Woot theatre!

Last night my mom and I went to see As You Like It down at the Globe. She’s going with her program next week after I’ve already left for the states, but she kindly agreed to go beforehand with me as a groundling. It was, without argument, the best production of anything that I have ever seen anywhere. Mom, a medievalist and avid theatregoer, agrees. The roles were written for those actors, and really there was never any thought of acting until after the show; they were the parts. I’m going agan tomorrow, and Mom may end up seeing this one thrice.

WOOT!

In other news, I spent a gorgeous afternoon in Regent’s Park wandering around and seeing The Tempest in the open air theatre. In comparison to As You Like It, it was lacking, but it was geared towards a gradeschool audience and had an amazing set, so I can’t complain. Ariel was also an incredible acrobat. He spent a good three quarters of his stage time effortlessly gracing around the rigging and making us landbound mortals jealous. Well, mortals in fact, if not in the context of the play. The entire production was staged as a reenactment for the audience of spirits (that’s us) of the events of the day spirits gained their freedom. Entering the theatre we each got a different colored ribbon with a line of verse on it, which later distinguished which sounds we made in Prospero’s tempests. I was a gold ribbon “Ye Elves of sands with printless foot” and so was charged with making the sound of rushing surf whenever Prospero raised his staff. The professor next to me had to beat her legs to make rain, and the other students were clapping to make hail, I think. We also got to bark like dogs, which was pretty cool. All in all, it was a fun afternoon.

again, Woot!

After wandering the park and meeting some overfriendly and photogenic geese, I discovered the Victoria & Albert museum, which is amazing. Once a week it’s open to 10pm, so Mom and I took advantage of that. It has the best and most accessible collection of Japanese art in the city, and I’m going back just to see the netsuki collection, though in a museum like that tangential exploration is inevitable. If you are in London at any point, I’d highly recommend the V&A tea room, as well. It was done by William Morris, as I recall, and has a good deal in common with the Whistler rooms at the Sackler gallery in Washington, D.C., only on a much grander scale and with stained glass, tile, plaster, and painting. The girl at the till is also an impressive opera singer, if you’re around at closing time.

Here are a few photos that I’ve taken over the past few days. Oddly, the 6.0 megapixel PS A540 is yielding better shots than the 7.1 megapixel PS SD750. How do you figure that?

just a wee bit of juxtaposition humor in a Georgian city

I ran into the setup for this concert of Waterloo Sunset when I was just tooling around on the riverwalk last night, so I stayed and was amused at the priority given to the press over the audience. We were shoved behind the walls of the skate park while the press ran around blocking our views. Ultimately, the best seats went to those who hadn't bothered to come. This fellow, however, was a friend of the chorus and very considerate, unlike his professional companions.

me, my satchel, and the ebbing Thames

techs at the Tempest

Obliging goose No. 1

Obliging goose No. 2

Oooooh, hey! I also started sticking a few things up on deviantart, although I know that’s akin to saying I’ve sold out to the netherworld. I’m just testing it to see if that might be preferable to atpic. We’ll see. If you want to throw in your opinions on the two alternatives (atpic vs DA), I’d appreciate it. After all, I’m doing this to share my work, so the audience’s opinion is important.