London Adventure - Plays
Dec. 5th, 2023 08:13 amI was going to do an entry for each of these but I don't think I really have enough to say. I don't want to do a full review.
Elf: The musical
Pre theatre dinner at an udon noodle place. Decided I quite like Marugame, especially on a chilly December evening! It was warm inside and the noodles were extremely tasty. Took a quick detour to find spare swimming gear for![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
flickums so she could use the pool, and went to the play.
The Dominion theatre is probably the most prominent of London's theatres. Right on the corner of Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street! So we went in, bought some overpriced snacks, and sat down.
The play follows the plot of the film pretty closely. There's even a narwhal! It's a lot of fun. Flickums was suitably shocked at the language when Buddy referred to himself as a "cottonheaded ninnymuggins" - I never thought there would be such language at childrens' show!
A Christmas Carol
This was the Mark Gatiss adaptation at Alexandra Palace (Or "Ally Pally" as locals apparently call it).
Actually getting there was an adventure in itself. Decided to catch a train - but apparently we can't tap for it (actually I think we were misinformed but didn't want to risk it). So we went to the ticket machine. It said there was no route! Eventually we gave up and went to the ticket office. Strikes again! But apparently we could get there and we had just enough time to get to the platform. Or would have done had I not gone in the wrong direction.
Ended up getting a tube then a long wait for a very full bus. We just missed a bus but at least we were at the front of the queue for the next one, and got a seat. I was feeling a little flustered about the whole travel fiasco though so flick bought me a hot chocolate and Baileys to calm me down.
The theatre at the Palace is very run down. It was closed in the 1930s, and reopened in 2018 - I imayine the pandemic slowed down resotration work a little. It feels like a ruin that has been adapted to a modern theatre. The once plastered walls are bare brickwork. Parts of the structure are damaged. The stairway walls are grimy and scratched. The stage has big gaps in the sides. However, there's a modern lighting rig installed on the ceiling and modern seats. On the whole though it added nicely to the atmosphere or 19th century London.
Did enjoy the play. As always with adaptations of A Christmas Carol, all the best lines come from Dickens.
Went out and the london weather had clearly followed us. Fog was a right pea-souper and no mistake!
Getting back to the hotel was frustrating. Buses in either direction would have been fine and they normally come every few minutes. We ended up waiting ages for a bus in the direction we chose. In the meantime, 4 buses passed in the opposite direction! I think public transport just hates us this weekend.
A Sherlock Carol
A much smaller production in the Marleybone Theatre - just past Baker Street. We stopped along the way to find the blue plaque for Dangermouse, of course.
Anyway, the theatre is just 200 seats - a tenth of the size of the other two venues. it also has a sloping floor which I discovered when I put my drink bottle down. The production was a small one with a cast of 6, playing around 20-30 parts between them.
The plot involved Sherlock - despondent after the death of Moriarty - being hired by the now adult Tiny Tim to solve Scrooge's murder. It's mainly a Sherlock Holmes story worked as a sequel to A Christmas Carol, but elements of the story has Sherlock taking on the role of Scrooge, revisiting his past, present and future.
There were certain technical issues with getting a candle to stay lit. Eventually Sherlock gave up and just carried an unlit candle. It was replaced by someone offstage with a lit candle, which promptly went out.
Still, technical issues were minor and I do enjoy these smaller productions.
Elf: The musical
Pre theatre dinner at an udon noodle place. Decided I quite like Marugame, especially on a chilly December evening! It was warm inside and the noodles were extremely tasty. Took a quick detour to find spare swimming gear for
flickums so she could use the pool, and went to the play.The Dominion theatre is probably the most prominent of London's theatres. Right on the corner of Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street! So we went in, bought some overpriced snacks, and sat down.
The play follows the plot of the film pretty closely. There's even a narwhal! It's a lot of fun. Flickums was suitably shocked at the language when Buddy referred to himself as a "cottonheaded ninnymuggins" - I never thought there would be such language at childrens' show!
A Christmas Carol
This was the Mark Gatiss adaptation at Alexandra Palace (Or "Ally Pally" as locals apparently call it).
Actually getting there was an adventure in itself. Decided to catch a train - but apparently we can't tap for it (actually I think we were misinformed but didn't want to risk it). So we went to the ticket machine. It said there was no route! Eventually we gave up and went to the ticket office. Strikes again! But apparently we could get there and we had just enough time to get to the platform. Or would have done had I not gone in the wrong direction.
Ended up getting a tube then a long wait for a very full bus. We just missed a bus but at least we were at the front of the queue for the next one, and got a seat. I was feeling a little flustered about the whole travel fiasco though so flick bought me a hot chocolate and Baileys to calm me down.
The theatre at the Palace is very run down. It was closed in the 1930s, and reopened in 2018 - I imayine the pandemic slowed down resotration work a little. It feels like a ruin that has been adapted to a modern theatre. The once plastered walls are bare brickwork. Parts of the structure are damaged. The stairway walls are grimy and scratched. The stage has big gaps in the sides. However, there's a modern lighting rig installed on the ceiling and modern seats. On the whole though it added nicely to the atmosphere or 19th century London.
Did enjoy the play. As always with adaptations of A Christmas Carol, all the best lines come from Dickens.
Went out and the london weather had clearly followed us. Fog was a right pea-souper and no mistake!
Getting back to the hotel was frustrating. Buses in either direction would have been fine and they normally come every few minutes. We ended up waiting ages for a bus in the direction we chose. In the meantime, 4 buses passed in the opposite direction! I think public transport just hates us this weekend.
A Sherlock Carol
A much smaller production in the Marleybone Theatre - just past Baker Street. We stopped along the way to find the blue plaque for Dangermouse, of course.
Anyway, the theatre is just 200 seats - a tenth of the size of the other two venues. it also has a sloping floor which I discovered when I put my drink bottle down. The production was a small one with a cast of 6, playing around 20-30 parts between them.
The plot involved Sherlock - despondent after the death of Moriarty - being hired by the now adult Tiny Tim to solve Scrooge's murder. It's mainly a Sherlock Holmes story worked as a sequel to A Christmas Carol, but elements of the story has Sherlock taking on the role of Scrooge, revisiting his past, present and future.
There were certain technical issues with getting a candle to stay lit. Eventually Sherlock gave up and just carried an unlit candle. It was replaced by someone offstage with a lit candle, which promptly went out.
Still, technical issues were minor and I do enjoy these smaller productions.
