Theatre Week

Last week has been theatre week for us. On Monday we saw Pieter Dirk Uys doing his latest one man play – Evita for President. We had to take the tube to Kilburn for this – not too far – 3 tube stops from us. The Kilburn Theatre is well known for promoting talent that isn’t mainstream – plays that are on the alternative, more arty side. The performance was superb. PDU is such a phenomenon, taking on the personas of different everyday as well as high profile South Africans with astonishing ease. The funniest was when he played Adriaan Vlok washing Mbeki’s feet. Not sure if the audience understood the reference, but oh well, it was hysterical. I’d known about his Evita Bezuidenhout act way back when I still lived in SA. Well, he’s still doing it – and he has managed to maintain the high level of quality with fresh satire. The audience howled through the entire performance. He did something clever which was to scroll through the last 20 years of South African history in a funny, thoughtful way. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

On Tuesday we went to the Camden People’s Theatre to see an obscure Shakespeare play called Timon of Athens. Now talk about fringe theatre! The venue was this tiny room in a modest, warehouse type building. Two rows of chairs lined the four walls and the actors performed right in the middle of the room. It was amazing to be so close to them. I really enjoyed the whole thing. The actors were talented and brought to life a play I would not otherwise have known about.
Wednesday night we went to the New Globe and saw Merchant of Venice. The theatre as you guys probably know has been reconstructed to look like the original and so the performances are fashioned after how it was all done during Shakespear’s time. The common people stood out in the ‘yard’ in front of the stage and interacted with the actors – cheering them on or shouting comments/insults, or whatever. Daryl and I had ‘yard’ tickets – for the fun and experience factor. Of course, it chose to rain on Wednesday night, so there we were, standing in the pouring rain, watching the play in this wonderful setting. We stayed through the performance like brave souls!! I was really surprised at the marble columns and surfaces of the stage. Despite the rain it was a great experience. I loved the costumes of the actors. During the intermission we went into the swanky pub – The Swan – for a drink. This pub’s architecture is also representative of the Tudor period with its wooden stools and long tables – but all clean, new and immaculate. The pub has big windows with delightful views of the Thames and the buildings alongside. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a ‘cool’ London pub.
We have a few more plays lined up before we leave this great and wonderful city.

The weather has turned yucky. What a mood changer it is to wake up to cloudy skies. Don’t have much desire to leave the flat and brave the cool, rainy weather.

On Thursday evening it cleared up a bit so we went to the farmer’s market in Covent Garden. This weekly event during the month of August is to create some summer excitement. Turned out to be a disappointment. Way too crowded, impossible to actually see the products, and the whole event seemed too contrived and touristy. Overpriced produce, lots of artisanal cheeses, olives, oils, breads, and most interestingly wild mushrooms and truffles absurdly priced. Street performers did juggling acts and a young man sang folk songs which was fun to listen to. I used to love Covent Garden when I first started coming to London, but now it seems soulless, overrun with tourists, compared to other parts I’ve discovered. We wanted to sit down and have a drink and dessert and couldn’t find anywhere with the right atmosphere. We wandered out a bit and discovered Neal’s Yard. What a pleasant surprise! This open airy space with people enjoying wine and organic food, surrounded by old buildings which are colorful and pretty brought smiles to us. It had a beatnik look to it. We learned the restaurant here is one of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in London. We sat at an outside table and had wine and a custard tart. Up on the wall above us was a blue plaque that claimed Monty Python lived there from 1976!

Troy came out from Cambridge on Friday and we had a long dinner at the flat just chatting and relaxing. We drank lots of wine, then moved on to single malt whiskey. On Saturday Troy, Daryl, and I went to see friends of ours (Laura, Simon, and their 2 little girls Rosa and Ilana) on the Isle of Dogs near the docklands. We walked into Greenwich via the tunnel that runs under the Thames. We had lunch at a café and caught up on our lives. Then everyone else left and Daryl and I explored Greenwich a bit more. We took the DLR to Canary Wharf and explored that whole area which is all cleaned up, yuppified, and full of gleaming skyscrapers. We were astonished to find endless indoor malls with marble walls and expensive shops.

After all the walking around and exploring we decided to treat ourselves to a decent restaurant meal. In our rovings around London we always make a note of restaurants that serve quality veg food. We’d found a Chinese Vegetarian place near the Archway tube station last week, so we decided to give it a try on Saturday night. Turned out to be a superb choice. First of all the restaurant itself was tastefully designed with classy finishes. The menu was quite staggering in its options. It reminded us of a Buddhist restaurant we’d gone to in Beijing a few years ago. We had sweet and sour 'ribs' for starters, Peking ‘duck’ for seconds, and lemon ‘chicken’ and stirfried veggies for mains. Everything was done superbly with perfect seasonings and excellent presentation. What a find!! We returned home satisfied and exhausted.

We have two more weeks in London. Still so much more to see and do.