Author: Ronald Weihs
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Protest Song, at The Shed
The Shed, at the National The Occupy movement in London had its camp in the square outside St. Paul’s Cathedral, a location that was already occupied by “rough sleepers”, the current British term for what in North Armerica are called “street people”. A new one-person play, Protest Song, by Tim Price, imagines the interaction between…
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Fortune’s Fool, at the Old Vic
Saint Paul’s from across the river. So our first real day in London (December 31), we rush over to the Old Vic, and are fortunate to get tickets for Fortune’s Fool by Turgenev, in a translation by Mike Poulton. There’s a discrete sign in the lobby saying that due to the indisposition of John McAndrew,…
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Puss in Boots Dem
The Hackney Empire I am fascinated by that strange British theatrical phenomenon called the Christmas pantomime. It’s a glorious holdover from the 19th century, featuring a traditional story outrageously sent up, a “principal boy” (the hero) played by a woman in tights, one or more “dames”, played by men in dresses, candies for the kiddies,…
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Welcome to London
Band in Trafalgar Square When our plane landed, December 30, the sun was shining, but the 31st, our first real day in London, was umbrella weather. It didn’t discourage us, or the crowd watching a band from (I’m guessing) the Philippines doing synchronized manoeuvres in Trafalgar Square. We went to our first play that evening…
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Candide in London
Menier Chocolate Factory Judith and I are in ecstasy. Sparkling sunshine this morning (after dismal yesterday), so we hurried off to the Menier Chocolate Factory (it’s a theatre) to try for returns for Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. This musical has had a very checkered history, subjected to revision after revision, but it happens to be very…