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"I've signed up to do a 10K in London, Mum, and I thought we could meet up on the Saturday night and go to a show before I do the run on the Sunday." "But I'm .." "You can re-arrange that!" Which is how I came to be in London last weekend. TD came down on the Saturday afternoon, but I decided if I was going up for one day, I might as well do two.
Having booked the accommodation I realised there wasn't anything I particularly wanted to see, but there was a new year ticket offer and looking around I found I could get a £10 ticket for Caroline, or Change at the Playhouse Theatre. The performance had transferred from the Chichester Festival Theatre, always a good sign, and had Sharon D Clarke in the lead role, so I reasoned for a tenner I could hardly go wrong.
It was excellent. It was musical theatre, and had originally been written as an opera. It flowed really well. Although everything was sung, it never felt as though at any point the songs were holding up the action. It had a singer representing the washing machine, and another representing the dryer, plus three singers for when the radio was playing. Which sounds strange, but worked.
Caroline is a black maid in Louisiana in 1963. The story looks at her relationship with the family (who are Jewish) and her own family and her friend. It's not at the cutting point of life, but shows what's happening in the background. I really enjoyed it, and Sharon D Clarke was excellent.
We were staying close to the Tower of London.
On the Saturday I went to the Science Museum. I wanted to see The Last Tsar: Blood and Revolution which was a free exhibition. It was quite interesting, and I was particularly glad to see some film from the Eastern Front, but I felt there was too much emphasis placed on having sympathy with the Tsar and his family, when his own behaviour and attitudes brought about the catastrophe.
After which I noticed there was a free guided tour of Flight so I thought I'd go along. The guide was a volunteer and clearly enthusiastic. I was fascinated with what I saw and learnt. The subject matter wouldn't be high on my list of things to learn about, but hearing someone who is both knowledgeable and enthusiastic was really good. I'm glad I did it.
Having booked the accommodation I realised there wasn't anything I particularly wanted to see, but there was a new year ticket offer and looking around I found I could get a £10 ticket for Caroline, or Change at the Playhouse Theatre. The performance had transferred from the Chichester Festival Theatre, always a good sign, and had Sharon D Clarke in the lead role, so I reasoned for a tenner I could hardly go wrong.
It was excellent. It was musical theatre, and had originally been written as an opera. It flowed really well. Although everything was sung, it never felt as though at any point the songs were holding up the action. It had a singer representing the washing machine, and another representing the dryer, plus three singers for when the radio was playing. Which sounds strange, but worked.
Caroline is a black maid in Louisiana in 1963. The story looks at her relationship with the family (who are Jewish) and her own family and her friend. It's not at the cutting point of life, but shows what's happening in the background. I really enjoyed it, and Sharon D Clarke was excellent.
We were staying close to the Tower of London.
On the Saturday I went to the Science Museum. I wanted to see The Last Tsar: Blood and Revolution which was a free exhibition. It was quite interesting, and I was particularly glad to see some film from the Eastern Front, but I felt there was too much emphasis placed on having sympathy with the Tsar and his family, when his own behaviour and attitudes brought about the catastrophe.
After which I noticed there was a free guided tour of Flight so I thought I'd go along. The guide was a volunteer and clearly enthusiastic. I was fascinated with what I saw and learnt. The subject matter wouldn't be high on my list of things to learn about, but hearing someone who is both knowledgeable and enthusiastic was really good. I'm glad I did it.
