England 2014!

[innie_darling]

Hi, everybody!

I just got back from an all-too-short vacation to that land of wonder, London, and wanted to tell you all about it.

Comments

[aelfgyfu_mead]

It all sounds amazing!

[innie_darling]

It was - it was my absolute dream vacation!

[ariadnes_string]

Jealous! This sounds awesome!

[innie_darling]

I'm kind of jealous of myself, reading it all over again!

Are you coming back up this way any time soon?

[barkley]

Very cool!!

[innie_darling]

It so was!

[thesmallhobbit]

Wow, you packed an amazing amount in during your stay!

It's fascinating to read your thoughts about everything. I do like going to concerts at St Martin's in the Fields - we probably get to one a year, but they're always enjoyable.

I shall note your comments on the Tudor exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. If I have some time when I'm in London I generally do go to a museum/gallery and that might have appealled, although I did visit their late medieval/Tudor paintings earlier this year, so I've probably already seen a number in the exhibition. And hooray for Richard III and The Daughter of Time.

I'm glad you enjoyed seeing Martin Freeman as Richard - three times is impressive. I don't think I'd have wanted to do that - I enjoyed it, but wasn't as sucked in as some have been. Now, if I could have seen The Crucible again! That was my play of the summer.

[innie_darling]

I only wish I'd been able to book The Crucible, but those queues were not kidding around. If I were you, I'd skip the NPG and either spend the time at the V&A or the IWM. Going to Richard III three times was not at all the plan, but there was a cheap ticket for one day and a front-row ticket for another, and before I knew it, I'd booked them both. And it turned out to be worth it, simply due to the variety of performances I saw from MF.

Any chance of you coming to New York to see our theater? Ooh, I wonder if Armitage will travel with The Crucible, if that makes it over here?

[thesmallhobbit]

They filmed The Crucible and it's going to be on screen and available for download I believe.

The V&A is my default museum - I like going to the free special exhibitions they have - I've seen some really interesting exhibits I wouldn't have known anything about otherwise. Haven't been to the IWM for a few years, maybe I'm due for a repeat visit.

One day, maybe I'll make it to New York.

[innie_darling]

Reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllly? How intriguing! I'm very pleased to know that I'll be able to see RA's performance despite my terrible planning - thank you for the info!

I'd say the IWM is your best bet this year, because of all of the themed exhibitions.

And yes, do come to New York - autumn is the best season here, if you can swing that.

[fannishliss]

We totally did not get the opportunity to see Freeman's RIII, which makes me so sad, because Richard is my FAVORITE.

OMG, you must have been in Heaven. :)

So far my husband has played Buckingham and Tyrrell and Stanley, but never Richard. In truth, my husband is shaped for sportive tricks and is currently playing Oberon/Theseus. :)

[innie_darling]

my husband is shaped for sportive tricks Ha! That is one of the most delightful comments I've read on my journal, and very apt! Where is your husband's AMND playing?

I was so squirmy with pleasure watching MF strut his stuff - he excites my competence kink to an unbelievable degree. I do hope that (at least) one of his performances is filmed, so that a wider audience may be reached.

[fannishliss]

I really think the British theatres are missing out on a huge revenue stream by not filming more of their shows. I'd like to know how much money the Tennant/Tate Much Ado brought in... it seems like it would be worth it for theatres to get the proper licenses and agreements with their actors.

We went to see the Cumberbatch/Miller Frankenstein in the cinema for example, and it was stellar, but they won't release it for download or DVD, I think because they didn't negotiate royalties with the actors.

My husband works with several small Shakespeare companies in the DC Baltimore area. If you're ever around, PM me! :)

[innie_darling]

I will, definitely! It looks like I saw All's Well That Ends Well down there a few years ago - would he have been in that cast?

I don't know how much of the lack of DVDs is due to the companies and royalties/rights stuff, and how much is just culture and/or attitude. I know MF has said he likes the live nature of theater, and that a filmed play doesn't have nearly the same effect - while I'm not disagreeing with that at all, I do still think it's worth it to have the filmed version, and hope that the people involved in these shows think so too.