Entertainment sights in London
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Barbican
Londoners remain fairly divided about the architectural legacy of this vast housing and cultural complex in the heart of the City. While the Barbican is named after a Roman fortification protecting ancient Londinium that may once have stood here, what you see here today is very much a product of the 1960s and ‘70s. Built on a huge bombsite abandoned since WWII and opened progressively between 1969 and 1982, it’s fair to say that its brutalist concrete isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Yet, although it topped several recent polls as London’s ugliest building, many Londoners see something very beautiful about its cohesion and ambition – incorporating Shakespeare’s local church, …
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B
St John’s, Smith Square
In the heart of Westminster, this eye-catching church was built by Thomas Archer in 1728 under the Fifty New Churches Act (1711), which aimed to build 50 new churches for London’s rapidly growing metropolitan area. Though they never did build all 50 churches, St John’s, along with a dozen others, saw the light of day. Unfortunately, with its four corner towers and monumental facades, the structure was much maligned for the first century of its existence thanks to rumours that Queen Anne likened it to a footstool, though it’s also said that she actually requested a church built in the shape of a footstool. Whatever the case, it’s generally agreed now that the church is a m…
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C
Royal Albert Hall
This huge, domed, red-brick amphitheatre adorned with a frieze of Minton tiles is Britain’s most famous concert venue and home to the BBC’s Promenade Concerts (the Proms; see p306) every summer. The hall, built in 1871, was never intended as a concert venue but as a ‘Hall of Arts and Sciences’; Queen Victoria added the ‘Royal Albert’ when she laid the foundation stone, much to the surprise of those attending. Consequently it spent the first 133 years of its existence tormenting concert performers and audiences with its terrible acoustics. It was said that a piece played here was assured of an immediate second hearing, so bad was the reverberation around the oval structure…
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D
Rose Theatre
The Rose, for which Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson wrote their greatest plays and in which Shakespeare learned his craft, is unique in that its original 16th-century foundations have been unearthed. They were discovered in 1989 beneath an office building at Southwark Bridge and given a protective concrete cover. Administered by the nearby Globe Theatre, the Rose is open to the public only when matinées are being performed at the Globe Theatre and can only be visited as part of a group.
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E
Royal Opera House
On the northeastern flank of Covent Garden piazza is the gleaming, redeveloped – and practically new – Royal Opera House. Unique ‘behind the scenes’ tours take you through the venue, and let you experience the planning, excitement and hissy fits that take place before a performance at one of the world’s busiest opera houses. As it’s a working theatre, plans can change so you’d best call ahead. Of course, the best way to enjoy it is by seeing a performance.
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F
West End Theatre
There are some 50 theatres in London's West End, so you'll need a listings guide like www.timeout.com or www.whatsonstage.com for the latest productions. For tickets, including to music gigs, comedy shows etc, try Ticketmaster; a booking fee is charged. For last-minute booking, turn to the tkts booth in Leicester Sq. It sells half-price, same-day tickets for a reasonable commission.
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