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smallhobbitIt being SM's birthday we had our now traditional weekend in London. When it decided to snow, again. Not much, fortunately, but the wind was bitter, and it put paid to my suggestion of taking the boat down the Thames between two of our destinations, plus walking across Tower Bridge. Being outside was kept to a minimum. Fortunately by the time we drove home the main roads were clear and the snow had pushed off further west.
It's some years since I last went to Tate Britain, but we both liked the look of the Impressionists in London exhibition, so I booked tickets and we spent the afternoon wandering around, looking at the permanent exhibition as well as the one with the Impressionists. That was very interesting - and setting the paintings into the historic period added a lot. It's quite expensive, but if you're interested in that period of art then I'd recommend it. The scones, jam and cream were good too!
From there we went to the Bridge Theatre to see Julius Caesar. They took full advantage of this being a new theatre, so instead of the traditional seating from last time, there was an arena in the middle, with standing tickets and the stage in the centre rose and fell depending on the scenes. It was well done, but for me I felt there were too many scene changes, and it could have been simplified. Those standing formed part of the mob, and were moved around by stewards as part of the action. Again it was well done, but at times for me, slightly distracting.
We had excellent seats. When I'd booked I'd taken seats in Gallery 1, with a warning they were high seats. In fact we were three rows back from the main arena, on standard chairs, which was far better than I'd expected and we had a great view throughout.
My original reason for booking tickets was to see Ben Whishaw as Brutus. Normally I would be TeamBrutus but this time I found David Morrissey as Mark Anthony a much more compelling character. The performance lasted two hours (with no interval) so maybe some of the more nuanced action was omitted. It was very fast moving, but both SM and I felt it was one-paced, even if a rapid pace. And SM, who had forgotten the plot, said he knew the outcome from early on, so there was no tension. One of my favourite Shakespeare speeches is Brutus' 'there is a tide in the affairs of men' and I didn't find it as inspiring as I sometimes do.
That being said, it was an enjoyable play, but not for me a memorable one. For those in the arena I suspect it would have been memorable, but there's no way I'd want to stand for two hours, especially after an afternoon of wandering round an art gallery. Oh, and Caesar was shot not stabbed (it was modern dress), yet he remained firmly on his feet to say 'Et tu, Brute'.
It was still snowing a bit when we left the theatre, but I took this picture:
It's some years since I last went to Tate Britain, but we both liked the look of the Impressionists in London exhibition, so I booked tickets and we spent the afternoon wandering around, looking at the permanent exhibition as well as the one with the Impressionists. That was very interesting - and setting the paintings into the historic period added a lot. It's quite expensive, but if you're interested in that period of art then I'd recommend it. The scones, jam and cream were good too!
From there we went to the Bridge Theatre to see Julius Caesar. They took full advantage of this being a new theatre, so instead of the traditional seating from last time, there was an arena in the middle, with standing tickets and the stage in the centre rose and fell depending on the scenes. It was well done, but for me I felt there were too many scene changes, and it could have been simplified. Those standing formed part of the mob, and were moved around by stewards as part of the action. Again it was well done, but at times for me, slightly distracting.
We had excellent seats. When I'd booked I'd taken seats in Gallery 1, with a warning they were high seats. In fact we were three rows back from the main arena, on standard chairs, which was far better than I'd expected and we had a great view throughout.
My original reason for booking tickets was to see Ben Whishaw as Brutus. Normally I would be TeamBrutus but this time I found David Morrissey as Mark Anthony a much more compelling character. The performance lasted two hours (with no interval) so maybe some of the more nuanced action was omitted. It was very fast moving, but both SM and I felt it was one-paced, even if a rapid pace. And SM, who had forgotten the plot, said he knew the outcome from early on, so there was no tension. One of my favourite Shakespeare speeches is Brutus' 'there is a tide in the affairs of men' and I didn't find it as inspiring as I sometimes do.
That being said, it was an enjoyable play, but not for me a memorable one. For those in the arena I suspect it would have been memorable, but there's no way I'd want to stand for two hours, especially after an afternoon of wandering round an art gallery. Oh, and Caesar was shot not stabbed (it was modern dress), yet he remained firmly on his feet to say 'Et tu, Brute'.
It was still snowing a bit when we left the theatre, but I took this picture:
no subject
Date: 2018-03-18 06:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-18 06:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-18 06:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-18 06:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-20 06:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-20 11:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-21 08:00 pm (UTC)Was any of the performance art occurring at Tate when you visited?
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Date: 2018-03-21 08:26 pm (UTC)No, it was all paintings and sculptures.