Our Latest London Arts Experiences
In keeping with the topics of interest and to celebrate the long weekend (May Day Bank Holiday!! Whooo Hoooo!!!) - Arts Events
Russian National Mail (alternatively, The Guardian's review)
(I don't remember if I reviewed this one or not, so here it is again, forgive me if it is a repeat.)
I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is a troupe doing modern Russian theatre, if only sporadically. This particular play is set in Ekaterinburg during the mid-90s, ironically setting out the dire circumstances of older Russians even before the economic collapse of 1997-8. In good Russian style, the play is very much in the absurdist vein and the actors, minus some really awful attempts at accents, do a really wonderful job. Surprisingly, it even incorporated puppets very well to tell the tale of Zhukov's (the main character's) wife and the event surrounding her death. There were some great moments, and over all some really good acting, but I fear most of the themes were lost on the audience, as it just seemed sad if you aren't aware of the political reality that is post-Communist Russia, at which point it becomes tragic. Needless to say, I'm on the theatre's mailing list now and looking forward to more.
Gothic Nightmares
According to a colleague, this is an exhibit that that Tate does every 2-3 years, and rarely changes, which understands why it felt a bit tired. For all the art they had on show, too much of it revolved around the "signature piece" - Henry Fuseli's The Nightmare. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic painting, but isn't any better than some of the other works - including a really fantastic piece called Tatiana and Bottom. The room guide with digital images can be found here . A poor substitute, but gives a really nice feel for what was on show.
Shakespeare's Birthday at the Globe
One of the things I love about London, is how amazingly free this city can be. For instance, last week the Globe's exhibition was open to the public at no charge in honor of the Bard's birthday (which, to the delight of many, also corresponds to St. George's Day). I had never been inside the Globe's exhibit, mostly because it costs nearly £10 to get in, but it's surprisingly good. If you're in London only for a short period of time, and a huge fan of the bard, it certainly would be 10 quid well spent, it covers the construction of the new Globe itself, as well as a number of in depth sections on costuming, historical accuracy and what that means, several demonstrations of acting & fighting technique, music and a bit on Shakespeare's possible role in the Gunpowder plot (remember, remember). All in all an afternoon well spent, in fact, we were the last ones out for the day.
Giselle
Last night, we had tickets to the Royal Ballet's latest version of Giselle, which, as always, was fantastic. I've managed to find the magic seats that balance a great view for price - front row centre of the amphitheatre. Perfect. It was almost a near miss though; I had it down in my calender for 7:30, and you can imagine how petrified I was when, as I was putting the tickets in my purse at 6:30 to leave for the theatre, that they said it started at 7:00pm sharp. Fudge-sicles. We made a mad dash for it and were in our seats literally seconds before the last bell rang and the lights started to dim. Whew. Nice to know that we can make it to Covent Garden from our house in 30 minutes, however, that's cutting it just a little bit too close for comfort.
Anyway, the ballet itself was top-notch as always, however, I fear that I'm not the fan of Frederic Ashton I should be (this may get me lynched by British balletomanes). I find his choreography to be rather hit and miss - the first act was a mix of Petipa and Ashton, and the mad scene was unusually bland and the pas de six was uninspiring. Really nice prophetic moment for Giselle's mother though (ballet's equivalent Mandos's Doom moment in The Silmarillion). The second act was OUTSTANDING. Timing was perfect, technique was perfect and the raw emotion coming through the dancers was electric. I think it was the first time that I enjoyed Act II more than Act I.
(marimbanlr, you need to see a ballet in this theatre. I think the universe might curse me forever if it is missed during your trip.)
Coming up:
The Sultan's Elephant - 05 May
According to the website: the biggest piece of free theatre ever seen. Details are scarce, but my curiosity is certainly piqued. Watch this space or http://www.thesultanselephant.com/findit/findit.php
Goetterdammerung - 06 May
Fortunately, petite_chaton is doing me an enormous favour and attending this event with raayat in my stead. I love my husband and momentarily considered giving it a try (maybe I would surprise myself and enjoy it) and then I noticed the running time: 6 hours 20 minutes. I'm sorry, but nearly 7 hours of Wagner might just kill me. Kill me dead or worse leave me ruined on opera forever. Thank you dear Chaton for doing me this huge favour - I owe you big time. I'll be going to Ely to play with Bees instead.
American in Paris Exhibit - whenever we find the time to go before 21 May
One of the reasons I love my job - free tickets to National Gallery Exhibits.
Baishakhi Mela at Brick Lane - 14 May
I missed it last year due to being in Oklahoma for graduation, but this year - count me in baby!! (tashar, I'm going to need advice on what we must try)
Eurvision!! - 20 May
A festival of Euro-pop - enough cheese to last me another four years, but oh what fun it will be!! (It's an annual event, but the last time I watched was while I was in Russia in 2002)
marimbanlr & outotoro's trip - end of May
I'm sure there will be much in the way of arts experienced. To do otherwise, would be a travesty of the highest order. Stay tuned.
Avenue Q - June
eldaradan - when do you want to come to London for this? Let's plan!
