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Day 60
First musical was Once at the Phoenix Theatre for £22 (dress circle). The set is made to look like a bar, and all other props/equipment are wheeled in during transitions. What was interesting was that before the show started and during intermission, the stage was used as an actual bar (but with bottled drinks, the taps weren't functional). Before the show started, there was also a gig on the stage with musicians playing folk songs. As the show started, I realised that these musicians were actually the actors in the musical.
Once tells the story of how music brings two people from opposite worlds together. It was a lovely story which was surprisingly funny, and kept me thoroughly engaged. I was drawn into the story and really felt for the characters. The songs themselves are nice and melodic, but not generally upbeat or catchy. As the musical ended and the lights came on, I was completely taken aback. I actually didn't want it to end, and was actually hoping that there was an extra intermission. It couldn't end that way!! I won't reveal how it ends, but please watch it, and come talk to me about it. I am dying to discuss the ending with someone!!
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Day 61
I had been planning this day for weeks in advance with Lucy, and it had finally come - we were going to see Lion King!! Showing at the Lyceum Theatre, we paid £88 to be in the second row of the Royal Circle (still up above but better than dress circle). I later realised that that equated to about $150AUD; it looks deceptively cheap in pounds.
The Lion King was absolutely mesmerising. What really captured me was the costumes, and how creative and intricate they were. The songs and dances just blew me away; was definitely a fan of Circle of Life and Just Can't Wait To Be King. The set was awesome, with pieces coming down from the top, as well as rising from the floor, including the spiralling Pride Rock. I was absolutely amazed how they portrayed the wildebeest scene. The actors really brought the story alive (although it was interesting to hear some of them speaking in British accents), and kudos to the child actors who portrayed Simba and Nala. Gotta love Rafiki as well, such a comical character.
All in all, definitely a show you should see. I can't stop raving about it. Despite the relatively high cost, I think it's worth it for the theatrics. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see it on Broadway (my own fault for thinking it was too expensive; turns out I paid more to see it in London), and then doubly disappointed when I missed getting tickets for the Sydney shows with friends. Guess it all worked out well in the end!!
After the show, Lucy and I made our way to Stable Markets, near Camden Markets, for dinner at Chaka Zulu, a South African restaurant where we could sample some of the animals we had just seen dancing and singing in front of us. We tried boar and zebra, although if no one had told me it was zebra, I would have just thought it was beef. It was a great dinner in a very fancy restaurant with excellent interior decoration. Was such a great day, and was definitely worth all the planning and the waiting. Despite being in London, we had such an amazing African day. Expensive though (the meal was £55). Oh well, Hakuna Matata!!
Day 62
Breakfast with Lucy in Kentish Town before we headed to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. It was pretty much converted to an amusement park with rides and stalls everywhere. However we were there for only one thing and that was the outdoor ice rink. We hadn't booked online (saving £3 each) but there was heaps of space left for our one hour session. Even though I hadn't skated in years (prob the last time was in Bruges three years ago), I had no issues on the ice. I guess it's like how you never forget how to ride a bike. Lucy and I skated like pros around all the struggling noobs, wondering just how we were going to last one whole hour just doing laps. We managed somehow. Towards the end, Lucy fell over, which I managed to catch on video (the only video I took while on the ice!). As our time ran out, we left the rink and explored the rest of the Winter Wonderland before we said our goodbyes, and Lucy headed off to meet her family friend and head back to Birmingham.
Going solo again, I headed to the Science Museum to nerd it up since that was one of the museums I hadn't managed to see last time. Like most of the museums and galleries in London, it was free admission (with a suggested donations box at the exit). It's a really cool museum which really aims to make science fun and engaging, with interactive games and displays everywhere. It's probably aimed at a younger audience than myself but adults can appreciate and still have fun in this museum. Even in two hours, I still didn't see everything. It dedicates wings and floors to different sciences, and I was most engaged by the biology floor, especially the section relating to genes and DNA. Just personal preference haha. I'm such a nerd.
Anyways, that night I saw Stomp at the Ambassador's Theatre for £30 (dress circle, accessibility row so I had heaps of leg room). No real story to this show. It's set in a junkyard of some sorts and the characters are all dressed in dirty workman's clothes. There's no dialogue in this show (any "talking" is gibberish much like in the game The Sims). And the show is based around the amazing array of music that can be produced from using just simple everyday objects. The actors are all in sync with each other with extremely intricate and elaborate acts requiring precise movements. I wonder how many hours of practice goes into perfecting these acts. Despite not having any dialogue, there were still many hilarious moments, with certain characters taking on the role of comedic relief. My favourite part of this show was the interactive component, when they had the audience participate by clapping, stamping and clicking in time to create a (slightly off-key) wonderful piece of "music". A very enjoyable show.
