Theatre and Tea Time

Harrods's Tea Room
thebespokeblackbook.com

            One of my favorite memories on this trip was when I took myself on a date to have tea at Harrods before a matinee performance of my favorite musical Phantom of the Opera. I dressed nicely, ordered Harrods’s original Blend 49 tea and a warm chicken sandwich, and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon. I didn’t realize the routine of having a pot of tea here. When I have tea, I usually poor boiling water over a teabag, but at Harrods, they used loose-leaf tea, and when pouring from the pot to the cup, I had to place a strainer to collect the tealeaves. I felt so sophisticated!

Pinkies up!
(Just kidding. That's not a thing)

As I sat there, I reflected on what it’d be like to do that as a daily routine. Taking a small break during the height of the day to enjoy a warm pot of tea seems like it would be helpful for a lot of people. It would help calm our nerves, and we could have quick social time before finishing up work.

David Suchet as Lady Bracknell
www.importanceofbeingearnest.co.uk

Tonight, our final night, we saw The Importance of Being Earnest. When we studied the play before we came on this trip, we learned how important afternoon tea was during those times. Not only was a small meal between lunch and dinner, but also it was a time of catching up and gossiping. To most, it also showed levels of aristocracy in society.

            In the first act of The Importance of Being Earnest, the character Algernon prepared tea and cucumbers for his aunt Lady Bracknell and cousin Gwendolyn. Algernon’s best friend Earnest, who fancied Gwendolyn, proposed to Gwendolyn in her mother’s absence. When Lady Bracknell heard of this, she immediately interrogated Earnest to find out about his upbringing. This showed just how important social status was back then.

            This trip has been a trip that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I made lifelong friends and memories. It will be bittersweet saying goodbye, but I sure am ready to get home!

Until next time, London! 

To Eel or Not to Eel

            These last two days have been high paced and full of adventures! For our last "assignment" across the pond, we were given instructions to go on a quirky scavenger. Although I did not complete all of the requirements, I still had a great time exploring, and I will never forget our...endeavors.

Day 1:

The Victoria pub

A Black Velvet
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were a dearly loved monarchy. To commemorate Albert's passing, a bartender at a gentlemen's club created this drink.

Rameses II
This GIANT bust inspired Percy Bysshe Shelley to write his famous sonnet about the “King of Kings.”
It weighs 7.25 TONS and dates back to 1250 BC

I needed to find a hat like Sherlock...I think this counts, right?
Creativity points?!

Vangough's Sunflowers was also an item to find on the list, but the room was closed due to a strike.

I think the gift shop version can count, though.....right?

William Shakespeare
This is known to be the ONLY portrait of Shakespeare drawn from life

London's oldest bookshop...

...where we took part in the
“Favourite Novels of the Past 200 Years” poll...

...and saw BILL NIGHY!!
(on the right)

Rothko's Seagram's Murals
These paintings were originally intended for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City

Perseus and Adromeda
We went to the National Gallery to find this painting, but when asking an employee of the museum,
we were informed that the painting was placed in storage...
Well we tried!

Day 2

The blue plaque for Benjamin Franklin
aka Richard Saunders

James Burbage who built the first workable theatre "The Theatre"
in 1576, is buried here!
We thought a selfie was necessary.

We enjoyed some delicious mango lassi at the Bangle Village on Brick Street!

After almost two and a half hours of looking for a restaurant that sold jellied eels,
a delicacy over here, and finding out we reached every restaurant too late,
we decided to end our day laughing at our luck over some delicious fish and chips!

(Insert Abbey Road photo once taken)

            This study abroad trip has been an amazing trip, and I wouldn't trade it for the world! No matter how many silly lows we encountered, the highs were worth every penny! Until next time London! Pip pip and cheers to you!

The Seagull

www.visitlondon.com

            When I heard that we were going to see Chekov’s The Seagull in an open-air theatre, I didn’t know what to expect at first. As we walked through the romantic Regent’s Park and passed hundreds of multicolored roses and other beautiful gardens, I started to wonder just how this place was going to look. I pictured a small amphitheater surrounded by a large lawn where we could lay down picnic blankets and lawn chairs. However, that image disappeared from my mind once we walked up to the theatre’s entrance.

Regent's Park rose gardens
www.theguardian.com

            We stepped through the gates, and a tall, round green wall covered by ivy used as a cover for the cafes underneath was in front of us. We entered the actual theatre space, and it was the same size as a typical indoor theatre. The stage was an actual stage and not just the grass; although, there was turf placed on the stage for the first half. Two bare fake trees supported a giant mirror that reflected the stage floor, which also brought attention to the mirror’s purpose in the play. Behind the stage were beautiful foliage and a small manmade pond.

