Day 52 - Raining Home Day and visiting with Queen tonight

Raining on Long Acre

Today, hubby braved the elements while I did some housekeeping.  I don't want to spend all day Monday cleaning, so I hoped to be able to get some things done today.  Things that I'm hoping won't need to be redone on Monday.

Anyway, while I was playing Hetty Housekeeper, hubby braved the elements to take some pictures around our home base - Covent Garden.

Interior Court of Covent Garden

When he came back we fixed some hamburgers and soup for dinner, then left the flat and walked to the Dominion Theatre to see "We Will Rock You."

On the way, we went through Seven Dials, and they had their Christmas Lights up as well.

Seven Dials Christmas Lights

Seven Dials Christmas Lights

On May 12, 2002, the hit stage musical We Will Rock You, based on the songs of Queen, created by Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor together with British comedian Ben Elton opened at the Dominion Theatre. The show was due to close in October 2006 before embarking on a UK tour, but due to popular demand has been extended indefinitely. The show is currently in its 11th year and as such is the longest running musical ever to play at the Dominion Theatre.

Dominion Theatre

 The musical tells the story of a group of Bohemians who struggle to restore the free exchange of thought, fashion, and live music in a distant future where everyone dresses, thinks and does the same. Musical instruments and composers are forbidden, and rock music is all but unknown.

The Future where everyone dresses and thinks alike

The Bohemians

The musical was originally panned by critics as having a ludicrous plot that merely allowed for one of Queen's songs to flow after another, and, in a way, they are right, but it's one of those musicals (similar to Let it Be and Jersey Boys) that pulls you out of your seats and makes you want to join in the fun.  This is our second time seeing it, and a lot of changes have occurred since our first viewing, so some lines were changed to bring it more "up to date," and in line with things that have happened since it first opened.

I have to say that despite any short comings the show might have, and since it's been running in the same theatre for over 11 years now they clearly don't matter, that I enjoyed its sometimes silly and irreverent dialogue, and I stood up with everyone else.

The Killer Queen of "Global Soft"

Young Bohemian Lovers

Finale

I need to confirm this, but I believe the guitar soloist who was spotlighted at the end of the show during Bohemian Rhapsody was the original guitarist, Brian May.  He has often appeared at certain performances of We Will Rock You, and at the end of the show, his voice was heard requesting money for one of the charities the show supports.  This is Veteran's Week in London, with the Queen placing a wreathe of poppies against the Centotaph on Remembrance Sunday, so a lot of the West End shows are requesting money for Veterans and other charities.  I had thought that perhaps Brian May's voice was a recording, but as I was collecting information for this post, I discovered he has made many appearances at the end of We Will Rock You by emerging through smoke and playing his well-known solo.

Not sure how I can find out, but I will do my best.  In the meantime, I'll leave you with a picture of Brian and his famous guitar.

Brian May

In addition, I'd like to leave a small tidbit of information about the band Queen, and their lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury.

Freddie Mercury

Queen is a British rock band formed in London in 1970, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen's earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works, incorporating further diverse styles into their music.

Sadly, Queen's lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) died in his Kensington home of bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS on 24 November 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging that he had the disease.  He was only 46 years old.

I'm also going to embed a promotional video for the show that was released today.  If you listen to it, please be aware that the music is very loud, so you might want to turn the volume down on your computer.

Until tomorrow, then....

Day 51 - Dinner in the Garden and Warhorse

Covent Garden Food Market

Today, we decided, for our last Thursday in London, that we would sample the Covent Garden Food Market again, like we did our first Thursday here.  Seemed appropriate.

Tonight I had peri-peri chicken with grilled onions and greek salad.  Hubby opted for the same chicken, but requested his in a ciabatta roll.  We didn't manage to take pictures, but they were good.  We did however, manage to get a picture of Rudolph in all his finery at the Garden.

Rudolph with his nose so bright

Earlier in the day I worked on a previous entry, while hubby went out to purchase theatre tickets for us, and returned with tickets to Warhorse.

W.C. Fields has been quoted as saying, "Never work with children or animals."  The reason he said this is because they will always upstage you.  In this case, the animal puppets clearly steal the show.

