Nicole schreibt...

London in summer, my usual trip of disappointment - at least as far as the weather was concerned for in all other aspects it was just fine. Since Lufthansa/Germanwings have abysmal times for their Heathrow flights once more and I was taking a friend along who had declared she wouldn't brave the Chunnel, I resorted to Easyjet and their flight to Gatwick, now that there's a somewhat decently priced bus service into town. We got into London around noon and spent a good two hours killing time at Patisserie Valerie before we could check into the Travelodge Covent Garden and head off into the West End.

The evening entertainment started with a genuine highlight - “Book of Mormon" having come across the Atlantic this spring. I was lucky enough to see it in New York before ticket prices there became extortionate, but it was towards the end of a very long day and when I had known nothing at all about the show so it was wonderful to revisit now, rested and familiar with the soundtrack. I had been a bit wary of Gavin Creel as Elder Price, since he looked just a tiny bit too old for a teenage missionary, so I was actually quite pleased to see that his understudy Ashley Day was on - who was absolutely fantastic and seemed very much at home in the lead already. Jared Gertner as Elder Cunningham wasn't -quite- as good as Josh Gad on Broadway, but still very loveable and together they made a great time. Great supporting acts all around, except perhaps Alexia Khadime's Nabulungi, who didn't work quite as well for me, feeling a bit too fake-chirpy. But it's still by miles the best new show of the last years and was wonderful to re-visit - a great evening indeed.

Next day I took my friend on a longish walking tour, first to the City and the Museum of London, then by way of Leadenhall Market across the Thames to Borough Market and along the Southbank back to the Westend, before a much deserved rest at the hotel.
Show for the evening was "Once", last year's big hit on Broadway based on the small Irish indie movie of the same name, which I had refused to see at Broadway prices. I had very much hoped it would come to a small London fringe theatre, but when they took it to the West End instead, I bit the bullet and bought £40 seats, front row, Upper Circle. Which is still about the utter maximum I think this show deserves as I strongly believe that a small musical with a small cast and no orchestra at all (the cast members play instruments) with a pub for its only setting should be done in a pub theatre - at corresponding prices.
Such as it was, it was a sweet little show with very little plot and some decent guitar pop songs, but with the Mormons and Charlie for competition this year, I can see how it would struggle to sell its overpriced tickets. The story isn't much to write home about either - Irish wannabe song-writer meets Czech pianist, they fall in love, she inspires him to actually try a career in music - and that's about it. It seemed to be a trip filled with understudies, for we saw Phoebe Fildes as the "Girl" opposite Declan Bennett's "Guy", a very talented young lady who'll hopefully go on to star in better shows. I believe that "Once" is a typical product of Broadway hype where "different" shows have always done well - probably deservedly so - but it just doesn't translate to a very strong show worth £65 (or $140). "Once“ - –just once indeed.

Friday, I finally returned to Hampstead Heath where I had wanted to return for years, but the weather was just a permanent disappointment – not that it was all that much better on Friday because it was still grey and very windy, so I just showed the view across London to my friend before we hurried back into town and dove into the crazyness that is Camden Market these days. At least I got to try yummy Brazilian street food and some gooey soft drink.
Show for the evening was something altogether different - the Black Cat Cabaret at Cafe de Paris in Leicester Square. It seems incredible to me now that for twenty years I walked the entrance of this club without knowing of its existance. And I only got Ben Aaronovich to thank for this, who wrote at great length about the Cafe de Paris and its amazing history in his book "Moon over Soho" (highly recommended, btw!). It's a classic cabaret these days, imitating the Roaring Twenties with a mix of cabaret acts, burlesque, variete and so on, while people sit at tables with dinner and (rather overpriced) wine or cocktails. It definitely was a very different and very fun thing to do that lasted well over three hours.

Saturday started with another amazing thing, having been invited by a very lovely and generous person to go up the Shard, that shit-ugly eyesore rising up beside London Bridge Station these days, and enjoy the view across London from the viewing gallery on the 72nd floor. Of course the best thing about the view was that the Shard was not in it. The second-best was the surprising fly-by of the Royal Air Force complete with fighter jets trailing clouds of white, blue and red and a 21-gun-salute by cannon down below us at the Tower. From the Shard it was down to a rather fancy restaurant in Borough Market with excellent fresh food and wines, making me stagger back to the hotel not before 4pm.

Luckily I was awake and sober again for the evening when the only play of this trip was waiting - the next instalment of the Grandage Season:“ The Cripple of Inishmaan" by Martin McDonagh starring Daniel Radcliffe. I've adored McDonagh's blacker than black humor since I first saw the movie "In Bruges" for which he had written the screenplay and it was great to see one of his plays live - never mind seeing Daniel Radcliffe again, who's really managed to move on from Harry Potter and mature into a really impressive stage actor, playing the cripple of the title here. Apparently based on a real event, the play tells of a Hollywood production descending on the Aran Islands in Ireland in 1934 to shoot a movie and discovers Cripple Billy, taking him to Hollywood to star in a movie. We don't actually see Billy in Hollywood, since the play deals more with the close-knit small community on the island - in a darkly funny way. Radcliffe carried the play well, supported by an all-around great Irish cast and I can't single anyone out here. Two and a half hour flew by and it was the perfect end to an overall great trip full of interesting and very varied shows.