The Things I’ve Watched (i)

I thought to put some of these down in writing here before i forget…and there has been so much! I’ve also been in a ticket-buying frenzy before things sell out, so there will be more to come as well. I remember one of the things i used to say to people who asked what i looked forward to about London was “theatre and musicals”, but i never knew even then what the scene truly is like here: vast, varied and voluptuous.

Perhaps i should begin first with the non-theatre, just cos there are fewer:

It’s a Wonderful Life  at CellarDoor, December 2016, £15
This was quite a special thing that i chanced upon through an app called Fever. CellarDoor is a cute little basement bar cum cinema at Aldwych, and in December last year they screened the classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life. I got tickets for B and me to go together, cos it’s just the sort of thing to go together for. What i didn’t know though was that when they say doors open an hour before movie screening, it meant we were supposed to go earlier to get comfortable and watch the silent movies, which we didn’t, which meant that we loitered around the staircase entrance on ground level for a while later than everyone else, before stepping across the rope barrier they had put up to get to the entrance, where a silent film was already being screened to a live piano accompaniment in a darkened room. So the staff whispered to us that the only seats left are right in front of the screen by the piano, and we tiptoed in while the little bar full of people were laughing at that black-and-white slapstick silent film accentuated by the brilliant music. The tickets included a fancy drink (i got champagne and B got a G&T i think) and free flow popcorn. (i think it was the free flow popcorn that made me buy tickets.) But it was so fun, and the film It’s a Wonderful Life is lovely, and all the more so when watched in that context, despite the fact that we had woken up before 5am that morning to see S off at the airport and then spent most of the day at Kew Garden. These little underground nooks are one of my favourite things about London: they used to be public toilets during the Victorian times, and there are so many of them now, with an ornate railing around signs that read “Gentlemen” and “Ladies” on ground level, but who knows what you walk into when you descend the steps?

Vivaldi by Candlelight at Southwark Cathedral, October 2016, £25
This was another ticket i got through Fever, after which i kinda stopped using the app for concerts because i realise they assign seats randomly (and i always only want aisle seats), but it was such a beautiful concert in the most beautiful cathedral. The concert of Vivaldi pieces by the London Concertante included parts of Four Seasons, and the emcee, who was one of the players, was suitably funny, informative and entertaining. This was the view from where i was sitting, which is to the right of the stage. At some point during the concert, i looked up through one of the windows above the stage area, and the moon was shining in on us.

A Celebration of John Williams at the Royal Albert Hall, October 2016, £30
This was a bit of a serendipitous ticket that i got off a fellow Singaporean who had to fly back to Singapore sooner than she thought, so she sold me her ticket at a discount. I was so excited about seeing the RAH, but ended up being late, almost getting knocked down by a car, and finally running up a few flights of stairs to my circle and hearing the first song outside the door, with the friendliest usher who was reassuring me and a few other latecomers (who ALL ran) that we were alright. Thankfully i had an aisle seat, and though i was pretty high up, the sound and view were both great, and it was truly an amazing time listening to all the movie favourites live, played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. And i’m quite glad i stopped to take this photo of the circular hall against the blue sky, even though i was running late.

Classic Carols by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, December 2016, £7
This was one of the concerts that were put up at GC for bidding. Since the Queen is our patron, we have a box at the RAH that members can go to, and tickets are always so high in demand. So it turned out that during the December break when many people were away or home for the hols, the lists requesting for tickets got shorter, and while i know that more people than 4 actually requested for tickets, i was one of the lucky ones to get a pair of tickets to my favourite concert of Christmas carols. And we got to be in box seats! It was all so fancy and fun, and there were hooks for our coats in the box, and we chatted a bit with my fellow lucky GC members who each brought a friend too. That was a special Christmas.

Letters Live! at the Freemasons Hall, October 2017, £60
This was something very highly recommended to me, so V and i went together. We ended up not knowing any of the people who came to read the letters hardly, but it was still a moving experience that was pretty one of a kind. We also got to write a letter during the intermission on really fancy stationery and drop them off into a postbox they had brought all the way in, and it got posted for us to anywhere in the world at all. It was also here that revived my interest in letter-writing, and inspired a shopping spree at Paperchase soon after. There is something about letters that remain quite timeless, though clearly each was written for a specific purpose at a specific time. And there is also something about getting to listen in on what was meant to be personal correspondence. But words will always move one. This hall had seats behind the stage too, which was interesting, but possible in this context since a lot had to do with hearing the words spoken. There were also song items and some music, and some help on the screens for context where necessary. It’s fascinating people can sit and listen to letters read out for more than two hours. But that’s the way it is.

Wordless by Art Spiegelman at the Barbican, November 2016, £33
This was a talk that sounded really interesting, now less because it was the author of the comic book Maus who was giving it. I only knew Maus through B, the same way i knew all my comics, and i thought it’ll be interesting to hear the man himself. It was, indeed, and the presentation of it felt basically like him talking out a book, with beautiful visuals on the screen (and plenty of woodcut prints), and a live jazz band playing where appropriate. It was voluptuous indeed. And Art Spiegelman himself was smoking in between his talking parts, while the band played, right on stage. Quite something. Through this talk i got to hear about Si Loewen, and ended up getting his book which Spiegelman worked on with him before he passed away, soon after seeing the finished product. There is something about art in its various forms that helps us remember the essence of history.

Upcoming
I’m also going to watch a concert this Sunday that focuses on the viola (so rare!), and i’m so glad i get to go because of a last minute change of plans out of my hands, and meanwhile i’m waiting for my own viola to be delivered so i can start lessons with my fellow GCian soon! I actually remember telling ZJ about wanting to learn the viola some 12 years ago now. I think it might have been when we were in university that i mooted the idea, and she told me about some of the viola solo pieces she’s heard in concerts and how beautiful it was. It surprises me a little that it’s taken me so long, but i guess it’s not really that surprising. Also, next week i’ll be hearing Neil Gaiman live at Southbank Centre at the launch of his new book Norse Mythology, and i get a signed copy of his book! Weet!

Well, it turns out i haven’t even gotten to any of the theatre yet. So i will have to continue tomorrow, all the way from the beginning. 😀