Joey (the horse) being taught to pull a plow

After a successful run at the Olivier in the National Theatre, War Horse transferred to the West End's New London Theatre, beginning preview performances on 28 March 2009, prior to an official opening of 3 April. The original cast featured Kit Harington as Albert, who reprised his South Bank performance. The production includes an original score composed by Adrian Sutton.  Kit Harington has since risen to fame playing Jon Snow in the HBO series "Game of Thrones."

Topthorn in the Army before he meets Joey

War Horse is a play based on the book of the same name by acclaimed children's writer Michael Morpurgo, adapted for stage by Nick Stafford. Originally Morpurgo thought "they must be mad" to try to make a play from his best-selling 1982 novel, and if you've seen the movie, but not the play you might understand why he felt that way. Morpurgo was proved wrong, however, by the play's instant success. The play's West End and Broadway productions are directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, with "horse choreography" by Toby Sedgwick.

Topthorn and Joey fighting for dominance

The production met with critical acclaim for its life-size horse puppets from the Handspring Puppet Company, winning an Olivier Award, Evening Standard Theatre Award and London Critics' Circle Theatre Award. On 12 October 2009 the performance was seen by HM Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, marking their first private theatre visit in four years. War Horse has been popular with audiences, playing to 97% capacity in 2010, subsequently breaking the record for the highest weekly gross for a play in the West End. In December 2010, War Horse was dubbed "the theatrical event of the decade" by The Times. In 2011 it welcomed its millionth audience member.

On tour, Joey meets Charlie, a retired racehorse

The Guardian's Michael Billington wrote in his review:

Elliott and Morris recreate the kaleidoscopic horror of war through bold imagery, including the remorseless advance of a manually operated tank, and through the line-drawings of Rae Smith projected on to a suspended screen. Admittedly the performers are somewhat eclipsed by the action ... The joy of the evening, however, lies in the skilled recreation of equine life and in its unshaken belief that mankind is ennobled by its love of the horse.

Topthorn and Joey off to fight the Germans in WWI

Charles Spencer in The Daily Telegraph had written that, generally, "puppets are often an embarrassment, involving a lot of effort and fuss for negligible returns"; in this case, he praised the puppetry as "truly magnificent creations by the Handspring Puppet Company." The Times' 10-year-old guest reviewer called the show "movingly and realistically brought to life" and "an emotional and compelling adaptation of the book."

Topthorn collapsing from exhaustion under German handling

Both as an animal lover and an avid theatergoer, I found this play moving me to tears.  I will admit that I cried when I watched the movie as well, but in this case these puppets were so realistically imbued with their own personalities that Albert and Joey's final reunion after the war ended had me silently crying in my seat.  Kudos to the handlers and the actors who magically brought the story to life.

War Horse at the New London Theatre

I'm going to try to finish up a few things now, so until tomorrow.

Day 50 - Elizabethan Portraits, National Gallery and The Beatles

Entrance to the National Portrait Gallery

Hubby and I went separate ways this afternoon.  I chose to go to the National Portrait Gallery that has an exhibition on Elizabeth I, and he opted for the National Gallery.

Elizabeth I & Her People explores the remarkable reign of Elizabeth I through the lives and portraiture of her subjects.

Elizabeth I - Ermine portrait attributed to Nicholas Hilliard c. 1585

The reign of Elizabeth I from 1558-1603 was a time of extraordinary enterprise. The changes that took place during her reign dramatically shaped the future of England and Wales.  The Church of England was securely established and over time much of the country embraced the Protestant faith. The known world was expanding through maritime exploration and trade, cities grew in size and population and the economy flourished and purpose built theatres opened to the public.

The exhibit not only had portraits, but Elizabethan clothing, jewelry and weapons on display.  When I was done going through the special exhibit, I moved on to the Tudor section and followed it with the Stuarts through to the Hanovers.

While I was visiting Elizabethan England, hubby was taking pictures of Trafalgar Square prior to entering the National Gallery.

Trafalgar Square

Today, they had a tuba-playing musician who had fire coming out of his instrument as he played.

