To Kill a Mockingbird at The Barbican

To Kill a Mockingbird is, without a doubt, my favourite book of all time. I first read it for GCSE English and I distinctly remember being on holiday with my family somewhere in England, stuck in the back of the car, and practically wailing out loud. It moved me in a way no book had ever done before. It highlighted injustice and love within an area of history I knew very little about, and in a part of America that I hardly even knew existed. I have read it countless times since and it still has the same affect on me now as it did back then.

The Faulty Towers Theatrical Dining Experience

I've written before about the importance of British comedy in my life and Fawlty Towers has always been one of my favourite TV shows. So imagine my surprise when, sat making bath bombs at a Joe Blogs event, I see the spitting image of Manuel walk past holding a tray of drinks and looking very flustered. I assumed it was just a lookalike and shrugged it off as nothing special, until a few minutes later the doppelgängers of both Sybil and Basil Fawlty strolled past the door.

Philip Pullman's Grimm Tales

There's a lot of 'immersive' theatre going on across London. Punters are no longer satisfied with sitting down throughout a performance, instead they want to be at the heart of the action, interacting with the actors, feeling as though they are really in the setting of the play. I've been to Secret Cinema a couple of times and experienced this on a massive scale, but nothing on a more modest scale. The thought of being a part of Grimm Tales was both overwhelmingly exciting and equally terrifying.

2014 Review: Culture

I started compiling the list of cultural things I've done this year and was really surprised by how much I've done. As with my 2014 Review: Eating and Drinking post, living in London makes it really easy to take advantage of new shows and exhibitions frequently, and you can guarantee that any band that tours will always drop into the city for at least one night.

Anna Nicole: The Opera

What better way to portray the tragic life of one of celebrity's biggest victims then through the medium of opera? That's clearly what the Royal Opera House thought when they decided to put this on their schedule, and I couldn't agree with their decision more. Anna Nicole Smith's life was a tragedy played out in front of cameras; a life that when you look back on it, is as equally comical as it is sad. The juxtaposition between classical performance and our obsession with the rich and famous becomes a genius blend, confusing the audience as to whether they should laugh or cry at what's on stage.

Needless to say, I've never been to an opera that sings lines such as 'You need bigger tits!', but times they are a-changing, and what better way to give opera a broader appeal than to produce a show that blurs the lines between cultures so neatly? The show was hilarious and dark in equal measure. Of course, Anna Nicole, with her comically large boobs and ditzy personality are ripe for laughter, but the devastating premature death of her son and the pure hatred she experienced from her late (billionaire) husband's family were verging on heartbreaking. All facets of her life were shown, with all the disputes between truth and reality laid out too. Ultimately, nobody knows what was real, with her side of the story always muddled in between those of her family and her lawyer/lover, Howard Stern.

The setting for this show gave it real gravitas though. The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden is completely stunning, and it was my first time visiting so I was totally taken in by the beauty of it all. Obviously, the auditorium is layered with gold, decorated as you would imagine an opera house to be. The Royal Opera House also has a beautiful roof terrace and champagne bar that you can take advantage of during the interval. The view over Covent Garden piazza looked so peaceful from up above and the view made a welcome break from jostling at the bar or queuing endlessly for the toilet.

I'm wearing:
Leather jacket - Zara
Tee - Urban Outfitters
Culottes - Vintage

We were sat near the top, but we had a fantastic view, and we only paid £20 per ticket which is another great way to encourage opera skeptics to attend a show. We were sat next to two opera aficionados which was great, as they talked so enthusiastically about things like the 'incredible aria' the lead had performed, which was all adding to my opera education! He pointed out how he loves to watch the orchestra during performances, so I looked down there too, and it really is incredible how they are so perfectly timed and gracious throughout the whole show.

Make sure to keep an eye out for lower priced tickets for shows at all of London's theatres. They often sell out quickly or are released on the day, but it is a great way of experiencing a huge part of London's West End. We caught the closing night of Anna Nicole: The Opera, but you can catch some of the best bits on YouTube as well.

Life: June 2013

I can't believe I haven't even had time to write this little monthly Instagram round-up. End of June and July so far have been crazy busy at work, and then I took a much needed holiday to Spain. Now I've sorted my life out a bit I am going to try my best to blog a bit more frequently! So, June 2013:

Very proud of my Aztec nail art attempt!
My first trip to Meat Liquor. I was so full and SO happy.
My aunt's beautiful dog. She's old now and doesn't like as much fuss.
The penny farthing race at the IG London Nocture

My aunt's Marmite collection
An aerial view of my hometown of Milton Keynes from a business flight to Scotland
More nail art I'm proud of
The lumberjack breakfast at The Luxe: cinnamon french toast, pancakes, waffles and bacon

A good Friday night in
Sitting ON the stage at The Hothouse starring John Simm
Mr Darcy on Netflix
Revisiting Highgate Cemetery

Life: February 2013

Life has been so hectic recently, I haven't had any time to do much let alone blog which is disappointing, but here's what I have had time to do last month. More blog posts to come soon hopefully!

Dita von Teese signed bowling pin at All Star Lanes
Amazing food at Pitt Cue Co
Cocktails at the Experimental Cocktail Club
Valentine's Day cocktails with the girls

Cheer up post-its made for me at work
My housemate trying to flip pancakes
My February read given to me by Pink Julep
My sample sale Miu Miu boots!

