London is a wonderful place I've noticed. Last night I met David Tennant and today, well, I had an amazing day. In London you can do anything and I certainly did.
Today we took a trip to Leicester Square to get cheap tickets for one of the West End shows. We wanted Wicked but Wicked didn't want us and remained full price, so instead we got tickets to the Hamlet spin-off Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. If you haven't read it, you should. And if you have read it and want to see it, you should.
The performance was in the ornate Royal Haymarket Theatre, whose interior had intricate decorations along the wall emphasized by gold and a deep, black stage with minimalist set pieces that was perfect for the production. And what a fine production it was. Just hilarious and so well done the whole way through. Jamie Parker and Samuel Barnett in the lead roles of Guildenstern and Rosencrantz worked so well together, playing off of each others' words and actions and emotions effortlessly. Particularly, Barnett as Rosencrantz stood out as not only hilarious, but also a more worrysome and attached character than his counterpart, as well as adorably confused most of the time. Also standing out was Chris Andrew Mellon as the Player, hilarious as a man who takes his profession far too seriously. Everyone had excellent comic timing. And seeing the play performed really emphasized the hilarity of the piece, the genius of the wordplay, and the irony that is the very play itself. All and all, very worth seeing.
In addition to seeing one of my favorite plays produced, we ventured into the British Museum to look at the Islamic, Egyptian, and Greek sections for a bit. I also had a strawberries and cream crepe, which was one of the best things I've had all week. England seems to be lacking in dessert a bit at least where I'm concerned, but this made up for it (and I'm sure it's all my fault for not looking, anyway).
On the way back from the play we also got sidetracked by a HUGE gift shop. Two floor. Ridiculous! I got a bunch of stuff. And will probably regret it. But mostly it's for other people, with one scarf to keep myself warm since I didn't bring any warm clothes. I thought summer meant it would be warm. Apparently 'warm' here is 70 degrees. I still need a raincoat because it rains every time I go out.
Well, tomorrow is looking to be a market shopping day in the morning, followed by trips to St. Paul's and the Tower of London. We shall see if I can climb the over 500 steps to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. Hopefully I'm not weak enough to not be able to.
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