Queens, a Male Dancer and a "Queen"?
If you're one of our regular visitors, you know we are frequent audience members in London's great theaters. Our three most recent theatrical outings have all been really fine.
The first was "Mary Stuart", by Schiller, based on the conflict between Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I -- both members of the Stuart family. The play is a drama (historical, of course) and is wonderfully acted and written. We rated it one of the 2 or 3 best we've seen in the 43 shows we've seen in our 18 months here.
As one of Kathi's birthday presents from Chuck, we saw the stage version of "Billy Elliot". (It was a movie a few years ago, which we saw during our last UK adventure in 2000, and which we enjoyed a good bit.) It's the story of the young son of a dirt-poor miner in northern England who is attracted to dance (not the boxing lessons his Dad thinks he's paying for) and, ultimately, wins a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School. The stage version's music is by (Sir) Elton John and is a very well-done musical. Another we rated near the very top of our theatergoing experience.
And, most recently, as one of Chuck's Christmas gifts, we saw "The History Boys" at the National Theater. This drama takes place at a boy's high school in England in the 1980s -- primarily dealing with their interaction with their history professor, of course. It's by Alan Bennet -- fantastically inventive and extremely well-written (starting to sound like a broken record?) with a fair amount of comedy thrown in. It's supposedly to open soon on Broadway and is worth a look -- though be prepared for adult situations, including some very candid homosexuality, and some strong language. (Chuck said he'd never have let one of our daughters see it -- though he might relent when they're over 40.)
One of our favorite parts of living in London is the "theater scene". We plan to continue to be active patrons.
The first was "Mary Stuart", by Schiller, based on the conflict between Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I -- both members of the Stuart family. The play is a drama (historical, of course) and is wonderfully acted and written. We rated it one of the 2 or 3 best we've seen in the 43 shows we've seen in our 18 months here.
As one of Kathi's birthday presents from Chuck, we saw the stage version of "Billy Elliot". (It was a movie a few years ago, which we saw during our last UK adventure in 2000, and which we enjoyed a good bit.) It's the story of the young son of a dirt-poor miner in northern England who is attracted to dance (not the boxing lessons his Dad thinks he's paying for) and, ultimately, wins a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School. The stage version's music is by (Sir) Elton John and is a very well-done musical. Another we rated near the very top of our theatergoing experience.
And, most recently, as one of Chuck's Christmas gifts, we saw "The History Boys" at the National Theater. This drama takes place at a boy's high school in England in the 1980s -- primarily dealing with their interaction with their history professor, of course. It's by Alan Bennet -- fantastically inventive and extremely well-written (starting to sound like a broken record?) with a fair amount of comedy thrown in. It's supposedly to open soon on Broadway and is worth a look -- though be prepared for adult situations, including some very candid homosexuality, and some strong language. (Chuck said he'd never have let one of our daughters see it -- though he might relent when they're over 40.)
One of our favorite parts of living in London is the "theater scene". We plan to continue to be active patrons.
posted by Chuck and Kathi Calvano @ 9:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home