Day 63
Harry Potter Studios!! Located a bit outside of London, this was where the movies were filmed, and where the sets were created and stored. Massive crowds as expected. I booked in for an 11:30am session, but didn't get in til 12pm with the lines. The tour started off with a brief documentary about the films and the sets, before the giant doors opened and we were ushered into the Great Hall. I was giddy with excitement. I honestly just wanted to sit down at the tables and start gobbling down all the food on the tables (yes I know they're plastic but they still look damn good).
From there we were free to explore the sets as we pleased and at our own speed. I had an audiovisual guide with me, and being such a fan, I watched every single video on that guide as I walked around. You could see Dumbledore's office, the dungeons with the potions classroom, the Weasleys' Burrow, the Gryffindor common room and the boy's dormitory, Hagrid's hut, Umbridge's office, and so much more. There were also mannequins with the various costumes of the characters, along with wigs and facial hair. I made my way outside to the larger sets, including Privet Drive, Godric's Hollow and the Hogwarts Bridge. Outside was also where the large sculptures were kept (chess pieces, Riddle's grave) as well as the vehicles (Knight bus, Ford Anglia, Hagrid's motorcycle). You can even get butterbeer out here (although it tasted different to the one I had in Universal Studios in Orlando). Once I was done outside, I headed into the final studio, which was where all the creatures were housed. There were animatronic models of Dobby, Aragog, Hagrid (apparently in some scenes where Hagrid isn't in focus, an animatronic head is placed on a really tall guy to make Hagrid even taller than the real actor), as well as models of the mermaid, inferi and basilisk just to name a few. From there, it was onto the final room where there was a huge scale model of Hogwarts castle. It truly was amazing just how detailed it was. Just walking around that model showed me just how big and elaborate the castle really was. As I finished up with several purchases from the gift shop, I realised that I had spent four hours here. Wow. Time really does fly when you're having fun. So magical.
That night, it was Mamma Mia at the Novello Theatre for £40. My ticket said Row C, but when I got there, to my surprise, there were no Rows A or B. I had a front row seat!! This musical is about a girl who after reading about her mother's exploits back in the day, invites three men (all of who could be her potential father) to her wedding in an attempt to discover her real father, with the entire story set to the ridiculously upbeat and catchy songs of ABBA. If you've seen the movie, then you'll have an idea of what the theatre version is like. It's pretty much the same except with a few extra songs (and that the character of Bill is Australian in the theatre version - was so tempted to yell out "Aussie!!"). I'm a fan of the ABBA songs so I quite enjoyed this musical. It's just such a fun and happy show to see, and you'll find yourself tapping your feet to the music and singing along without realising. Great fun way end to a very magical day.
Day 64
Like three years ago, I lined up at the Wicked box office at the Apollo Victoria Theatre at 9am in order to get front row tickets for £30. Once again, I was there needlessly early. I could have gotten there at 10am (when it opened) and still gotten tickets. Anyways, tickets secured for both myself and Elina, I headed off to Greenwich for the day. Saw the Naval Mueseum, the Painted Hall, the Chapel, the Queen's Apartments, all of which were situated on the way to the main attraction which was the Prime Meridian (where we get Greenwich mean time from). I climbed the hill up to the Observatory and the Prime Meridian, and was bombarded with so many tourists doing the usual photo of having one foot on either side of the Prime Meridian (not to say I didn't do that either). Eventually that tour group left and I was able to spend some quality time alone with the Prime Meridian. It wasn't as impressive as I had thought. After all, it was just a line on the ground. But I guess the fact that time is measured from here makes it pretty important. Checked out the adjacent Observatory as well as the nearby Planetarium which had a really cool photograph exhibition of the night sky. As I headed back to the train station, I stopped by the Greenwich markets for a quick peruse and lunch and then Cutty Sark (an old ship converted into a museum).
As bad luck would have it, the station which I needed to get into for the show was experiencing faults and extreme congestion issues resulting in its closure. Had to get off at the station before and run to the theatre. And as most roads were under construction, it was damn near impossible to find my way there since barricades would run along the entire street, forcing you to cross at intersections. In the end, I made it to the theatre (all puffed out) but because the show had started (only a few minutes), we had to sit at the back of the theatre and wait until intermission before we could make our way to our seats in the front row.