Tuba Player on Trafalgar Square

Prior to separating, Hubby and I agreed to meet around 6 PM at the entrance to the crypt of St. Martin in the Fields, so we could have dinner in the crypt's cafe.  A bit unusual, since you are actually eating over places where people have been buried beneath the floor.

Entrance to the crypt

For tonight's dinner we had lamb curry, with rice pilaf, nan bread, and salad with yogurt dressing.  I opted for a glass of wine and added a strawberry and jersey cream yogurt for dessert.

Crypt dinner

St. Martins had a special concert of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nacht Music tonight that started at 6:30 PM and our table was reserved for concert attendees, so after eating we promptly left the crypt and started our way to the Savoy Theatre where we had tickets to "Let it Be."

The Crypt Cafe

Let It Be is a West End and Broadway jukebox musical, based on the career of English rock band, The Beatles, from 1962 to their breakup in 1969. The musical debuted at the Prince of Wales Theatre on 24 September 2012. Its run at the venue ended on 19 January 2013, after which it moved to the Savoy Theatre and opened on 1 February 2013.  There is no story to the musical, but the show indicates the passing of time through showing some videos of commercials and events that happen during The Beatles seven years together, and the performers change costumes to reflect the changing times.  I would have liked more story about the musicians and the changes they went through as well as the reasons for their eventual break up, but this was basically a concert show.  An enjoyable evening, but more nostalgic than informative.

We were allowed to take pictures, so hubby snapped quite a few during the performance which I will share with you below.

Savoy Theatre

After the show, we walked back to Covent Garden and took pictures of the Christmas lights that had been turned on earlier tonight.

We're back at our flat now, and getting ready for bed.  Hopefully tomorrow I can fill in a bit more information on the earlier days, but we leave on Tuesday and there's still a lot we want to do and see.  Until tomorrow, then....

Day 49 - Bonfire Night and The Commitments

Palace Theatre - The Commitments

 Today was Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Day, which celebrates a group of catholic supporters unsuccessful attempt to blow up Parliament.
Because of the day, several events were reported in the news.  One concerns the village of Lower Hartshay in Derbyshire, whose hedge clippings and scrap wood collected for a bonfire celebration tonight, mistaken for fly-tipping (illegally-dumpted) waste, was collected by the Amber Valley Borough Council and removed.

Sample Bonfire in England

Villagers said they were surprised and disappointed to find "environmental crime scene" tape surrounding their collection site along with a warning that their were heavy fines for illegally dumped waste, and that people were being watched.

Amber Valley Borough Council said it responded to a fly-tipping complaint and put up a warning sign first. They also said organizers should have applied for a temporary events license. Residents said they did not see the warning sign and villager David Crowder said they had never needed a licence before.

"I've been involved for the last 29 years, as long as I've lived in the village, so it has been a longstanding event," he said. "I'm sure the council have been aware it happens every year, so we feel it would have been better had they approached one of us, rather than take it away." He said the council should have realized the heap of hedge cuttings and scrap wood was for a bonfire, given the time of year. Children and adults usually help to build the material into a bonfire on the day of the event, which Mr Crowder said "brings people together".

A smaller event, with fireworks and sparklers, was held on Nov. 2. "We want to try and have a bonfire next year and we just want to work with the council now to ensure we do everything they want us to," said Mr Crowder. A council spokesman said the authority was happy to provide help and support for organizers of community events.  Sounds to me like someone had a splinter in their butt and wanted to make others pay for it.

TRAFALGAR SQUARE AND THE MILLION MASK MARCH

Million Mask March at Trafalgar Square

Today, at dozens of cities across the world, one million people will be marching. Many will be wearing Guy Fawkes masks, and protesting against the internet spying being done by the NSA and other government agencies. It is being coordinated by the Anonymous movement, a loose collective of like-minded individuals around the world mainly concerned about protecting internet freedom and opposing surveillance.

