A Semester in London: November 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back in the States. We celebrated Thanksgiving here in London last Sunday because we need to be out of our flats by Friday and Saturday so the latter part of this week we need to be packing and cleaning. We celebrated at my flat. Everyone made a dish and we ate well. The 13 students, Katie's mom who arrived that day, and myself took part. Jonathan Kennedy and Tony James and their wives Alise and Anne were unable to attend this year. Sarah made all the decorations. Enjoy the photos.

Turkey centerpiece made from an apple.

placecards with names on them

Appetizers: Chris made homemade salsa, guacomole, homemade chips. Kalinn barb-b-que meatballs. Sam and Maggie did devilled eggs. Also had cheese and crackers

Some of us ate in the living room(the kids table) and the rest ate in the dining room.

Andrew making mashed potatoes Texas-style!

I made turkey and homemade stuffing(chestnuts, dried apricots, chorizio sausage, bread, onions, celery, and chicken stock). Brendan made sweet potatoes with butter, brown sugar, and rum, Mary made green beans, I did parsnips, Andrew the mashed potatoes, Aaron fruit salad, Phil homemade cream puffs, Sarah candied carrots, Katie and I made Greek salad, plus much more!!!! Sam and Maggie made pies! We were stuffed and had plenty left over to get us through this final week.

If you remember the Canterbury blog, you will remember this picture of the place where it was decided to send the Mayflower over to the American Colonies...another British connection to Thanksgiving!

The group in Canterbury

THAT'S ALL FOLKS! ENJOY YOUR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY!

Why are these girls happy? It is because we have seen some fantastic theatre this semester. I have already posted some of the shows we have seen in earlier blogs. Sarah and Rachel here are excited about the play Jerusalem. More on that in a bit. Here is a list of some of the plays we have seen that are not mentioned below: Chicago starring America Ferrera (Ugly Betty). She was a so-so singer but acted the role well. She played Roxy. Juno and the Paycock at the National Theatre. It is one of the plays that the students will be studying and performing scenes from in Dublin. Driving Miss Daisy which is starring Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones. I saw an understudy performance which starred my friend, Jenny Lee, as Miss Daisy. It was awesome! I forgot what a great script that was. Inadmissable Evidence at The Donmar Warehouse starring Douglas Hodge who won the Tony and Olivier Award for La Cage aux Folles. We had an interesting discussion in class about this production. Some loved it and others didn't at all. Some of the students went to see Stomp and really enjoyed it. Mary and Andrew went to see Naked Boys Singing at the old Players Theatre. Here are some of the other shows we attended.

JERUSALEM

This was probably one of the best plays of the semester. Mark Rylance who won both an Olivier Award and Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play was incredible. WOW! I had seen the show a couple of years ago when it opened at the Royal Court Theatre. The show has even gotten better!

JUMPY

We saw Jumpy at the Royal Court Theatre. An excellent comedy about a 50 year old woman going through mid-life crisis with her angsty teenage daughter. Wonderful acting all around.

The set.

RAGTIME

This musical with a cast of 20 was performed in the upstairs room of the Landor Pub. It is a small space. Everyone really enjoyed the production except for Jonathan who felt that everyone was too big for the small space. And too loud. Hahahah. It drove him nuts! This summer I saw Carousel
and last year we saw Closer Than Ever there

Andrew outside the Landor Pub

THE PITMAN PAINTERS

This was another one of our favorite plays that we saw for Page to Stage Class. Great script and story!

GHOST

This is the musical based on the film, Ghost. Some of the students attended this production and really liked it, especially the special effects. It is headed to Broadway!

MARAT/SADE

The Royal Shakespeare Company's production at Stratford-upon-Avon. Andrew, Rachel, Kalinn and I went to Straford to see one of my favorite plays that the RSC first did in the early 60's. They ruined it!!!! It was awful! Why mess with a good thing? They modernized it, made all the music mid-eastern, and related it all to the Arab Spring. No need. I think the audience is intelligent enough to make the connection without banging us over the head with it. Anyways, enjoy some of the photos of Stratford which by the way is such a tourist town!!!!! I remember why we do not go there for our day trips anymore.

No comment needed!

The new theatre which has been coverted to a thrust stage.

The cemetery outside the church Shakespeare is buried in.

Disappointment!

THE LION IN WINTER

Another one of my favorite plays starring Robert Lindsay and Joanna Lumley of Ab Fab fame. We loved it. Brendan, Andrew, and I also got to meet Joanna Lumley after the show and chatted for awhile then she asked us to walk her to get a cab. She was delightful and so down to earth. She just did a series for TV on travelling through Greece so when she found out I was Greek we clicked! Ha! For those who know the play, there was a new scene added between Alise and her brother King Philip.....interesting. Trevor Nunn, the director, found it among James Goldman's papers and his widow allowed him to use it and put it in the play. We also saw Trevor Nunn after the show!

Theatre Royal Haymarket