So, there are three types of theatre I go to, here in Londontown.
First, there are shows I see for my Theatre in London class. Those are about once a week (give-or-take) and tend to be things I never have never seen otherwise.
So far, I’ve seen Clybourne Park, The Children’s Hour, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and In a Forest, Dark and Deep. Tomorrow I am going to see War Horse, which everyone I’ve spoken to has recommended.
The Children’s Hour had Elisabeth Moss and Kiera Knightly. In a Forest Dark and Deep had Matthew Fox. You know, from Lost. The TV show. He was excellent.
So, a play a week. Cool plays, enjoyable plays, mostly, although I was a little disappointed in Umbrellas. I don’t always talk about them, because again, they happen EVERY WEEK. I do think about them, and I should probably post more about them.
The second category is plays that I go out and pursue by myself. There are a few plays I want to see – Blood Bothers, for one, as I really enjoyed it the first time – and I’ve already been to one. The aforementioned Season’s Greetings, for Catherine Tate. I have already bought tickets for Much Ado About Nothing, because they were selling FAST. Again, Catherine Tate. And David Tennant. I fully intend to keep my eyes peeled for more plays to see, but I’m already seeing plenty for the class, obviously, so the call isn’t necessarily there.
Oh, right. Dasi and I are considering going to The Holy Rosenbergs, which is about the Jewish community in North London. I’ve heard mixed things, but I can get £12 tickets, which is pretty cheap for a night out.
Then there is the last category, which I completely forgot about until yesterday!
See, when I paid for this study abroad program, I was told that part of the tuition would cover events and things, but they were never very clear about what exactly, probably because they didn’t know yet. Which is reasonable. Theatre is fickle.
Well, first of all, I’m going to see The Lion King, for free (for all intents and purposes at this point.) I’ve seen it before, but you know what? SO EXCITED.
More importantly, I’ve just gotten back from seeing a play I had never heard of, until I got the email that we could pick up tickets for it at the International Students Office. It’s called The Woman in Black and it has a reputation as a pretty scary play.
A well-deserved reputation.
It’s based on a book, and I’m pretty sure the play was adapted with a framing device, which was incredibly clever. An elderly man hires an actor/acting coach to teach him public speaking, so he (the old man’s name is Arthur Kipps) can tell a personal ghost story of his past to his friends and family. As the young actor tries to teach Kipps how to act, they end up transforming the dry read-through into a two-man play with minimal props, and an unseen lighting and sound mixer.
The actor plays the role of Young Kipps in their play, and the real Kipps plays everyone else.
It is amazing. I think the framing device really sold it. It is also so scary I screamed multiple times, and I was nowhere near alone. Dasi couldn’t come in the end, so I was sitting by myself clutching the programme for the whole second act, whispering “no, no, no” every time the actor as Young Kipps did something stupid like go through the previously locked door or something like that.
So scary. But it was wonderful, and it was the first thing that I got to do through the London Met. Study Abroad Office, so I’m hoping we get more events. There is a chance that we might be able to arrange our own events if we get enough people together. Peter and I are thinking about asking for a tour of the BBC studios. Why not?