Regent Park Open Air Theatre
www.visitlondon.com

            It was pretty chilly that evening which sometimes took me out of the play because I was distracted with keeping myself warm. There were; however, a few moments where being outdoors worked as a huge advantage with scenery. During a scene transition, while the actors were setting up two huge lawn umbrellas, the sun peeked from behind the clouds and shown through the trees. The leaves became this shimmering emerald shade, and a beautiful glow came over the stage that only nature can produce. Another moment that was unintentionally enhanced by the natural surroundings was in the first half of the final act. Act four starts out on a stormy night, so, just like an indoor theatre; lighting and sound effects were used to create a storm on stage. They also used pipes to create a rain curtain at the back of the stage. This created the dimension that separated the “indoors’ from the outdoors. While this melancholy scene progressed, it started to actually mist on the audience. This really added to the effect of seemingly eavesdropping on a forbidden and intimate moment.

            Although this play was not my favorite among the many other shows we watched on this trip, the outdoor setting entranced me, and I will be looking forward to any other open-air theatre opportunities that come my way!

Through the (Fringe) Looking Glass

thenudge.com

            Take a journey with me. Let’s tumble down the rabbit hole and let our imaginations take flight! This weekend I attended the Fringe Theatre performance of Alice’s Adventures Underground. It was a fully engaging experience and definitely worth the pretty steep tickets. The walk to The Vaults, the venue where the performance took place, was an adventure in itself. Brianna and I had to walk through the graffiti tunnel, a legal graffiti site, underneath the Waterloo train station. It was an uneasy tread for me at first, but I knew that it would all be worth it.

The graffiti tunnel
witness.theguardian.com

            We finally arrived at the venue with no time to spare (we were not the best when it came to directions), checked in and queued up with the rest of the group. We were then led into a small room that was full of junk including piles of cardboard boxes, mirrors on every wall, developing photographs, a bookcase and a grandfather clock. After a few moments of wandering around the room, we heard a faint knocking noise. Once we turned around to see where it was coming from, we discovered that a projection of the actress playing Alice was playing on the mirrors to give us instructions. As we listened to her, the lights flickered, the grandfather clock chimed and the bookcase flew open to reveal a pathway lined with book pages layering the walls and floor and hanging from the ceiling. We walked through the passage and ended up in a mirrored circular room with a clock as the ceiling. Soon, the room became the rabbit hole and the illusion of us falling lead to the opening of a new door and us ending up in Wonderland!

Alice reading
independent.co.uk

            This was where we met the White Rabbit and decided which path to take with the choices of “Eat Me” or “Drink Me.” Brianna and chose “Eat Me” and our adventure in Wonderland was finally underway! I don’t want to spoil too much since I already gave away the beginning, but I will try to continue without giving away much more. Once we chose which path to take, we were then broken up into two suits, either hearts or diamonds, and from there, our small group was broken up into two smaller groups and were taken on other story lines! Along the way we interacted with other characters including Humpty Dumpty, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, the Mad-Hatter and many more. We were given certain tasks along the way. Finally at the end, all groups ended up together again in the Queen of Heart’s courtroom.

The White Rabbit, March Hare and Mad-Hatter
photos.alastairmuir.com

            Usually in theatres, there is this thing called the fourth wall, the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. Alice’s Adventures Underground however, DEMOLISHED the fourth wall. It had the feeling of a maze or a haunted house that we walked through at Halloween, but it had a story line all the way through.

            

            This was one of my top five favorite performances that I’ve seen over here, and I plan on seeking out more performances like this one that I experienced in The Vaults of London.

Here is a teaser for Alice’s Adventures Underground: https://youtu.be/329RrbNHTac

Bend It Like Beckham

www.pheonixtheatrelondon.co.uk

The Harriers
http://benditlikebeckhamthemusical.co.uk

            I have been spoiled this trip. The weather has been amazing, I have seen more shows this month than I have in the past few years, and I’m getting to experience new culture everywhere I go. We got to see a preview of the musical Bend It Like Beckham, based on the 2002 movie. I had never heard of the movie, and I had no idea what to expect. Previews of theatrical productions are full-length performances for the public, but they are mainly used to find issues and improvements before the show is officially open.

Jess (in red) and her family
http://benditlikebeckhamthemusical.co.uk

            Earlier on the day of the show, we met with the show’s lighting designer Neil Austin. He gave us information about his life in the design world and all the drama that comes with it. One risky design choice we discussed and a main point of concern was the decision to make the stage a bright yellow. Usually with musicals, bright colors and flashy lights are what come to mind when it comes to design. Yellow; however, is one of the worst colors to use as a base to be tinted with other colors. With this concern in my mind, I contemplated how the color scheme would appear onstage. My worries were put at ease, thankfully!

            Bend It Like Beckham is about Jess an 18-year-old Indian girl from a strict family that did not approve her dream of wanting to play soccer and her adventures of following her vision, with the support of her friend Jules and coach Joe. Because the plot is somewhat based around Indian beliefs, a lot of Bollywood elements were incorporated to the production including dance moves, attire and song style. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this production because it gave me a new look on different cultures and common dreams shared around the world.

Horrible quality, but we met
Jamie Campbell Bower!!