A Good Christian

One of the perks of my new job (which I am loving btw!) is the occasional free ticket to a West End show! This week’s was 'Swimming with the Sharks,' starring my thesis case study Christian Slater! The play was just ok, but he was fantastic! Turns out there was another quasi-celeb in the cast - Helen Baxendale, best known for playing Ross’ British wife Emily on “Friends.” Alas her time in ‘New York’ did nothing to help her Horrible attempt at a New Yawk accent. Ouch! But when Slater was on stage, all eyes and ears were on him as the manipulative Hollywood agent. Backstage he could not have been more different – very nice and charming! Yes, we stalked to the stage door where I told him about how he had been a thesis case study. “Very cool man!” was his reply before 1) signing the front page of my thesis and 2) putting his arm around me for a photo…sigh! Val or Woody – I’m coming for you next!..lol

Culture week continued as the next evening I went to opening night for Net Curtains’ ‘One, Nineteen’ at the Arcola Theatre. This is the company where I’ve been a marketing intern/volunteer since February. Their new show is about the media’s coverage of disaster, environmental responsibility, and our obsession with the cult of personality and it is INCREDIBLE! I am so proud of everyone involved. Sharp, clever writing, acting and directing. Read more about it in this article (have to scroll down the page a bit) and if you’re in London, do come see it. I couldn’t be more pleased with how the production turned out! I hope this play gets picked up by other theatres – it could not be more topical!

The next day brought the opening of the renovated St. Pancras train station! In a word – Gorgeous! In a second word – Convenient! Eurostar has moved its terminal here from Waterloo (making it much closer to my flat) and the trains are now high-speed (making it much quicker to get to France, Belgium and other European destinations). I then headed next –door to the British Library to hear my friend Barry perform in a concert of Stockhausens’ work Stimmung, a very cool, new-agey, choral piece for 6 vocalists. Amazing voices and a hypnotic performance!

From Germany to Austria, my crazy cultural week continued to the Sing-along Sound of Music! I’d done this before here in London and at the Kennedy Center, but my American friend Liz had been dying to go and it’s always a fun evening. Sure enough, last night did not disappoint as there were lots of crazy costumes and LOTS of audience participation (perhaps sometimes a bit more than we wanted – seemed to be several very drunk groups there, ahh, central London on a Friday night..lol)

Photos for most of the above are now online. Tonight I’m off to see my first event at The Tricycle. An Irish comedian who was a hit at the Edinburgh Festival. Tomorrow…relax! One month from today – fly to U.S.! So see you all SOON!

Play Mistley for Me

Wrapped up the London Film Festival with two great evenings. The first was the premiere of “The Savages” starring Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Philip Bosco. Run, don’t walk, to see this film. Three incredible performances that better bring in some Oscar nominations in the tale of an estranged brother and sister who come together to help their ailing father. I got to the theatre a bit early and ended up in the paparazzi section on the red carpet and was able to snap a few photos (though you clearly won’t find my blurry shots in US or People anytime soon). Then on Wednesday, my friend Lynne and I went to the TCM Classic Shorts event. Thought it would just be a screening of the top 6 short films selected for the competition, but it was the awards ceremony as well, so we got to see/hear the top 3 winning directors. A real good mix of UK and other European films, most of which were beautifully done and very moving or haunting. While Lynne and I were were pulling for 'Cocoon' (which has nothing at all to do with the 80s retirement village film), the winning entry ‘cleared the palate’ and was not as serious as the others. 'A Bout de Truffe 'was a funny French film (directed by a Brit) about a truffle hunter and his pig.

From the French countryside to the English coastal area of Essex, I spent this past weekend in Mistley, at my friends Neil and Ashley’s GORGEOUS flat, right on the water. Mistley is this adorable village that is something right out of a film set. We stepped off the train and it was indeed like stepping back in time. And their place is just steps from the train station, which has now been turned into a cool art gallery and paint-your-own-pottery place! (which we did!) Had a lot of fun with Neil’s family for a good old fashioned Guy Fawkes night bonfire and fireworks on Saturday and did lots of walking (and good eating) in Mistley and the neighbouring bigger village of Manningtree. They are both set along the River Stour and are home to about 5,000 swans and sailboats. Great scenic views now posted online (along with the Linney pics). Another highlight was the relaxing Sunday afternoon listening to Elaine Page’s Sunday Showtunes programme on BBC Radio 2. Her guest this week listed his essential musicals as “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Into the Woods” and “Chess” – a man after my own heart!

I may be returning at Thanksgiving as the Mistley Thorn Restaurant (started by a woman from California) is having a full-on American style dinner that sounds amazing!