London Oct 2012

Oh boy,  fall 2012 London, spoiled for choice on what to see and so little time!

Ended up seeing an oldie, long running show "The Woman in Black", very nice, this is supposed to be a scary thriller kind of play, and it was on it's own, but the bunch of school kids sitting in the rows before me gave an extra special dimension... who would have thought that teenagers these days scare so easily, the shrieking and gasping at every scary scene or sound made the whole evening almost a comedy. Love you kids!

Twelfth Night

Next up my reason for coming to london on this trip: "Twelfth Night" at the Globe.  So glad I decided to make this trip. This all male production was hilarious! such an excellent cast, great use of the unique space that the Globe offers. This production, if a little on the funny side, must be one of the definitive productions of Twelfth Night ever (more in a dedicated post later).

Not quite recovered from  the "Twelfth Night" matinee it was a short walk to the National, press night for 'Scenes from an Execution'. Never had the opportunity before to attend a press night at the National, it comes with a certain atmosphere. I thought this was a good production, first act could have benefited from a little more editing, but the second act was great. Some technical difficulties with the set righ before the end. I felt so bad for the cast for this to happen on press night, but the audience was supportive and the Cast handled the mishaps with style. 

 B56 Middle Gallery,
East Tower Bay M Restricted View 

One more day left, packed with Shakespeare. Matinee performance of 'The Taming of the Shrew" got to say my seat with restricted view, was quite restricted but very much doable. Taming is a play that comes with some trepidation, feminist issues and all that but there are interesting theories about that, will try to elaborate on that in a dedicated post later.

On with the finale of this trip, another Globe visit, "Richard III". OMG so good! same cast (sans Stephen Fry) as "Twelfth Night" I can't get over how good this cast is in these plays that are performed in repertory. Certainly the special atmosphere at the Globe adds to the experience. I am very happy I was able to change my courtyard (standing) ticket for a seat. It rained almost the entire performance, and the Globe being half open air, poor groundlings... (more later)

Richard III

Mr Stephen Fry vs Shakespeare

Next trip I think will be filled with Shakespeare.

Back when Shakespeare's Globe Theater announced their 2012/13 season I jumped on the chance to get a ticket for their Twelfth Night production,  it sold out incredibly fast!

Twelfth Night is reasonably often produced but not with an all male cast and certainly not with Stephen Fry in the cast. Mr Fry's rare appearance on stage is a good enough excuse to plan a trip to London for a theater geek like me.

With Twelfth Night set, this week I've looked at London's Theater websites to figure out what else to see when I get there. Plenty of interesting things to see on West End or the National, but a closer look at the Globe's schedule was even more interesting.

Mark Rylance is performing in two productions at the Globe this season... I didn't realize this when I glanced over the program first but those two productions are played in Rep in the performance schedule... having Rylance switch between plays. I don't think I've ever seen an actor work in two simultaneous productions on this level before.

Mark Rylance will be 'Olivia'  in Twelfth Night (to Stephen Fry's Malvolio) and 'Richard' in Richard III, both plays running for 2-3 hrs, performed in rep.

So I will find a way to fit Richard III into my trip... and now that it will be heavy on Shakespeare, I think I'll try to catch the Globe's version of The Taming of the Shrew while I'm at it.

That's the plan at least.. will see if I can find tickets for these last two for the dates that I'll be in London,  fingers crossed!