Till then, it’s nice to go light and keep it simple.
Photos from the whole group can be found on Pixie.
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!
It is the current trend in blogs to write some sort of retrospective or a ‘best of’ from 2009. Since I barely had time to blog this year, which really makes no sense as a student, I wont recall a list of links. I would rather share a few things that made life fun and interesting this year regardless of whether they made it on my blog. So here is my top 5 of 2009.
QYPE – Early on in my time here in London, I came to need a hair salon. Not having many friends who have similar hair needs, I went online and came across a recommendation. I booked at appointment, had a successful experience and returned to the website to add my own opinion. Not only did my hair salon reward me for this on my next booking by giving me a free treatment, but after I began using the website more and more, I received an email to join a guru event. I, along with some other fantastic ladies and a couple of men, had an opportunity to go on a speed boat tour of London. Meeting the lovely people of Qype, and some new friendly faces, I was hooked; thus began my relationship with Qype. They allowed me to attend master classes, wine tastings, food tastings, special shopping events and more in exchange for my opinions of the businesses online. Being a poor student, this was a great way to be treated to some of the best things London has to offer in a budget friendly way. It also brought me new friends and true understanding of the importance of peer recommendation.
Below is the video that shows that first Qype experience.
2: Social Media – Without Twitter, I would not have the social life or business connections that I have now. My first week in London I attended a social media cafe event called ‘Tuttle’ and a few weeks later I attended my first London tweet-up in Shoreditch. These events expanded my network and introduced me to other events coordinated via social media including Twestival, London Bloggers Meet-ups, Silicon Stilettos and various conferences. The list is long, but I’d like to mention some of my favorite people that I have met along the way: Mat, Darika, Josh, Mauricio, Lewis, Dom, Litman, Laura, Stuart, Melanie, Kai, Willem, Fernando, Alfie and Conor. There are many others who have been friendly faces to look forward to at each event, or even in random passing on the streets, but this list includes those people who have become friends. They are my dinner dates and drinking buddies and they are inspirational and encouraging.
3: Central Saint Martins – 2009 was also the year I returned to school for my Masters. I chose a program called Design Studies where the students from multiple disciplines come together to tackle briefs in a collaborative way. While many MA programs are based solely on research, this program also had a practical element, which I found to be more relevant to my needs. In the end, I tackled the subject of trust and how having an online/digital presence could strengthen trust in offline relationships. While my final exhibit was not a mind-blowing demonstration of my knowledge, I am perfectly comfortable with the wisdom gained from this project. While I do not have my degree in hand yet, I have completed my MA and can walk in full cap and gown glory in the summer.
4: Visits – I wouldn’t have thought I’d see my family so much this year, being abroad and all. My parents came in the spring and we set off for Paris for a few days and also had a couple days around London to visit. Then, in the summer, they flew over to Vienna for a cruise. I flew over to meet them for a quick visit. In September, I went home for a few weeks before returning just in time to have my sis and niece visit. We had such a blast! We did video-blogs for Lauren that were so cute. I loved seeing her discover London. It reminded me of why I loved this city so much after my first visit.
I also had a chance to visit with many friends who were either passing through or spending a few days in London. This list includes:
Steffi – a friend from Holland that I learned to surf with and went to school with in Australia — came to see me (twice!)
Chris – an ex-boyfriend/now friend — came to study the archives at the British Library for this PhD in Theatre (plays with absinthe!)
Megan S – a co-worker from BR — came over with her MBA class, we had dinner at Jamie Oliver restaurant Fifteen (yum!)
Megan R – one of my best friends from KC and former classmate at Oxford — here for work (please send her back for more!!)
Vince – a co-worker from BR and all-around great guy/good friend — here on holiday with his bros, it was bonus that I was here (haha)
Matty – Hendrix/Choir friend – here on holiday and was the one who set me up with a singing opportunity at Westminster Abbey (bless!)
John De- American Idol PA friend — here to photograph a wedding, and again, I was bonus (good times!!)
5: Sam – The majority of my year would not have been complete without this wonderful guy. I can say without hesitation that he is my best friend. On many occasions he was the voice of reason and encouragement, my caretaker and my ass-saver. He made me laugh until I had tears more times than I would care to admit – it seriously became a joke. We traveled together to Dublin, Brighton, the Cotswolds, Derbyshire and Vienna; played ridiculous amounts of Scrabble; and watched hours and hours of tv episodes. I have very few memories from this year that do not include him, which tells you how big of a part of it he was. While I dont know what the future holds for us, I’m glad he is in my life for now.
Wednesday 23 December, 2009 13:41 | Culture | Kate
Look at that cast!
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?
It’s snowing in London (well, if you can call the few flakes of white stuff blowing in the wind snow) and I’m drinking cocoa and listening to Christmas music. Yes, I am *that* girl who listens to Christmas music. I think that this year, having just completed my Masters and not spending money on a ridiculously expensive ticket home to the States, I feel the need to warm up my tiny flat with some Christmas cheer. I dont have a tree or place to have a wreath. It’s just not Christmas enough without some Babes in Toyland, Love Actually or The Holiday playing. I need a little Christmas, right this very minute, dangit!
So between the batches of sugar cookies and pumpkin spice loaf I’m baking, I thought I’d write a little about my upcoming plans for two reasons: 1 – it’s been ages, but now that I’m going to have a bit more free time, I’ll try to be a better blogger; and 2 – I would love to win some lovely Christmas goodies from my friends over at Domestic Sluttery.
This year, I will spend the Christmas holidays with the boy and his family in his hometown – somewhere near Gloucester or Worcester – basically in the country where each town has 5 families on streets sorta near each other. We will arrives in Gloucester on the 23rd and be driven the 30 or so minutes to the house. It’s a large home that has been divided into three; their’s is in the middle. There’s a pub just across the road that also looks like an old country home. It’s very cozy. Other than the few other homes dotting the street, it’s just the pub, a few barns and a lot of land.
Since boy’s mum is a nurse and is working the Christmas shifts, his parent’s wont be there until Boxing Day likely. So it’ll just be boy, his sis, her fiance and me. Quite a quiet holiday. Fireplace glowing and movies on tv…not a whole lot of action in the country. But the plan is to be there till the 29th, hanging with his family, walking the dogs (yay!), eating roasts and drinking tea (and probably some ale, wine or other jolly liquid).
It will be a different Christmas, but I’m looking forward to getting out of London for a few days. My school friends are starting to head home for the holidays, and some are heading home for good. It will be a different London for me when I return. Till then, I remain in the Christmas spirit — baking, making, cleaning, and packing… and singing carols while I work!
I stroll past the windows of Bordello frequently and sigh that I’m not enough of a diva or dom to pop in and browse. Thank goodness for Qype’s event which allowed me to stroll through the doors without shyness and tough silky knickers and buzzing toys without shame.
The store is beautiful, but quite out of my budget. I would have loved to take home a pair of the vintage-inspired bra and panty sets, but *sigh* I cant reward myself for anything so extravagant quite…yet.
Someday I’ll be back and I’ll take something home.
PS — All the ladies who work there deserve girl-crush status. BEAUTIFUL. meow.
