This wednesday, I went to see the show "War Horse," at the New London Theatre. It was a theatrical experience different from any that I've ever had. Never have I seen an animal depicted on stage in such a lifelike manner. I fell in love with the animal puppets that I saw. However, I was, in general, not so enamoured with the humans. The director had obviously asked them to use a very overstated acting style, of which I was not a huge fan. But, I have also never seen war depicted in such an affecting manner onstage. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the production. Plus, I learned something, which clearly made it even better. The puppets were designed by a company called Handspring Puppets from South Africa, and the production began in the Olivier at the National Theatre.
The play told the story of a horse named Joey, who was loved and raised in Devon, in England. Then, he is sold into the English army during WWI. His owner, a young man named Albert, signs up in hopes to find his horse. When his entire company is killed, he is picked up by a very kind German soldier, who tries to save the lives of Joey and his friend Topthorn, also a horse. They are taken care of by Friedrich, the German soldier, and a French mother and daughter for a long time, until disaster strikes and the mother and soldier are killed. Joey then runs away, is taken in by the English army, and reunited with his initial owner, Albert. Just a note that none of the pictures for War Horse are mine. I got them all off of Google images.
On thursday, I saw the long-running musical, "Blood Brothers" with Jackie. It has been running for 21 years on the West End, and, after seeing it, I can understand why. At times it was rather overly dramatic and hokey, but frankly, I thought that this well served the style of the show and the overall emotional feeling, as well as the plot. I liked it a lot. I never got bored, never thought to check my watch, and thought that it was the most consistently good acting that I have seen since I got to London. It was the only show I have seen where I did not hate the acting ability of a single person. Which, for me, is probably saying a lot. As an actor, I can be a tad hyper-critical. However, I found nothing in this show which I was not impressed by. The lighting and sound were good, the music was pretty (though I could have used about 10 fewer Marilyn Monroe references) and the acting was exquisite. The star of the show was Melanie C, aka Sporty Spice. She was wonderful, quite passionate and specific, while still retaining the fact that she was a pop star... which meant that she rocked out when she could. Honestly, it helped the show. We even waited afterwards to see her at the stage door, and Jackie got a picture with her. It's always good to fulfill fourth grade dreams.
Then, today, I went to see Cirque du Soleil's "Varekai" at Royal Albert Hall, in South Kensington. It was one of the most exquisite shows I have ever seen. The clowns were hysterically funny, and incredible phsyical actors, the acrobats were astounding, the lighting was gorgeous, the set was evocative, the theatre itself was incredibly well built... let's just say that I was in awe. It was one of the best things I have ever done for myself. Twenty pounds incredibly well spent. I have never in my life seen anything quite like it. People flew twenty-five feet into the air, bent in half, and flung themself off of swings across the stage only to land on the feet of another actor. All while wearing the coolest costumes ever. Let's just say that I fell in love with Cirque du Soleil. If you are in London, go. It is money well spent. The first four photographs are mine, and the last few are from Google Images.
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