I have done fantastically little this week--and I'm being as cheap as humanly possible--because what I HAVE been doing is buying all the tickets to all the shows… Sheesh! I might honestly have a problem… and not just with my budget! I made this goal back in January to see 25 shows while I was in London--this after hearing at CAPA that another professor who is here every other semester doing study abroad sees some 50+ shows during her time here. That's 2-3 shows a week, btw! In my usual way, I saw this comment as not JUST a comment, but also a goal. Quickly realizing that there was NO WAY I could do 50 shows while actually doing anything else (I'm out of town most weekends)… I shifted the number to 25. Which is 1-2 shows a week… And totally doable… And actually REALLY fun!!
Of course, no one knows that I've made this goal--and there is no award/punishment for hitting or missing this goal… but that's not how my head works, apparently! It has turned into a bit of a hobby for me to see what's being reviewed, what's got a big discount. What has standing room cheap seats or day-of discount tickets… I pass what info I find along to my students, too… (For example, we're going to be gone before Benedict Cumberbatch comes to do a run of Hamlet… but he WILL be here for another smaller show for just one weekend-- I have a student who is a BIG fan--so I sent her that link. Because we look out for each other here!!)
So--Monday I bought several--and today (Friday) I just grabbed a couple more… After telling myself I wasn't allowed and I had to seek help! In my defense, of course, they were good prices, I never know how long cheap seats will last, YOLO, and especially YOLO in London!!
The list: Romeo and Juliet is coming for one weekend in April to the Globe--so I got standing room tickets for that (the best way--believe it or not--to see stuff at the Globe).
Chiwetel Ejioror (12 Years a Slave, Serenity) in Everyman--I like this guy! And this is the day before I leave, so probably the last thing I see in London.
Great Gatsby Ballet--because-- GREAT GATSBY BALLET!!!
American Buffalo the Monday before I go--press night--and (nosebleeds, but still) I could find tickets for L20!! This show, btw, has John Goodman… and the main guy in Homeland (which I don't watch so this means nothing to me… but JOHN GOODMAN!)
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime… there was this random block of L15 tickets for the front row--otherwise that price was REALLY restricted seating AND legroom (whimper) and it's just solidly rave reviews… so I got that, too…
And that's the list-- looking at it I do feel a LITTLE silly… A twinge of buyer's remorse, possibly… But in the spirit of YOLO, I think I'll forgive myself my buying spree. Some people buy shoes…
Then, I have a ticket tonight for Happy Days--a Beckett play about a woman going about her mundane life as best she can while being buried alive in sand… It stars Juliet Stevenson--one of those British actors who shows up in everything… and I'm really excited about it. It should be interesting!! I'll let you know about that one tonight… :)
OK--so amidst all this quiet and frantic shopping for shows, I also had my two classes and the run-through walk Monday. (That's where I trace out the walking tour so I don't get us all lost the day of…) Wednesday's class was great and will be remembered because I had a friend of Anne's--named Mary Bly--visit the class to talk about the writing process. It was a bit forced--she's a Shakespeare scholar who writes Regency period romance novels on the side… But the other classes pretty much all have visiting speakers--and I felt really bad that neither of my classes really lend themselves to that. Let's face it, when it comes to dealing with food in Twain in London--I really AM the expert! But Mary has been researching the history of pineapples in the US and the UK during her time period--so she was absolutely perfect! The students asked some fun questions, and were just kind of in awe of the Manhattan professor and THAT LIFE. (Let's face it--so was I!!) Both classes came to this part of the class--held at Giraffe, a local chain that was on my list of places I wanted to try, Tall Blondes and all. Then my Thursday students peeled off and the rest of the class was a walking tour of the Bloomsbury area. Where Woolf, Dickens, and Harry Potter all overlap. That highlight is always the Kings Library--I showed its move from the British Museum to the British Library then gave them some (too little--I always overplan these classes) time to visit the Library Treasures room--see the Shakespeare and Jane Austen's writing desk and Beatles lyrics and all that delightful stuff on display. THEN off to Platform 9 3/4 at the end of class. Those who wanted could stay and have their pictures taken, otherwise they could take off.
Then Thursday I brought those students back to the British Library--where earlier we'd registered as readers and done a little research, and I introduced them to the music archives there. I have a student interested in music, so I tracked down Twain's favorite music--black gospel-- and found some old tracks we could listen to. Of course everything was nine times more complicated than they appeared at first, and I got in a little trouble with a perfectly nice (I felt bad when he got all frowny-face at me) librarian (also, the BL is ALWAYS nine times more complicated than I can ever imagine--every time I go). But in the end, we spent half our time listening to recordings of the Jubilee Singers, and then I let them just use the archive for whatever they might want to listen to… Practice on research and such!! Then WE went to Platform 9 3/4. They're not reading HP in class, but come on!, everyone else is getting their picture taken. And it's ok--because Twain was on a train--so it's all connected!!
I'm always surprised how exhausted I am after these classes, but reading it right now--I'm not that surprised after all. They're just exhausting to plan, organize, and then make actually happen in the moment!
I've also read the Harry Potter 1 that is our last reading… I read it (again) in one sitting, because it is itself! I thought-- this is great, I'll reread the rest when I get home… Right!! I have now read book 2 and am well into 3… These will be finished before the month is out! Good thing I have nothing else planned!! ;)
So not a lot of pics in this post--but I will be going to Margate Saturday (tomorrow), so there should be some stuff then! :)
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