London Play

Off we flew to London on October the 10th! After dropping our things at Arianna's friends place we hurried into the city to see if we could get cheap Phantom tickets - the cheapest is usually at the box office, but for this show TKTS beat them by a very large margin so we walked the 5 minutes to save some money.

 We grabbed some very fast food in China Town and then went on down to the opera!
I saw the musical in danish over 10 years ago and it was nicer to see it in English - but my favourite part was definitely the costumes.

I was pretty happy with sitting upstairs because of the number of people on stage at times - it would have been so hard to follow along if you were sat in orchestra. I felt kinda stressed at times trying to get closer looks at all the costumes' details!

In the morning we went to the Palace Theatre to wait at the box office. We got there around 9 and we were the only ones there until a Brazilian dude came about 15 minutes before the box office opened. We had no real expectations of actually getting tickets, but since no other people were there and online reports had said to get there around 7 in the morning to have a chance... we were getting hopeful. And with good reason! We ended up snagging front row 1st balcony seats for almost half price ! Even tho 10 other people came out of nowhere when the box office doors opened - they must have sat in hiding in some café.

No people meant that we really had to take photos. Right?

We had an awkward 3,5 hours left until we had our already bought matinee tickets for Othello. So we took a slow walk (the tickets were standing) and then decided to sit down for a few hours, eating and sketching. We found this pretty cool café in an old church and it was nice to have good surrounding when we were staying there for a longer while.

 

It was a gorgeous day and unbelievably hot for October - which was great, because I'd been dreading an outside play this time of year.

We got to the Globe Theatre and after going to pick up our tickets from the box office we waited outside and inside the gate before being let into the groundlings area.

We were in the 2nd row of people, and had no one directly in front - so all was well. It was super cool to experience the theatre in its' actual function - and I was floored at how accessible and easily understood Shakespeare was as soon as it was played out! I loved André Holland as Othello, he was so intense and could could see him control his voice through his abdomen. Mark Rylance was Iago and he brought a lot of comedy to the play. I loved that they didn't wear microphones or anything, but I couldn't help thinking it might have been hard to hear from the seated sections. We had no trouble tho! It was the perfect lenght too, it wasn't too straining on the legs.

After an intense round of Shakespeare we realised that it was a little insane that we weren't done with theatre for the day. But we had to go see Potter! We went to Primark to see their selection and change our focus from Othello.

After grabbing a quick bite we made our way to the theatre. It was huge! Our seats were perfect tho, really easy to see everything.

We went up to the higher floors too and I gotta say I was real happy to not be sat at the top floor - it was dizzy-making how far down it was and I don't think you'd be able to see much. It was us even more happy with our seats! The show was surprisingly funny and I really liked some of the effects - like the air coming out of one of the students' ears. 

By the dreary end of the first part we were pretty tired and thankful that we could wait another day to see the 2nd part. We started Friday off right with a hefty brekky before changing houses to Suhi's.

We then headed to Southwark Cathedral to take some Sleeping Beauty photos since it was the most tourist-friendly I found in London. But I was told no pretty severely and actully told to bugger off in the end, even after having changed. I was pretty shocked over how rudely they had treated me and also severely disappointed after having looked forward to finally getting gothic photos.

I went back to Suhi and took a bath trying to cheer myself up before having to go back up to the city from Wimbledon. I honestly felt very full and didn't feel up for a very dark part 2 of Cursed Child.

 But we had the tickets and I tried to make it work. I was very thankful for Scorpius bringing some comedy, otherwise I think I couldn't have handled it.

It was a big and great experience seeing both parts, but I have to admit that I don't think it's worth the price if you aren't a fan. I was very impressed with the teen actors tho, they did such a good job.

And I think we got very. very lucky.

It truly had not been bad weather for one minute of our trip. Saturday we slept in and the spent the afternoon with Suhi. We wanted to go to the Orangery together, but it was closed. So we just walked the park.

 And then we walked to and through Portobello Road Market.

This house will haunt me forever, gosh how cute.

We had a big, late lunch at one of Suhi's favourite Indian chains and then went for a golden hour walk through Hyde Park.

The light and colours were gorgeous.

We walked briefly by Harrods and then went to a swing event in Shoreditch at Juju's. Emei joined the fun and so did Alessandra! It was cool to have a bit of a night out to finish with a bang before Ari went home the next morning.

I was on my own and headed into the city to get Matilda matinee tix. After succeeding I went on over to Brick Lane.

I explored a bit in the rain. It was raining all day and was surprisingly cold, so I had to buy a jumper.

Then I was off to see Matilda! Stephen would have joined me, but ended up not being able to make it, so I went solo. I still liked the show, but the Matilda was a little weak and the vocals weren't as strong as last time I watched it.

