West End Live

West End Live is an opportunity for people who can't afford to buy Musical tickets or maybe just don't have the time to see one to still get a taste of it. Or maybe you are just not sure what you want to see.

At WEL several Musicals perform up to three acts from their show on a stage at Trafalgar Square. This year it included old plays like Les Miserable, The Phandom of the Opera and Lion King as well as rather new ones like Aladdin.

Funnily enough I saw two songs from Wicked before going to see Wicked that afternoon. So even though I was in the very top circle at the far back I had a closer look at the actors earlier that day.

There isn't much to say except that you should really go and see it. Everyone is very talented and the atmosphere is awesome. I'm really happy to know about it.

Mousetrap and the View from the Shard

You know what sucks?

Having plans in the evening and nothing to do until then.
Looking for Musical tickets but them being damn expensive.

That's what happened on Saturday. Our Au Pair group was looking for three musicals specifically - Wicked, Mamma Mia! and Les Miserable - but there was nothing to be done for less than 40 pounds. 40!

Turns out that wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to us as we finally managed to go and see Mousetrap, the longest running theatre play in London which is based on a story by Agatha Christie. I won't tell you who the murderer is, but it was one hell of a play. Really entertaining, especially if you like the books, movies or any old detective story. I even met two of the cast at the Starbucks outside (which is a great one, with waitresses and funny little charging stations!) and talked to them for a bit.

After that my friend and I didn't actually have a lot of time, so we grabbed a bit at McDonalds and took the bus to the Shard. The impressive glass skyscraper operated with two lifts that get you to the two top viewing plattforms in no time.

And wow. The view is definitely worth it. We were lucky enough that my friend got tickets for two for her birthday, but even so you should spent the money if you can effort it. You can see everything from up there. London is a rather flat city besides a few modern buildings, but even those don't compare to the tallest building in Western Europe.

Tipp for your time slot: go shortly before sunset. That way you get to see the city while the sky turns darker and darker with beautiful colours changing the landscape until you can see all sorts of light - cars, buildings, street lamps - lightening up the dark grounds.

We stayed up there for more than an hour even though we were sure there was some kind of time limit, but on the other hand, we were the last time slot available. When we drove back down we were able to see our picture that was taken at the very beginning cropped out and badly photoshopped into a View from the Shard and lets just say... keep our eyes open when taking the pic. You will regret it later if you don't.

The day ended with our group, now reconnected to the rest who went home for a bit while we were up in the air, sitting on the couch eating pizza, drinking champagne and laughing about a guy we nicknamed 'paint brush' on "Ex on the Beach". Really, a show worth watching when you get drunk.

Musicals: Kinky Boots

(pic: thetimes.co.uk)

Kinky Boots. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Kinky Boots is a fairly new musical in London that three friends of mine and I decided to see last Saturday. With daytickets at only 25 pound it wasn't even too expensive (like some others).
Basically, the story is all about Charlie Price inheriting a bankrott shoe factory from his dad that he will probably have to close down. His plans to go to London with his fiance are destroyed as he has to try to save his fathers work. Then he meets Lola, a drag queen who complains about her shoes and how badly made they are. Charlie decides to start making 'kinky boots' for drag queens and manages to convince Lola to be the designer. They work together to overcome different obstacles like money shortage, prejudices and even a bit of love drama.

It's a wonderful show, I especially loved the singing and the costumes. The sassy and funny conversations made everyone laugh multiple times. I can really recommand it to anyone who wants to see something extraordinary.

Theatre

Jim Broadbent is a well known actor. To most young people he is Professor Kirke in Narnia or Horace Slughorn in Harry Potter. But he also playes in theatres!
His latest role is (was) that of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol in Central London.

It's a bit late now for a recommandation since me and my friends were there on Saturday for the second last performance. We got day tickets for the first row for only 10 pound; they are not exactly the best seats, but better than nothing. And who knows how much the actual good seats would cost.

Seeing the play was actually a huge coincidence! Our original plan was to go see a musical, our favorites being Mamma Mia! or Wicked. I arrived a bit early and started walking around when I saw the theatre A Christmas Carol was playing in. I already knew the theatre, it was the same I saw Daniel Radcliffe almost three years earlier in. I met the others and we decided to at least ask for ticket prices for the muscials. We could have gotten seats for Mamma Mia! for only 18 pounds (restricted view obviously). But we went with the theatre instead since, like I said, it was the last day. So four tickets for the afternoon show it was.

After getting lunch and walking around, we came back. And wow, it was truely amazing. Really funny, a bit ridiculous at times and the costumes were amazing. Props to the staff behind the scenes for that.
One of the funniest moments was when the entire cast broke the fourth wall and started packing away the equipment and later even threw chocolate coins into the crowd. Or was it the scene where Jim Broadbent confessed his love for a lady in the audience?

Great performance by everyone. Afterwards we went outside and to the stage door at the back of the building in the hope to catch some of the performers. We actually got three autographes! But we wouldn't get Jim Broadbent's until after the evening performance.

