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A Trip to the Theatre

““The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”
— JM Barrie

Last weekend we went to Stratford upon Avon to see a performance by the RSC at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The Theatre has recently been completely refurbished and extended and this is our first visit since it reopened. I like what they have done and how they have kept the shell of the original Art Deco building with its distinctive brick work and doors. 

In front of the theatre are a series of sculptures of what are probably the best known characters in Shakespeare’s plays

These first two are Falstaff and Lady Macbeth. I'm not so keen on him, not my conception of Falstaff at all, but I think she looks suitably menacing, not to mention cross-eyed!

I much prefer the two princes - the tragic Hamlet and the triumphant Prince Hal.

I also love this new sculpture of swans - I think the lines are amazing

So, you may be asking, which of Shakespeare’s works did we grace with our presence? Well actually none of it! we went to see Peter Pan or more accurately ‘Wendy and Peter Pan’ a new play based on the original novel told from a feminist perspective.

rsc screen.jpg

it worked brilliantly! The script was witty and amusing, engaging adults and children in the audience alike and the set was amazing including the best pirate ship I have ever seen, and I am in a position to compare as I have seen Peter Pan on a number of occasions.

I think one of the reasons I have a soft spot for  Peter Pan is that it was the first live theatre I ever saw. It was 1960 I was 8 and I saw what I think must have been the pre or post West End run at the Streatham Hill Theatre - now long since turned into a bingo hall.  The all star cast included Julia Lockwood as Peter (always played by a girl in those days in true Pantomime tradition, no dame in Peter Pan though), Juliet Mills as Wendy and Donald Sinden as Captain Hook / Mr Darling a part that was traditionally always doubled up. I found the whole thing completely magical and practiced flying by jumping off my bed for the next few weeks (sadly to no avail). 

Julia Lockwood daughter of Margaret Lockwood and Juliet Mills, daughter of sir John Mills and sister of Hayley Mills

The next version I saw was in 1965 when I was invited to go to a performance with my friend Bonnie whose grandmother was taking all her grandchildren. The whole thing was quite an adventure, Bonnie’s mother took us, together with Bonnie's much younger brother Geoff, over to Portsmouth on the ferry and from there we were put on a train to Horsham in Sussex where Bonnie's grandmother would join us on the journey to London (first time on a train without an accompanying adult). We then went to the matinee at the Scala followed by tea at the Grovenor Hotel (another first) before going back to Horsham where we spent the night at her grandmother's returning to the Island the following day. 

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That year Peter was played by Sylvia Sims and I felt the magic as before, although I had given up trying to fly!

My next outing  to see Peter was in  1997 when my son was 5 years old. This time we saw it at the National Theatre with an all start cast led by Ian McKellen as Captain Hook  - Mrs Darling was played by Jenny Agutter currently of ‘Call the Midwife’ fame but then still very much associated with her role of Bobbie in the Railway Children (you can imagine how old this made me feel!) Again a magical production. Patrick sat through the 3 hours as mesmerised as I had been all those years ago,  giving the lie to his teachers who said he had a short attention span!

pp NT.jpg

Some time after this, and I can’t track down the year, we saw a production at our local theatre the Watermill, again an excellent production but due to the limitations of the venue my memory is there was no flying. 

So when, quite by chance, I came upon the reviews for 'Wendy and Peter Pan' I simply couldn't resist and don't forget if you want to visit Neverland it's “Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning. ”

“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust. ”
— JM Barrie
tags: Stratford upon Avon, Peter Pan, RSC, NT, JM Barrie, Shakespeare, theatre, Royal National Theatre, Ian McKellen, Jenny Aggutter, Silvia Sims, Donald Sinden, Julia Lockwood, Juliet Mills, Scarla Theatre
categories: information, Literature, Photography, Theatre
Sunday 02.09.14
Posted by Barbara Evans
Comments: 3
 

Pot Pourri

“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one a miracle of its own. Its just a matter of paying attention to this miracle. ”
— Paul Coelho

A bit of a mishmash of things this week with no particular theme. On Saturday we went to the National Theatre in London to see 'The Light Princess' a new musical. The sets were absolutely amazing and the choreography stunning. The music however was pedestrian, sounding like pretty much any other modern musical and certainly no tune you came away humming. However I would recommend it as a stunning visual performance and the lead Rosalie Craig was superb. 

Another of the leading actors was Clive Rowe who my son and I met at a restaurant in The Cut about 10 or more years ago. The tables were very close together and both Clive and my son were reading Terry Pratchet and struck up a conversation. Turned out we had seen him in Peter Pan when my son was four and that he was currently in rehearsal at the Young Vic. He was absolutely charming and we have followed his career ever since!

The Foyer at the National Theatre

Sunday saw the start of the Brene Brown e-course Gifts of Imperfection. It combines the material from the book with art journalling. Three key words from this week's intention are 'courage, compassion and connection'

One of the first exercises was to take the perfection pledge - the idea was to write it on your hand and then take a selfie but this went a bit wrong in my case and I ended up with a rather messy hand so I made this heart instead! 

Another course I am taking is Sebastian Michael's photoshop artistry. This week he challenged the group to make something special for Kim Klassen and her husband John who is seriously ill with leukaemia. It was Kim that introduced me to both Photoshop and Lightroom and guided my first faltering steps in her classes, so it was a pleasure to work on this piece which I also dedicate to a dear friend I have learned this week is fighting cancer.

I do realise of course that I am in grave danger of over-using the Scarlet angel  - but I can't resist!

Finally we have been starting to think seriously about where we might move to when we retire in a couple of years. At the moment the top hit is Salisbury which we visited last weekend, but watch this space! 

tags: Grunge, photrography, photoshop, Kim Klassen, Brene Brown, Royal National Theatre, Salisbury, Clive Rowe, scarlet hotel
categories: Photography, information
Tuesday 10.22.13
Posted by Barbara Evans
Comments: 6
 
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