Then I met up with Stephen, Rob and Jade. I met the guys in Japan where we went to Fuji together and it seemed only right to eat ramen together after having a quick drink. We finished at an arcade.

We had a really fun time!

The next morning was another early one as I went to get Day Seats to Wicked. Since you can buy two for Wicked, I had asked Emi if she wanted to see it with me. I was there a little late but thankfully it was off season and we still got semi-middle seats. Then I walked down to a vintage store and found my dream suit, but it didn't fit haha.

I walked through Carnaby Street and the park before returning to Wimbledon to pack my things up and change houses - I was sleeping at Emi's for the remainder of my time in London.

We met up at Victoria station after some confusion and a dying phone.

I was so happy to watch this one with someone, since I've been wanting to see it for 8 years or something. We were both so surprised about the story - fantastic that we hadn't been spoiled at some point with the amount of Wicked art we see all the time. After the first act we had no clue what was going to happen haha.

We had such a good time. I loved sitting so close so I could really see the details in costumes - and we also got to make awkward eye contact haha.

Tuesday meant another early rise since I was getting King Lear tickets - this one stressed me out as there is only 8 tickets being sold. But I was 4th in line even arriving kinda late. Since the National Portrait Gallery was right around the corner I went there afterwards.

I'd never been and it was very nicely curated!

I enjoyed their focus on female artists and was surprised at how I never knew about the only reliable Jane Austen portrait.

I had passed the MinaLima house the previous day and found out they did little tours so I went for one Tuesday. It was mainly things I knew, but there were some new facts and it was cool getting things pointed out so you knew where to look.

Back down I went and entered the National Gallery this time. I remember loving it and was a little disappointed this time - it might have been the crowds or the fact that I was museumed out for the day that made me feel that tho.

There were some breathtaking pieces of course. This gothic angel will probably haunt me forever, gosh I love it.

I went back to Ippudo since they had 3 pound ramen for their anniversary. I got there at a good time where the line wasn't too long - and I juuust made it in time for the play. When I found out it had 5 acts instead of 3 I was very happy to have had a heavy dinner. Since the people in my row where the ones I had sat with in the morning we talked a lot - it was cool to discuss with someone else. We even waited by the stage door and got to see the actors.

After days of getting up early and to bed late, I slept in. I then headed for the British Musuem and was delighted by their collection. It was fun seeing more clearly the artistic inspirations that the Prince of Egypt team pulled from - like that river carving.

There were so many tourists tho and after a while I grew tired of getting my photo taken like I was part of the exhibit.

I tried for Book of Mormon tickets but failed. I then went to a London Film Festival red carpet and was allowed into one of the booths even tho I didn't have an arm band. I had fun sketching the red carpet but fucked up getting a photo with Aaron Taylor Johnson haha. But then I got a 5 pound ticket for the movie, so it was all right.

Thursday I got up a little later and tried to get standing tickets for the Hamilton matinee - which I did! It had been so easy to get day seats all week that I took a chance.Even tho I got there after box office opening and didn't even queue.

I then proceeded to the V&A and was stunned by their collection once my. I was sad to not spend longer there.

It is gorgeous both in collection and architecture.

Their special exhibit was Frida, but I stuck to their normal one.

And then it was time!

Entering the theatre was overwhelming. It was refurbished for the Hamilton opening and it is a stunning space with an intense amount of bar and lounging areas, all trying to top each other in terms of elegance. 

And the theatre was tiny! I thought I would be way up high and away from the stage, but it was comparable to seats on the first or second balcony!

I ended up really liking standing up and I could move to the rythm - and the show was amazing live. I was basically sobbing by the end haha.

I then went uptown to meet up with Louis and eat and get a drink in a bar. I ended up having to sleep on his couch as Emi didn't get home from Brighton that day, but it all worked out. We even saw some Brooklyn Nine Nine in the morning.

Off to meet with Gray for sushi and then to the Science museum!

That one fossil straight up looks like a dragon.

Yet another very pretty museum.

I remember thinking I was at Hogwarts as a kid coming there with my parents and I still had that same sense of wonder.

At night I met up with Cecilie whom I had run into as she was working at Ippudo. We met in the Book of Mormon lottery and then went to a chat and a shake. I got the musical ticket but I didn't really love that one - the humour felt outdated. Maybe I was just over it after seeing so many shows in one week?

 

In the morning I got up and took the bus up to Leicester to join Tina and Toby and their family for a wedding celebration. I stayed with them until Tuesday morning where I went back down to London and met with Emi before catching a flight home.

And we got Sleeping Beauty photos in Leicester. I am so happy.