Theatre in London and Trafalgar Square

par of the National Theatre at night

My primary wish in visiting London was to visit some museums and see some theatre, or, should I say, some theatres.  I knew I wanted to visit the National and the Donmar Warehouse, whatever was playing there, and it was a bonus that a new play, 13, with Geraldine James, was opening at the National Theatre and Douglas Hodge was in an Osborne play at the Donmar.  Since I missed Jerusalem in New York, I was happy to have the chance to see Mark Rylance in it in London, and I thought it was about time I saw War Horse, too.   Initially when I looked at my array of tickets, though, I was a little disappointed:  no Janet McTeer or Fiona Shaw, no Harriet Walter or Vanessa Redgrave, no Juliet Stevenson.  I could have seen VR in Driving Miss Daisy, but seeing that in NY in January was enough, though there were afternoons in London I was tempted to get a ticket just to bask in Redgravosity for 90 minutes, in spite of my general dislike of the play and production.  Fiona Shaw directed Marriage of Figaro, so, much as I wished I could have seen her on stage (preferably in Mother Courage), her attachment to the Mozart opera led me to a wonderful experience I probably would have otherwise passed by.

London Coliseum entrance

London theatre feels very different from NY theatre.  First, though many of the theatres are in the West End, they don't line the streets like they do in NYC, so you don't have that sense on the street that you are among theatre goers or that you might see a performer any time.  In fact, you are mostly around well dressed, but not completely upper end, shoppers.  So the excitement of going to the theatre doesn't start on the street the way it does in NY.  The audiences are quite different too--there are more young people, and it feels like people aren't looking around to make sure they are being seen in London as it can be in NY theatre.

I was in the front row at War Horse bawling my eyes out, only to glance from side to side and see nary a tear on the faces of my fellow audience members.  Standing ovations, which have become de rigeur in NY, don't seem to happen with such regularity.  The only one I experienced was at Jerusalem, and how anyone could stay in their seat after seeing Mark Rylance's performance I couldn't imagine anyway.  Truly, I do not expect to see a more complete, brilliant, energized performance in my lifetime.  I was at a matinee, and I think the audience would have clapped until the evening curtain if they had been allowed.  And it was deserved.  Wow.

I did get to my feet for Douglas Hodge, though the Osborne play was hard to take, as Hodge plays a character bent on self destruction who becomes painful to watch as the play progresses.  His was such a difficult task, I felt it needed honoring, but only a smattering of people stood.

As for the theatres I was so anxious to see, the National Theatre is really quite unattractive--big concrete building that is lit at night, whether to add interest or hide looming blocky ugliness I don't know, to its benefit, but during the day it almost looks like a warehouse.  Comfortable seats with good sightlines though.  The Donmar was thrilling.  I had read it was a tiny space, but I had NO IDEA.  It is a very small theatre with a thrust stage, and the audience seats are benches with cushions.  I really felt like there should be kneelers.  I was so very excited to see the photos of The McTeer from Mary Stuart, Eddie Redmayne, Derek Jacobi---all of these remnants from shows that have come over and wowed Broadway.   Man, I would have killed to see Mary Stuart in that space.  How extraordinary to see world class theatre in a space smaller than the old Allen Theatre here at ISU!

The McTeer as The Stuart

At the end of Inadmissible Evidence, Hodge's character is utterly devastated.  There is no curtain on set, so Hodge must go from lights out to applause, and you could see on his face the discomfort of the transition. 

When I am in NY, I always go into Times Square after a show.  The odd light, the city sounds, the press of people adapts either to my sense of contemplative loneliness after a show or my exuberance.  I missed that in London, especially after Jerusalem when I wanted to jump and scream and run from the thrill of such a performance.  So Trafalgar became my centering stone.  Busy, peopled, and a place I could actually FIND and get back from, when I needed a pause that was not the loneliness of the hotel, that is where I would go.  I took some obligatory photos of the Dude Nelson, but those soon became the start of a whole series of photos of the changing skies over the Dude's head. A rather different series from my Times Square photos, as you can imagine.