Today was the last full day that I get to spend in London in 2014. Lest you think that I had any intentions of slowing down on the theatre front, I decided to keep with the trend these past few weeks and attended two wonderful shows today. In the afternoon I attended a matinee showing of Matilda The Musical, and in the afternoon I saw a fantastic production of Skylight. It was quite a fun way to end a trip that was filled with wonderful theatrical opportunities.
Bright and early in the morning Dallin and I woke up and made our way over to The Seven Dials to try for Matilda tickets again. This time we left around 6:40am in the hopes of getting the incredibly cheap £5 tickets. It went much better this time as we were the third and fourth people in line! In front of us there were two girls who were cousins, one from Britain and the other from Australia. They were incredibly friendly, though a bit rowdy. There was a ridiculous moment when they turned to us and said, "We thought that the Americans were supposed to be the noisy ones." Yep, that's usually the case, but we've seen a few oddities in our times traveling about. While we waited Dallin and I both read books from our Kindles and the wait didn't really feel like that long at all. I also geeked out when I realized that the book I finished just recently, The Bone Season, has a cover that was inspired by the sundial at the Seven Dials. I knew that the book took place there, but it was fun connecting little pieces. Anywho, all went well and we bought our tickets!
We wandered around the West End for a little while before deciding to go back to the flats. We had originally planned to start packing our things, but we both ended up falling asleep. I guess that happens when you wake up so early in the morning to get some tickets!
The central pillar in the Seven Dials
Waiting in the queue (line), with this fun poster behind me
Waiting...photobomb featuring our new British friend
The pillar again, featuring Jace
And of course, a quick view of the theatre
After getting some lunch and stopping by Ben's Cookies one last time, Dallin and I made our way back over to the West End and enjoyed a fantastic production of Matilda. I was pretty nervous about the show, because a bunch of people from my group went while on the program, and they didn't like it! I was astounded! Everyone I went with before loved it! Fortunately, Dallin also enjoyed it, restoring my faith in humanity. Plus it made me like the lad that much more. The performance was great, and it was quite interesting in that we were greatly outnumbered in the audience. Every school in London must have decided to have a day out to the theatre, because we were surrounded by children. I have never been in a theatre where the seats seemed quite so squeaky. Children were bobbing up and down throughout the whole thing. I didn't let it get to me, because it really fit with the whole atmosphere of the show. I love this musical so much because it manages to combine a fun amount of spectacle with some incredibly witty songs that stick in the brain! Plus the story is just adorable! I was glad to be able to see it again!
Saw this while walking and had to snap a photo
Following Matilda, Dallin and I met up with some other members of our group over at Leicester Square. A few weeks ago Ben, Jennifer, McKenzie and I purchased tickets to see Skylight. I knew nothing about the plot, but I was so excited to be going because it features Carrie Mulligan and Bill Nighy! I actually first saw Carrie as she starred in an episode of Doctor Who, but have also loved her portrayals of Kathy in Never Let Me Go and Daisy in The Great Gatsby. And then there is Billy Nighy, who is an incredibly fantastic actor who's been in so many movies like Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows Part 1 or About Time, to name two recent flicks. We picked up our tickets from the box office and then went and had a quick dinner at Byron's. It's really random, but gourmet hamburgers have been becoming more and more popular here in London. They are all over the place now! One of the most popular is Five Guys Burgers in Leicester Square, which always has a line going out the door! It's so peculiar to me! The burger I got at Byron's was actually quite good, and I had some excellent zucchini fries. I do find it a little ironic that my last dinner here in London is a more American type meal. Oh well! I enjoyed it!
Our show started at 7:00pm and it was such a fun experience. Tonight was actually the Press Night, so it was technically a preview performance. As we walked in they had a whole section of paparazzi that were roped off from the rest of the crowd that were trying to snap some photos. I felt very underdressed as many of the men walking in tonight were in nice suites. A lot of reporters were attending the show to write their reviews, and there were also supposed to be some famous actors in attendance. Our tickets were clear up in the balcony, so we weren't in the area where most of that took place. It was still fun to find ourselves amidst the buzz of a great show revival. The play was incredibly well performed. Mulligan and Nighy were both fantastic! The show is quite serious and has some heavy material, which they both enacted so well. Most of the show is really just Mulligan and Nighy having a conversation on stage. It was all set in one apartment room and was really just made up of a lot of dialogue, and yet they managed to paint such a powerful picture and craft a complicated story with their words. Though there were ever only three characters on stage, they managed to make the cast feel much more full by discussing other characters that never actually appeared. I don't know if I am explaining it all very well. I really enjoyed it, though I am a little torn because it was so emotionally exhausting. It dealt a lot with love and lust, as the two main characters actually used to be lovers, with Nighy's character cheating on his wife. It was quite a different experience from something like, say, Matilda. But it was fantastic.
Following the show we decided to go on a walk to visit Big Ben one last time. We walked down and passed by Trafalgar Square and made our way down to Westminster. Elizabeth Tower (the name of the tower...Big Ben is actually the name of the bell) was just as gorgeous as usual. We snapped some photos and listened to the clock as it chimed the hour. We had amazing timing on that one. We also had a rather interesting moment as a very friendly Chinese man came over and had his friend (and translator I suppose) ask us if we would all get in a picture with him. We were happy to oblige, and he seemed quite excited about the whole thing. "Thank you! Thank you! Yes. Thank you!"
We meet again!
Love this so much
And there you have it. Another trip to London is coming to a close! I can't believe how quickly it has gone by. I have had so many fantastic experiences, and have discovered even more things about this city that I love. Over six weeks I learned a lot about theatre, a lot of which came from experiencing some of the best theatre that there is. I saw twenty two different shows. Fourteen were for classes and the other eight were on my own. There really is no better place to go when it comes to theatre! I am so grateful for this experience that I've had, and feel that I have learned so much. Not just about English and Theatre, but about different cultures, history, and myself.
In 2012 I made a dream come true by going to London. I shocked a lot of people (and myself) by going back two years later; much sooner than I ever thought I would. Here's to hoping that I can return again someday!
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