January 20th

All the World's a Stage

 

Today was probably the most beautiful day since we got to London, at least weather-wise, even though it was a bit gloomy in the morning. This morning we had a talk with Jane Edwardes, a theatre critic from the magazine Time Out. After talking with two actors, it was nice to hear things from the other side of the theatre world. She also gave us a bit of background on the tradition of Pantomime. When I first encountered the term the other day at the theatre museum, I had automatically associated it with the method of acting things out only through movement (think weirdoes in black unitards who are always in a box you can’t see). Boy was I wrong! Apparently, Pantomime is a British theatre tradition they use to celebrate Christmas. They take a fairy tale, add a few songs to it, throw in some slapstick and some topical jokes, put in some crazy cross-dressing characters, and you’ve got yourself a pantomime. Sounds like fun to me. Jane also told us a little bit about how crazy the newspaper situation is out here. There are so many newspapers in London that they are overloading the market and creating some fierce competition. All of the newspapers have their own take on things. Some are more political than others, some approve of the current government, some do not, and some are more like tabloids. Despite the many different angles, there still is a major struggle for readers, and many of the papers are becoming more sensational to attract readers. This is why most theatre productions have a press night. This way all the papers can have the review out at the same time.

To access Time Out's webpage Click Here

For more information on British pantomime Click Here

Image courtesy of http://www.shalitglobal.com/press/jamelia.htm

 

After the talk, we headed out on our own for a while. A few of us headed out to Piccadilly Circus to pick up tickets for Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre. It was incredibly exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I hope that I will get some time to shop more there some other day, but we wanted to get to the theatre right away to buy our tickets. After getting out tickets, we stopped at a little convenience store for lunch. They had all sorts of sandwiches and filled pastries, much more than you would get at a 7-Eleven in the states. We each decided to try something different. The chicken spring rolls were good, the spinach puffs Amy and I had were not so great, and Cara could not stop raving about her chicken tika bake.

Photo of Palace of Westminster

 

After lunch, I decided to take advantage of the day’s magnificent weather. I walked towards Westminster, where we were meeting later for our tour of Parliament. I got there with quite a bit of time to kill, so I sat down in a park next to Victoria’s Tower and watched the boats on the Thames for a while. I had to soak up as much sun as I could. Who knows when I would see it again? Not only did this park have a great view of the Thames, but it also had some beautiful sculptures and monuments. At 4:00, the entire class met up for our tour of Parliament. I was a little worried that this tour would be boring, but I was very surprised. What I learned about Parliament sounded more like a theatrical production than government proceedings. The building was first a palace, so the official name of the building is Palace of Westminster, though Henry VIII was the last monarch to live there.

 

We entered through the sovereign’s entrance in Victoria’s Tower, and followed the path the queen would use on the day she opens Parliament. She enters through the Roving Room where her tiara is removed and replaced with a crown. The paintings in this room all depict the life of King Arthur. We then moved into the Royal Gallery. This room is full of portraits of all the royalty. They are not the original paintings though. Those are all over in Windsor Palace. The Royal Gallery is where any person not in the House of Lords can address one of the members, since only members of the Lords and the Queen can speak in the House of Lords. The queen would enter the house through the Princes Chamber and sits on her throne, which is covered with 2,000,000 pounds (money, not weight) of gold. In both the House of Lords and House of Commons, the current government sits on the right side of the room and the opposition sits on the left. Once the queen is seated, she sends the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod to the House of Commons to invite them over to the House of Lords to hear the queen’s speech. As he approaches the House of Commons, they close the doors before he reaches them (a tradition since Charles I entered with soldiers). The Gentleman Usher must then pound on the door three times with his staff. If the members of the House of Commons see he has no soldiers with him, they will let him in. They then follow him over to the House of Lords to hear the queen’s speech. I bet this would be quite the even to watch. Of course, anyone is welcome to watch the proceedings in Parliament any time they are in session. After Parliament is dissolved for the year, however, it technically does not exist until it is reopened the next year.

 

Photo of Victoria's Tower

Want more info on how Parliament works? Visit the Parliament website

 

After the tour, we had very little time before we had to make it to the Old Vic to see Aladdin. The building was a gorgeous Victorian style theatre which we have not seen much of until this point. It had a normal proscenium arch stage, but instead of directly facing the stage, the audience rapped around the theatre in an arch. Everything around the theatre was very ornate. This show was my first experience with British panto, and I was thrilled by every second of it. I always love things that make you feel like a kid again, and this production definitely accomplished that. Everything from the audience participation to the set itself could make the oldest in the audience feel like children. Children revel in the elaborate slapstick routines and chase scenes. And while the adults can also enjoy these elements, there are plenty of jokes directed just at the adult folks. Parents need not worry about appropriateness, however, since most of the jokes would go way over children’s heads. The set also had a very fun, childish feel. Quite often, the sets included crayon-like drawings and pieces of cloth strung across strings. Despite the simple materials, they created some very impressive sets, like the cave of wonders scene. The play shows the style’s roots in the Comedia Del’arte style through the type of humor it uses and some of the staple characters: the hero, the villain, the dame, and the two jesters, in this instance, two police officers named Hanky and Panky. These two characters, played by Matthew Wolfden and Andrew Spillet, were probably one of the best parts of the production. They had such great energy and timing.

Photo courtesy of http://www.theambassadors.com/oldvic/info/

Visit the Old Vic Theatre's website to learn more about the theatre or get ticket information for upcoming shows

 

Most of the characters were equally well performed. Roger Allam did a fantastic job as the villain, Abbanazar. Unfortunately, I ended up liking him so much that I did not have the heart to boo with everyone else when he came onstage. And of course, Sir Ian McKellen proved how truly talented he was by strutting his stuff in outrageous dresses and platform heels. His incredible star power, surprisingly, did not distract from the rest of the cast. The production threw in one Lord of the Rings joke early in the show, which helped put that issue out of mind quickly. For the most part, McKellen became part of the ensemble perfectly well. I walked away from that production with my most prized possession from the entire trip…After waiting outside the stage door of the theatre in the wind and cold, I was able to shake Sir Ian McKellen’s hand and get an autograph. It was quite an exciting night.

 

"Allison best wishes Ian McKellen" -- autograph from Sir Ian McKellen

 

Created by Allison Reese 01/31/06