Wednesday:
I got the chance to go see Matthew Bourne's new production of Lord of the Flies. To be honest I did not like it, which was a huge disappointment to me, as I am a huge fan of his Swan Lake. I felt that the narrative of Lord of the Flies the novel is just not one that really makes good subject matter for a dance piece. Then to top it all off, his adaptation of the narrative just didn't work, there was not enough emphasis placed on the characterization of each member of the story. The audience loved it, much to my surprise and gave it a standing ovation, which honestly surprised me (as I have not seen a standing-o yet while here in London). I am glad that I got the chance to see a new work but such a prominent choreographer though, I will be able to tell people that I was there.
Thursday:
After morning acting classes, we were treated to a masterclass about casting for film. This class really pricked my interest, as we were given the chance to short scene from a film (a side) for a camera, and get feedback from professional casting personnel. The people that came to put on the workshop were very nice and supportive and had great advice to offer.
Following this I went to go see the new West End production of Urinetown!!! It was interesting! The design and tech were excellent, and I thought that the production struck a good balance between campy musical theatre and serious statement about how we live unsustainably. I will say however, that American MTs can teach these West Enders a thing or two about screlting, as the screlting was rather weak (yes that is a real critique that I have). BUT AGAIN I am really glad that I got to see this show. I learn something from every show that I see, and if I didn't learn ONE THING it's because I wasn't paying enough attention.
After being so wiped out that we literally could not even, David and I decided to go see a movie. This was mostly because we were inspired by the film workshop from the day before. Let me just lay a few things down for you about seeing movies in the UK and how it's different from 'Murica. So it's more expensive to go see a movie here. We got a nice student rate of £8 or so, but some movies can cost you upwards of £15 i.e. almost $30. We went to go see Gone Girl at the Odeon down the street from us. We were very surprised that it is possible to have even more ads before a movie than in America. We literally sat through 40 minutes of ads and previews. ALSO THE SCREEN WAS TINY. When I go to the movies, I expect to see a nice big mega screen. I don't know if it was just this movie theatre or what, but the screen was about a quarter of the size of what a regular one would be back home. That being said I did enjoy the movie, not as much as the book, but still good.
Saturday:
We got a good night's sleep, so we decided to do a little venturing out into London to take advantage of the free time that we have this weekend. We decided to go to the Tate Modern Art Museum and then ended up also going back to The Globe to see the closing night of Julius Caesar. To answer your burning questions, yes, all I do in London is go see shows, movies, and museums. So little time, so much to see, gotta see it all. The Tate had some exhibits that I really clicked with and others that did not. It is a really neat space for a museum and is always changing, and the best part is that it is free!!
JC was very good, as expected (much better than Comedy of Errors that we saw there earlier). I could not get over the fact that Julius Caesar looked like Robert De Niro though, so that was interesting. But it was very neat to see a show at The Globe at night, which is not how anyone in Elizabethan times would have seen it because there were no fancy stage lights. The Globe was well worth returning to.
 |
| The view from the top of The Tate |
 |
| Tate can't even handle our swag |
 |
 |
| Et tu Brute? |
Sunday:
Ah yes, the lord's day. Today we celebrated Fall Break by getting our first traditional English breakfast. I was treated to a feast of bacon, eggs (which I didn't eat shhhhh), hash browns, sausage, baked beans, toast, and to top it all off a mimosa BECAUSE I AM LUCILE BLUTH. Thankfully there was no pig's blood or whatever is sometimes included in real English breakfasts because I would probably faint upon seeing it. Simply smashing is all that I have to say. Also to everyone that warned me that I was going to starve in London because I am a picky eater, you were wrong. After that I had a nice and relaxing day where I strolled through London and visited the National Gallery, and came home and PACK TO GO TO PARIS.
Yes tomorrow morning à sept heures, we are going to Pais for 5 days for Fall Break, followed by the one and only Bobby Ganzer guest starring in the next blog post while he visits London for a weekend. I'm probably going to lie to the French people and tell them that I'm Canadian so they don't hate me. Over and out, y'all.
No comments:
Post a Comment