Wicked is about the untold story of the "wicked" witch from Wizard of Oz, exploring how she grew up and how she became wicked. There's a lot of little references to the Wizard of Oz which are quite fun to pick up on. The story is quite cleverly written, and the songs are absolutely phenomenal, especially the famous "Defying Gravity". Set and costumes are magnificent and extremely detailed. Even though I had seen it before, it was still just as good the second time. It's just such a lovely story, and quite funny as well. Who knows, this may become a tradition where I have to see Wicked every time I come to London. If you do come, do what I did, and line up at the box office for front row tickets. Every day. From 10am. £30. Do it.
Day 65
Last full day in London. Coincidentally, it was Francis' first day in London. After a rocky start with a misunderstanding of directions (I maintain, on Francis' part), we found each other after 90 minutes of waiting. It just so happened that we both decided to just head off and try and arrange another meeting point and time when we bumped into each other. We spent the morning sightseeing, doing the usual sights of Buckingham, House of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, etc. Had a traditional lunch of fish and chips, before I headed off to see Book of Mormon, while Francis continued his sightseeing.
I had booked Book of Mormon in advance given its popularity for £50 (towards the back of the stalls). Showing at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Book of Mormon tells the story of two Mormons on a mission in Uganda, and their plight to spread the word of the Mormon. This was written by the creators of South Park and as expected, it's littered with politically incorrect and downright sacrilegious songs. But it is so damn hilarious!! I have never laughed so much during a musical. The two lead characters were portrayed beautifully, both with their own quirks and nuances, and the songs were so upbeat, catchy and just in-your-face shocking at times. But I guess that's what sets this musical apart from the rest. I understand why it's so popular. Although I do wonder how a religious person would react while watching this song. Honestly, I think this is the best musical I have seen (or will see). Go see this one, if you can get a seat that is.
Met back up with Francis and we went to a steakhouse for his birthday dinner and then off to Haagen Dasz for his birthday sundae (was too ceebs getting a cake). Dessert ran a bit long and we found ourselves having to run to the Cambridge Theatre for our 7:30pm showing of the musical Matilda (£37 for dress circle). The story is about a little girl who finds herself unappreciated by her family and up against an evil headmistress, all the while trying to find happiness (and also having powers at the same time). It was slightly different to the book and the movie versions, and honestly I was pretty bored during this musical. A cast of predominantly children, it was impressive to see such good acting, but the songs weren't that well sung (perhaps given their lack of professional singing/training). It may have also been that I had just come from seeing Book of Mormon, so nothing could really compare after that. Anyways, everyone else who has seen it has raved about it, so perhaps it's just me.
So that's London. I saw 8 shows (including Pentatonix) in 7 days. Blew £320 on them, but oh well. At least I can say that I truly took advantage of what London's West End had to offer. Now to save up my money for my next trip to London and my next musical binge.
HBL signing out from London, UK.
I had been planning this day for weeks in advance with Lucy, and it had finally come - we were going to see Lion King!! Showing at the Lyceum Theatre, we paid £88 to be in the second row of the Royal Circle (still up above but better than dress circle). I later realised that that equated to about $150AUD; it looks deceptively cheap in pounds.
The Lion King was absolutely mesmerising. What really captured me was the costumes, and how creative and intricate they were. The songs and dances just blew me away; was definitely a fan of Circle of Life and Just Can't Wait To Be King. The set was awesome, with pieces coming down from the top, as well as rising from the floor, including the spiralling Pride Rock. I was absolutely amazed how they portrayed the wildebeest scene. The actors really brought the story alive (although it was interesting to hear some of them speaking in British accents), and kudos to the child actors who portrayed Simba and Nala. Gotta love Rafiki as well, such a comical character.
All in all, definitely a show you should see. I can't stop raving about it. Despite the relatively high cost, I think it's worth it for the theatrics. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see it on Broadway (my own fault for thinking it was too expensive; turns out I paid more to see it in London), and then doubly disappointed when I missed getting tickets for the Sydney shows with friends. Guess it all worked out well in the end!!
