Hello from London. It felt natural to be back. After a February filled with Berlinale festival films and other cultural events, March theme is Theater, both English and German.
Bucket list item (read with British accent) was a theatre night in West End, in the City of Westminster, London (with good seats). Theater is a strand of English national culture, next to afternoon tea, their accent, pub’s fish and chips, Shakespeare, sarcasm, or the monarchy.
Savoy Theater
The evening was a revelation, and I confess why at the end of the article. And the Savoy theater is historical. Also, according to the internet / wikipedia, it was the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity.
What first surprised me was how the theater building was designed. There was a contrast between the small crowded entrance, with narrow alleyways, that feel like a true dark maze, until reaching your seat in the stalls. Was different than most bright European theaters I’ve been to. The main theater hall with the scene was of course, beautiful and grandiose, decorated in silver Art Deco. And one last aspect I noticed was the contrast between the elegant guests and the relaxed atmosphere, as you were allowed with snacks and drinks, and even some late entries were accepted.
Plaza Suite
This comedy is Neil Simon’s 1968 play “Plaza Suite”, that transferred in January from Broadway to London. I first heard about it from the Telegraph, declaring Parker supplied “terrific entertainment value” in its four-star review. Other reviews consider the play somehow outdated. Admittedly, it was written in the 60s, but is fiction and a comedy, so even though I am not a critic, I think it can’t be really contemporary, being written decades ago. Therefore, with those thoughts in mind and without projecting what I would expect something to be, I was relaxed and enjoyed the theater night.
In a nutshell, set in the 1960s New York, three different couples check in the same suite number 719 at the Plaza, and all are played by (charming) Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderik, married also in real life.
First act is called “Visitor From Mamaroneck,” about a married couple, falling out of love. In the Second Act, “Visitor From Hollywood,” a movie producer invited his former high school girlfriend to the suite. And Third Act, “Visitor From Forest Hills,” centers on two parents who try to convince their daughter to get married, after she locked herself in the bathroom on her wedding day. All the acts were very funny, but my favorites were the 2nd and 3rd ones, and overall I found also terrific the performance of both actors. Runs for 2 hours and 20 minutes, with one interval and a brief pause.
London options. A museum a day
Soak a bit of culture before a night in London. My first stop on day one was Tate Modern – one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the world – to experience two of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms, Kusama’s unique vision of endless reflections. The two immersive installations are Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life, alongside Chandelier of Grief room. Until the end of April runs this exhibition of the famous Japanese writer and artist born in 1929 in Matsumoto. Tickets must be bought online.
Forget yourself. Become one with eternity.
Become part of your environment.
Yayoi Kusama, Japanese artist
The day continued with only a little shopping at Selfridges and a stop at famous taiwanese BAO restaurant in Soho.
Plus, whenever I (re)visit a city, I want to wander the streets, so next day I had a lovely long walk from posh Marylebone until Victoria & Albert museum though Hyde Park and blooming Kensington Gardens. Spring is here! The museum visit was followed by lunch and a tube ride to see again Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Eye and House of Parliament. Was great, even in cloudy weather, London’s allure is undeniable.
Even though in my last visit to London I attended a musical, only 6 minutes away from Savoy, at Novello Theatre, this time I wanted to see a comedy and admittedly, Sarah Jessica Parker as well.
However, there are many options and is so much to see in West End. Another great play currently running in London is the one-woman stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, with Succession’s Sarah Snook, at Haymarket Theatre Royal. Sarah plays all 26 characters, supported by technology, multiple screens and costumes. Time Out called it a “reinvention of theatre”.
London perspective
After the “Plaza Suite” play ended, very late in the evening, I returned to my accommodation, in Gloucester Place, near Marylebone, not very far from the theater. Part of the revelation I mentioned was while walking on Oxford Street, as I reflected on who I am today and the other times I visited London, first time as an Erasmus student in Denmark, and next while living in Belgium. Now I see the city in a different place in my life, a Berliner, while cherishing the memories of who I was, and still reflecting with some sadness on the versions I never got to be.
Than I fell asleep with the sounds of the laughter from the play in my mind and the prompts from Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirror room, thinking also about the coffee and breakfast I was going to enjoy in the morning at Ottolenghi restaurant.
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