  

All the glittery shoes at work
Chocolate milkshakes at Byron are a meal in themselves
Getting my hair did
NYFW inspired nail art

Let It Be at the Savoy Theatre with Vogue Alchemist
Cocktails a-go-go!
Pancake Day feast
Filming with Alex Loves for O2

Theatre: Legally Blonde the Musical - The Savoy Theatre, 31/01/12

I'm happy to admit that I have a soft spot for chick flicks. Of course there are some God awful ones out there (The Holiday is literally the worst experience I've ever had in my life and I'm sure must give childbirth a run for its money), but even a straight male can't deny that there are some that are hilarious, well scripted and worthy of your DVD collection. Amongst Dirty Dancing, Clueless, Romy & Michele and Bridget Jones the other film in my Top 5 is Legally Blonde. And it's had an inevitable transformation onto the stage, but as a musical. I was sceptical at first but when my cousin got a great Groupon deal for us to go and see it at The Savoy Theatre I couldn't resist.

The musical has been so naturally adapted that it you could easily be forgiven for thinking it had been produced on stage first. What's important to know about the film is that it is very very funny and is fully aware of the stereotypes it puts on blondes, sororities and American culture. If you are associated with any of those things and you can take a joke then you'll get it. It's the same type of satire that 'Shit Girls Say' has made a cult from on YouTube, after all, stereotypes have to come from somewhere to begin with, right?

This version of Legally Blonde is the most faithful to its original predecessor of any adaptation that I've ever seen, and although it is a musical, it doesn't drift from the plot and even (to my absolute delight) uses some of the best quotes from the film ("She does exercise, exercise releases endorphins, endorphins make you happy, and happy people just don't kill their husbands!"). There is even a real chihuahua playing Bruiser who elicited exclamations of delight from the audience every time he came on stage.

The cast were fantastic, from the suitably sleazy Warren (whose self-obsessed character is brilliant musical fodder) to the Delta Nu girls who were a preppy version of Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act and absolutely hilarious. I was a little disappointed by Natalie Casey as Paulette - although her actual performance and singing voice were superb, her accent was the dodgiest thing since Dick van Dyke's Cockney in Mary Poppins. Was it Texan, New York, Yorkshire, or a weird hybrid of all three?! The stand out performances for me were Tamara Wall who was perfect as workout queen on trial Brooke Windham and of course, the leading lady Carley Stenson as Elle Woods. I hope the professional critics were as wowed with her as I was, as after being in Hollyoaks there are bound to be some people who doubt her abilities. But this is a musical, and they wouldn't be on that stage if they couldn't belt out a tune. 

And oh my word, the tunes! The songs are absolutely inspired and are just as funny as the script. They blend seamlessly into the performance and add so much character to the actual scenes. My personal favourite? Gay or European - catchy and ridiculously fun. 

So, don't be put off by the overtly female pretence of this; look beyond the pink and the references to shopping and just enjoy a brilliantly scripted, jaw achingly funny and thoroughly enjoyable piece of musical theatre. Let me know what you think!

Book tickets here.
All photos from Legally Blonde the Musical website.

Theatre: Howl's Moving Castle

I was majorly excited to stumble across a leaflet for this production in a restaurant one afternoon. I know the story from the anime film, but that was originally adapted from a book by Diana Wynne-Jones, and the plot is mystical and bizarre - right up my street.

The performance was held at Southwark Playhouse, a little theatre hidden away on the corner of Bermondsey Street by London Bridge; so unassuming in fact that I walked past it twice before finding it. Tucked behind a pub, this place is actually an old disused Underground tunnel. Had I known this before going I may have reconsidered as it completely freaked me out - it was damp and cold in the actual theatre, but it provided such an intense and private atmosphere. We were stowed away, out of sight of anyone else; it was like the show was a one off, just for us.

The tunnels of Southwark Playhouse

The set was made entirely of plain white cardboard, just a big cut out castle with doors on either side and a window. It was so basic but so clever, as the story was brought to life with genius projections and sound. We were transported over snow capped mountains, into the sky and through villages with swooping lights and pictures put up on the plain background. It almost completely eliminated the need for props, as projections allowed Sophie to look into a mirror to see her younger self, and even to clean 'dirt' off the doors. It was all (pretty much) seamlessly synched.

The cardboard set

The use of the unusual space we were in was perfectly utilised by the character of Calcifier - the fire demon. He was projected in the fireplace, but was able to move by clever lighting making him 'jump' to different candle holders, and making his voice come out from different speakers around the venue making it seem as though he had really moved from right in front of you, to behind you, and back again.

There were only 3 actual present cast members, with the voices of Calcifer and the Castle (played by Stephen Fry) both pre-recorded, but their enthusiasm and take on what is ultimately a child's story was refreshing. Kudos to the woman who played Young Sophie/the Witch for learning so many lines, but it was maybe a slight error in the casting to have somebody with a notably foreign accent play a younger version of someone who is then played by somebody really quite British as the older version. But it didn't detract from the great storytelling, the bizarre and impish nature of Howl and, of course, the brilliant set design.

Howl and Young Sophie

I wish I could tell you to go and see it, but it finishes at some point this week. However, do check out Southwark Playhouse for more upcoming productions.

(Pics from Southwark Playhouse website, Exeunt Magazine and Theatre Fix)