Guy Fawkes mask used in "V" for Vendetta

The date - Guy Fawkes Day - is of course intentional. The Guy Fawkes mask has always been the symbol of Anonymous, taken from the final scene in the movie 'V for Vendetta'. Guy Fawkes famously said 'a desperate disease requires a dangerous remedy' . Though the marchers aren't planning to blow up the Houses of Parliament, they do want to shake up the system. These individuals are out to defend Internet freedom, and they are growing in number.

For more information about Guy Fawkes and the role he played in history, please visit Day 46.

Bonfire Night Fireworks

Rather than attend any firework shows or bonfires, hubby and I chose to attend "The Commitments" playing at the Palace.

The Commitments - Palace Theatre at Night

I never read the book, but both hubby and I saw the movie on which the musical is based.  The movie definitely had more grittiness and heart to it than the show did.  However, these performers give all to their audience.  It's not their fault that the dialogue and conflict was trivialized.  Some of it, like the Irish rain being dispensed through a garden hose was intentionally funny, but other parts just missed the mark.

The Commitments starting to form their group - Deco is at the mike

I agree with Paul Taylor, the Independent critic who wrote " Though Doyle himself wrote the book, the storytelling lacks texture; the crude banter has been drained of most of its saving charm and the characters all come over as two-dimensional comic types. Newcomer Denis Grindel is winning as the band’s manager, Jimmy Rabbitte, who yearns to spread the gospel of soul to the Dublin working classes. But you’re never properly convinced that there’s real hunger behind this mission and that the music represents, for him, a rebellion against the material and spiritual poverty of the environment. Despite Soutra Gilmour’s looming tower-block set, the stakes feel low and the mood blandly upbeat.

The Commitments in an early gig with Deco in front again

Killian Donnelly is phenomenal as the obnoxiously big-headed Deco, his mighty voice ranging from a snakily sexy falsetto to a deep rasping boom. Even when scoffing a bag of chips as he performs “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” (a feat Marvin Gaye curiously never attempted), he can imbue a number with insidious erotic drive. Persuasively charting their growing prowess, the engagingly cast band pound out the numbers with infectious zest and energy.

But the whimsical notion that they re-group as a spoof country & western outfit – on the grounds that sex broke them up and that playing country music is about as arousing as singing the phone book – is a flat-out mistake that merely exposes how dramatically flimsy the brawling disputes are that cause them to implode in the first place. And the encores, where the fourth wall is knocked down (“Hello, London!”) in too calculatedly frenzy-inducing a fashion, reinforce the feeling that this show about soul is itself a mite soulless."

Deco and Natalie

On the whole, you leave feeling that everyone in the show has given their all.  "There's virtually nothing to be faulted about the cast, the music or the glorious set. Soutra Gilmour has worked wonders with the strictures of the rotting old glory that is the Palace theatre, giving us a vaulting taste of the rain-streaked concrete of 1987 Dublin as the backdrop to the tribulations of an impoverished band trying to resurrect American soul; and musical supervisor Alan Williams can take many plaudits. The cast act their little grimy socks off: Denis Grindel is a lovely band manager, Jimmy Rabbitte; Steph McKeon has real chops for soul; and, of course, Killian Donnelly as the thoroughly unlikable Deco, unredeemed by the end but for his voice (which is to say, wholly redeemed), is the star of the show," reported Euan Ferguson for The Guardian, and he's right.

Hubby enjoyed it, but as much as I love the theatre, I left the show feeling somewhat deflated like I'd just eaten a large meal that was less than satisfying.

All the same, I stood at the end to applaud the performers, because like both Paul and Euan, I felt the performers deserved the accolade, and yet I wasn't satisfied by the show.

Finally, I want to close with a note about London's dressing up for Christmas.  I love the way this city gets into the spirit of the holiday.  Unfortunately, we're leaving too early to catch most of the lights and the pantos, but Covent Garden is scheduled to turn on its lights tomorrow, and Regent Street is lighting up on the 9th, which is also the Lord Mayor's Day.  Tonight, Slingsby Place had its Christmas finery on display, so I'll leave you with two pictures of it.  Click on them to view a larger image.

Slingsby Place dressed for Autumn:

Slingsby Place - Autumn

Slingsby Place - Winter and Christmas

Slingsby Place - Christmas

Until tomorrow.