We actually didn't plan on staying so long after he didn't come outside in the afternoon, but we staying in CL for so long that we decided to try it. We spent the time eating Italian at Leichester Square, I had pasta and the others very well done pizza for a surprisingly low price considering the location. Then we went looking for a Shisha bar and eventually found one in a side street near Leichester Square station while looking for a different one. By the way, did you know there is a Starbucks that actually has people bringing you to your seat and taking your order? Fancy!
On our way to the tub station we figured out the evening performance of Christmas Carol was over and we decided to try it again. This time he had to come outside after all.
And yes, we got his autograph as well. I told him it was great, especially the breaking of the 4th wall, and then we left for good. Nothing exciting, but still a great memory (and yet another thing to show off with, lets be honest). If there is one place to meet famous people in Europe, it is definitely London.

Theatre

Trying to get tickets for Hamlet in the Barbican Centre is like climbing an active volcano; everyone thinks it's cool, only a few do it and it may result in death.

Therefore, I decided to turn up as early as possible without camping outside. Difficulties getting there included my alarm being set but only from Monday to Friday, me leaving the bus a stop too early and being tired of course. At least I got one more hour of sleep than planned, which means waking up at 3:30am. I actually got there at 5am. Waiting outside wasn't really bad as it cold but not freezing. I also had breakfast from McDonalds and a lukewarm cup of coffee to keep me awake and going. The girl that came after me actually offered me one of her newspapers to sit on and after a while we started talking about ourselves as well as the differences between Germany and Singapore.

When they let us in into the warmth I tried to take a nap, but as usual it was hopeless. Instead I allowed myself a hot chocolate, of course exactly at the moment when they started to get up and moving.
This was possible one of the worst moments so far. Not knowing if you get a ticket, let along two. Not knowing how many the others in front of you want. There were about forty-ish people and most of them only got one apparently, but you never know for sure.
When I got called to the desk it felt like the weight of the world got lifted off my shoulders. I wasn't the last one. Two tickets, ten pound each, for Shakespeare's Hamlet at 1:30pm. I was finally going to see my first Shakespeare play, and I was going to see Benedict Cumberbatch live.

After a bit of trouble meeting up with my friend we headed to the Museum of London for a really rushed tour. It was still nice, especially because it is a really interactive museum that also shows the culture from the 20th century, a period of time often left out or not shown a lot about.

Speedwalking back to the Barbican Centre to find our seats, B47 and B48 on the highest level, we didn't have time to sit down and eat calmly, but what were we suppost to do.
The play itself was breathtaking. The stageart and scenery was impressive and a mix of old and new just like the costumes. A mix of Nike shoes, band T-Shirts and official uniforms showed exactly who belonged on which side of the conflict. The actors themselves were realistic and obviously deep in character, though I'm no expert on this matter. The change from the first to the second part was so significant, you can only admire everyone who works behind the scenes and has to do this twice every day. Benedict Cumberbatch himself have a little speech about the refugee crisis after their bows which deserves our respect - not everyone would use their fame for such a matter, at least not at the end of a stage play.

Of course we waited outside the stage door after the performance, but as a member of staff told us Benedict himself wouldn't come out as he needed to rest. a lot of people left after this, but we waited for about twenty minutes for some of the other actors who would gladly sign our tickets.

Our plan was to go south to St. Paul's Cathedral after that, but we walked straight past the street we intended on using and instead made a little detour. Not that we complained about it, because on our way we saw a little wedding party leaving a church. Wanting to see the bride and the dresses of the guests we slowed down to a halt and watched when suddenly, a person caught my eye that looked fairly familiar.
Tom Hiddleston.
Tom Hiddleston, sporting an elegant suit, glasses and blonde short hair left the building. At first I couldn't believe it, I mean what are the chances?! But it was obviously him.
After a bit of awkward standing and sneeking obvious glances, obvious because he looked over several times, he made it clear with a headshake he wouldn't take pictures. Ready to walk away I was surprised when he came over really quickly to shake our hands, tell us that he wouldn't take pictures as it is a private wedding and that he was sorry. Which is understandable, so we assured him hastily that it is ok, said goodbye and turned around to go our way. he actually wished us a good day in the end. Now this sounds really nice and normal, but I'm pretty sure I looked like a crazy fangirl that stalked him or something. But well, at least I got a handshake and a little talk out of embarassing myself. It's not like he's gonna remember me.

Still a bit shaken (at least me, my friend didn't even know him!) we finally found St. Paul's and went inside. Little tip: go during a mess to get in for free. It looks amazing, you get to see the priest and hear the choir.
To get us warmed up we got a drink at Starbucks and then went down to the Thames to make a few night pictures. I'm still getting used to my camera, but I think the modus "night without tripod" makes the cloudy nightsky look really cool.

And again, that was about it. by now I wouldn't even be surprised if we ran into the Queen at Tesco considering everything that happened the last few days. And maybe I will learn to hold a conversation at some point!

(24. October 2015)