Blogs we like

The other night I went with a group of friends to see a play at Shakespeare's Globe Theater on the Thames. Liberty, a three-hour marathon set against the backdrop of the post-French Revolution Reign of Terror, could only be described as...well...long.

But that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. Having studied the French Revolution in college, I sat through the play dorkily chuckling as the script poked fun at the Napoleonic penchant for changing the names of the days of the week and months of the year, oblivious to the fact that my six companions were struggling to refrain from flinging themselves head-first into the guillotine.

But after the third hour of sitting on a backless, cushionless wooden bench in the frigid London night, even I was beginning to wonder whether the fate that befell our dear Marie Antoinette was really so bad. Who knows, maybe the playwright's goal was to induce audience suffering so that we could better relate to the characters in the drama. If it was, he certainly succeeded.

Not all of my London theater and concert experiences have been as pleasurable as a trip to the guillotine. Some, in fact, have inspired me to keep my head connected to my body for several more years, perhaps longer.

Most recently I went to a concert whose venue was as inspiring as the show itself. Every summer there are concerts at Kenwood House (of Notting Hill fame) in the Hampstead Heath. A few weeks ago I went with friends to see a show and enjoy a picnic dinner on the beautiful lawn.

In the winter I saw several shows in Soho, central London's equivalent of a theater district. Among them were Glengarry Glen Ross, a somber story starring a Willy Lohman-esque salesman, and the ever-popular Avenue Q, which poked fun at my generation's stunningly infinite capacity for self-absorption.

As the London weather gracefully transitions from summer rain to winter even-more-rain, I have a feeling I'll be heading to the theater a bit more often. I hope that it turns out to be a winter 'made glorious summer' by some good shows as opposed to one of 'our discontent' that makes the Lady in London want to join the Lady Jane Grey at the White Tower guillotine.