P.S. I need to have a little star with a beret for "cultured" - is there any way to add new little emoticons to existing sets?
Russian National Mail (alternatively, The Guardian's review)
(I don't remember if I reviewed this one or not, so here it is again, forgive me if it is a repeat.)
I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is a troupe doing modern Russian theatre, if only sporadically. This particular play is set in Ekaterinburg during the mid-90s, ironically setting out the dire circumstances of older Russians even before the economic collapse of 1997-8. In good Russian style, the play is very much in the absurdist vein and the actors, minus some really awful attempts at accents, do a really wonderful job. Surprisingly, it even incorporated puppets very well to tell the tale of Zhukov's (the main character's) wife and the event surrounding her death. There were some great moments, and over all some really good acting, but I fear most of the themes were lost on the audience, as it just seemed sad if you aren't aware of the political reality that is post-Communist Russia, at which point it becomes tragic. Needless to say, I'm on the theatre's mailing list now and looking forward to more.
Gothic Nightmares
According to a colleague, this is an exhibit that that Tate does every 2-3 years, and rarely changes, which understands why it felt a bit tired. For all the art they had on show, too much of it revolved around the "signature piece" - Henry Fuseli's The Nightmare. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic painting, but isn't any better than some of the other works - including a really fantastic piece called Tatiana and Bottom. The room guide with digital images can be found here . A poor substitute, but gives a really nice feel for what was on show.
Shakespeare's Birthday at the Globe
One of the things I love about London, is how amazingly free this city can be. For instance, last week the Globe's exhibition was open to the public at no charge in honor of the Bard's birthday (which, to the delight of many, also corresponds to St. George's Day). I had never been inside the Globe's exhibit, mostly because it costs nearly £10 to get in, but it's surprisingly good. If you're in London only for a short period of time, and a huge fan of the bard, it certainly would be 10 quid well spent, it covers the construction of the new Globe itself, as well as a number of in depth sections on costuming, historical accuracy and what that means, several demonstrations of acting & fighting technique, music and a bit on Shakespeare's possible role in the Gunpowder plot (remember, remember). All in all an afternoon well spent, in fact, we were the last ones out for the day.
Giselle
Last night, we had tickets to the Royal Ballet's latest version of Giselle, which, as always, was fantastic. I've managed to find the magic seats that balance a great view for price - front row centre of the amphitheatre. Perfect. It was almost a near miss though; I had it down in my calender for 7:30, and you can imagine how petrified I was when, as I was putting the tickets in my purse at 6:30 to leave for the theatre, that they said it started at 7:00pm sharp. Fudge-sicles. We made a mad dash for it and were in our seats literally seconds before the last bell rang and the lights started to dim. Whew. Nice to know that we can make it to Covent Garden from our house in 30 minutes, however, that's cutting it just a little bit too close for comfort.
Anyway, the ballet itself was top-notch as always, however, I fear that I'm not the fan of Frederic Ashton I should be (this may get me lynched by British balletomanes). I find his choreography to be rather hit and miss - the first act was a mix of Petipa and Ashton, and the mad scene was unusually bland and the pas de six was uninspiring. Really nice prophetic moment for Giselle's mother though (ballet's equivalent Mandos's Doom moment in The Silmarillion). The second act was OUTSTANDING. Timing was perfect, technique was perfect and the raw emotion coming through the dancers was electric. I think it was the first time that I enjoyed Act II more than Act I.
(marimbanlr, you need to see a ballet in this theatre. I think the universe might curse me forever if it is missed during your trip.)
Coming up:
The Sultan's Elephant - 05 May
According to the website: the biggest piece of free theatre ever seen. Details are scarce, but my curiosity is certainly piqued. Watch this space or http://www.thesultanselephant.com/findit/findit.php
Goetterdammerung - 06 May
Fortunately, petite_chaton is doing me an enormous favour and attending this event with raayat in my stead. I love my husband and momentarily considered giving it a try (maybe I would surprise myself and enjoy it) and then I noticed the running time: 6 hours 20 minutes. I'm sorry, but nearly 7 hours of Wagner might just kill me. Kill me dead or worse leave me ruined on opera forever. Thank you dear Chaton for doing me this huge favour - I owe you big time. I'll be going to Ely to play with Bees instead.
American in Paris Exhibit - whenever we find the time to go before 21 May
One of the reasons I love my job - free tickets to National Gallery Exhibits.
Baishakhi Mela at Brick Lane - 14 May
I missed it last year due to being in Oklahoma for graduation, but this year - count me in baby!! (tashar, I'm going to need advice on what we must try)
Eurvision!! - 20 May
A festival of Euro-pop - enough cheese to last me another four years, but oh what fun it will be!! (It's an annual event, but the last time I watched was while I was in Russia in 2002)
marimbanlr & outotoro's trip - end of May
I'm sure there will be much in the way of arts experienced. To do otherwise, would be a travesty of the highest order. Stay tuned.
Avenue Q - June
eldaradan - when do you want to come to London for this? Let's plan!
P.S. I need to have a little star with a beret for "cultured" - is there any way to add new little emoticons to existing sets?