The Week of Plays and Musicals

This week, after our trip to Bath, has been taken over by plays and musicals! Tuesday night we went to see a play called After the Dance. It was great! It is set in the late 1930's and deals with relationship dynamics and the tendancy to become self-absorbed. After reading a synopsis, I was sure I was going to hate it, but in fact, I loved it! That in itself was shocking, because the ending is not happy, and there is a really blatant suicide... two things that I hate in movies or plays. Wednesday, we got a tour of the National Theater, and actually got to go on the set of After the Dance, which was really awesome. The tour was an hour and a half long, and we really got to see some of the inner workings, including their own design studio and prop making system. It was AMAZING!

After the workshop, some of the girls set out on a mission. Our plan? To find the 1st European Chipotle! After wandering Leicester Square for a while, and stopping a woman with google on her iPhone, we finally found it. Let me just say, I was THRILLED. I got my usual chicken tacos, with chips and guac to take home and eat for dinner ;). It tasted just like home, and I couldn't have been happier. We even introduced Meagan and Felicia to Chipotle, and now I'm sure both of them will be hunting them out in the states :).

Wednesday night we had tickets to see The War Horse. That show is the hottest ticket in town right now, and for good reason. It was fantastic. The play is based off of a children's book, but it becomes so much more than that. During our tour of the National Theater they told us how they made the horses, and it took them years. It's quite hard to describe, but basically the horses are made of aluminum and other materials strong enough to hold someone when they need to sit on it. Three people operate the horses, but you forget they are there almost instantly. The set was one of the most interesting I have ever seen, but every set I have seen this trip has been really awesome in it's own way. Basically, I am hunting down this book because the show was so great, I am dying to read how it all started :). It will be in London through fall 2011, and then it is heading to Broadway, which I may have to get tickets to when it does. So, if you are in London, I would HIGHLY recommend seeing it. It is such a sweet story, but beware, there are some graphic scenes.

Oh, and we might have seen Emma Watson... no big deal. We also might have almost gotten kicked out for taking pictures of her in the theater ;). She was kind of a snot, actually. But oh well, haha.

Yesterday, we went to class and then went ticket hunting :). This is our free long weekend, and some people in our group headed to Paris, Amsterdam, and Dublin. As much fun as travelling would have been, I still have more of London to see! We went looking for tickets for Wicked, and got twenty pound ones for Tuesday night. Billy Elliot happened to be showing nearby and Mary was insistent that we go see if we could get tickets. So we did, and ended up with cheap tickets for last nights show. It was the first show for a new Billy, and he was wonderful :). I enjoyed the musical, although it's not something I'd let my children see! It has a lot of profanity, and the children are a big part of it, which bothered me a bit, honestly. Despite that, the story is really neat, and the music was done by Elton John, so of course, I lovvveedd it! It was a great night out with the girls, and I can't wait to see Wicked with them :).

Today, we were planning on going to Kensington Garden, but as it is raining again, I'm not sure what we are going to do. The Tower of London possibly, and some shopping. I don't know. Tomorrow is sure to be a busy day with going to the Queen's Birthday early in the morning, and the England v. US football (soccer) game tomorrow night. We are planning on going to a pub down on the Thames and watching it, so fun!

I need to go shopping to find something to wear for someone's graduation party/graduation day... perhaps that will get done today. ;)

Home in 6 days! Although it seems like I have a lot to do before then :)