After the show, Lucy and I made our way to Stable Markets, near Camden Markets, for dinner at Chaka Zulu, a South African restaurant where we could sample some of the animals we had just seen dancing and singing in front of us. We tried boar and zebra, although if no one had told me it was zebra, I would have just thought it was beef. It was a great dinner in a very fancy restaurant with excellent interior decoration. Was such a great day, and was definitely worth all the planning and the waiting. Despite being in London, we had such an amazing African day. Expensive though (the meal was £55). Oh well, Hakuna Matata!!
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Breakfast with Lucy in Kentish Town before we headed to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. It was pretty much converted to an amusement park with rides and stalls everywhere. However we were there for only one thing and that was the outdoor ice rink. We hadn't booked online (saving £3 each) but there was heaps of space left for our one hour session. Even though I hadn't skated in years (prob the last time was in Bruges three years ago), I had no issues on the ice. I guess it's like how you never forget how to ride a bike. Lucy and I skated like pros around all the struggling noobs, wondering just how we were going to last one whole hour just doing laps. We managed somehow. Towards the end, Lucy fell over, which I managed to catch on video (the only video I took while on the ice!). As our time ran out, we left the rink and explored the rest of the Winter Wonderland before we said our goodbyes, and Lucy headed off to meet her family friend and head back to Birmingham.
Anyways, that night I saw Stomp at the Ambassador's Theatre for £30 (dress circle, accessibility row so I had heaps of leg room). No real story to this show. It's set in a junkyard of some sorts and the characters are all dressed in dirty workman's clothes. There's no dialogue in this show (any "talking" is gibberish much like in the game The Sims). And the show is based around the amazing array of music that can be produced from using just simple everyday objects. The actors are all in sync with each other with extremely intricate and elaborate acts requiring precise movements. I wonder how many hours of practice goes into perfecting these acts. Despite not having any dialogue, there were still many hilarious moments, with certain characters taking on the role of comedic relief. My favourite part of this show was the interactive component, when they had the audience participate by clapping, stamping and clicking in time to create a (slightly off-key) wonderful piece of "music". A very enjoyable show.
***********************************************
Harry Potter Studios!! Located a bit outside of London, this was where the movies were filmed, and where the sets were created and stored. Massive crowds as expected. I booked in for an 11:30am session, but didn't get in til 12pm with the lines. The tour started off with a brief documentary about the films and the sets, before the giant doors opened and we were ushered into the Great Hall. I was giddy with excitement. I honestly just wanted to sit down at the tables and start gobbling down all the food on the tables (yes I know they're plastic but they still look damn good).
From there we were free to explore the sets as we pleased and at our own speed. I had an audiovisual guide with me, and being such a fan, I watched every single video on that guide as I walked around. You could see Dumbledore's office, the dungeons with the potions classroom, the Weasleys' Burrow, the Gryffindor common room and the boy's dormitory, Hagrid's hut, Umbridge's office, and so much more. There were also mannequins with the various costumes of the characters, along with wigs and facial hair. I made my way outside to the larger sets, including Privet Drive, Godric's Hollow and the Hogwarts Bridge. Outside was also where the large sculptures were kept (chess pieces, Riddle's grave) as well as the vehicles (Knight bus, Ford Anglia, Hagrid's motorcycle). You can even get butterbeer out here (although it tasted different to the one I had in Universal Studios in Orlando). Once I was done outside, I headed into the final studio, which was where all the creatures were housed. There were animatronic models of Dobby, Aragog, Hagrid (apparently in some scenes where Hagrid isn't in focus, an animatronic head is placed on a really tall guy to make Hagrid even taller than the real actor), as well as models of the mermaid, inferi and basilisk just to name a few. From there, it was onto the final room where there was a huge scale model of Hogwarts castle. It truly was amazing just how detailed it was. Just walking around that model showed me just how big and elaborate the castle really was. As I finished up with several purchases from the gift shop, I realised that I had spent four hours here. Wow. Time really does fly when you're having fun. So magical.
That night, it was Mamma Mia at the Novello Theatre for £40. My ticket said Row C, but when I got there, to my surprise, there were no Rows A or B. I had a front row seat!! This musical is about a girl who after reading about her mother's exploits back in the day, invites three men (all of who could be her potential father) to her wedding in an attempt to discover her real father, with the entire story set to the ridiculously upbeat and catchy songs of ABBA. If you've seen the movie, then you'll have an idea of what the theatre version is like. It's pretty much the same except with a few extra songs (and that the character of Bill is Australian in the theatre version - was so tempted to yell out "Aussie!!"). I'm a fan of the ABBA songs so I quite enjoyed this musical. It's just such a fun and happy show to see, and you'll find yourself tapping your feet to the music and singing along without realising. Great fun way end to a very magical day.
***********************************************
Like three years ago, I lined up at the Wicked box office at the Apollo Victoria Theatre at 9am in order to get front row tickets for £30. Once again, I was there needlessly early. I could have gotten there at 10am (when it opened) and still gotten tickets. Anyways, tickets secured for both myself and Elina, I headed off to Greenwich for the day. Saw the Naval Mueseum, the Painted Hall, the Chapel, the Queen's Apartments, all of which were situated on the way to the main attraction which was the Prime Meridian (where we get Greenwich mean time from). I climbed the hill up to the Observatory and the Prime Meridian, and was bombarded with so many tourists doing the usual photo of having one foot on either side of the Prime Meridian (not to say I didn't do that either). Eventually that tour group left and I was able to spend some quality time alone with the Prime Meridian. It wasn't as impressive as I had thought. After all, it was just a line on the ground. But I guess the fact that time is measured from here makes it pretty important. Checked out the adjacent Observatory as well as the nearby Planetarium which had a really cool photograph exhibition of the night sky. As I headed back to the train station, I stopped by the Greenwich markets for a quick peruse and lunch and then Cutty Sark (an old ship converted into a museum).
As bad luck would have it, the station which I needed to get into for the show was experiencing faults and extreme congestion issues resulting in its closure. Had to get off at the station before and run to the theatre. And as most roads were under construction, it was damn near impossible to find my way there since barricades would run along the entire street, forcing you to cross at intersections. In the end, I made it to the theatre (all puffed out) but because the show had started (only a few minutes), we had to sit at the back of the theatre and wait until intermission before we could make our way to our seats in the front row.
Wicked is about the untold story of the "wicked" witch from Wizard of Oz, exploring how she grew up and how she became wicked. There's a lot of little references to the Wizard of Oz which are quite fun to pick up on. The story is quite cleverly written, and the songs are absolutely phenomenal, especially the famous "Defying Gravity". Set and costumes are magnificent and extremely detailed. Even though I had seen it before, it was still just as good the second time. It's just such a lovely story, and quite funny as well. Who knows, this may become a tradition where I have to see Wicked every time I come to London. If you do come, do what I did, and line up at the box office for front row tickets. Every day. From 10am. £30. Do it.
***********************************************
Last full day in London. Coincidentally, it was Francis' first day in London. After a rocky start with a misunderstanding of directions (I maintain, on Francis' part), we found each other after 90 minutes of waiting. It just so happened that we both decided to just head off and try and arrange another meeting point and time when we bumped into each other. We spent the morning sightseeing, doing the usual sights of Buckingham, House of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, etc. Had a traditional lunch of fish and chips, before I headed off to see Book of Mormon, while Francis continued his sightseeing.
I had booked Book of Mormon in advance given its popularity for £50 (towards the back of the stalls). Showing at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Book of Mormon tells the story of two Mormons on a mission in Uganda, and their plight to spread the word of the Mormon. This was written by the creators of South Park and as expected, it's littered with politically incorrect and downright sacrilegious songs. But it is so damn hilarious!! I have never laughed so much during a musical. The two lead characters were portrayed beautifully, both with their own quirks and nuances, and the songs were so upbeat, catchy and just in-your-face shocking at times. But I guess that's what sets this musical apart from the rest. I understand why it's so popular. Although I do wonder how a religious person would react while watching this song. Honestly, I think this is the best musical I have seen (or will see). Go see this one, if you can get a seat that is.
Met back up with Francis and we went to a steakhouse for his birthday dinner and then off to Haagen Dasz for his birthday sundae (was too ceebs getting a cake). Dessert ran a bit long and we found ourselves having to run to the Cambridge Theatre for our 7:30pm showing of the musical Matilda (£37 for dress circle). The story is about a little girl who finds herself unappreciated by her family and up against an evil headmistress, all the while trying to find happiness (and also having powers at the same time). It was slightly different to the book and the movie versions, and honestly I was pretty bored during this musical. A cast of predominantly children, it was impressive to see such good acting, but the songs weren't that well sung (perhaps given their lack of professional singing/training). It may have also been that I had just come from seeing Book of Mormon, so nothing could really compare after that. Anyways, everyone else who has seen it has raved about it, so perhaps it's just me.
HBL signing out from London, UK.
Up next: Goodbye Europe, hello Middle East...
Previously: Viva la France...
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