We had an amazingly great weekend in London! It could have been so much worse if the rail strike had went ahead, but thankfully the strike was called off and our train was running. I think I’ve written here before about how it’s hilarious to us now that every time we go into London on the train there is some kind of strike or closure on either the train or the tube possibly looming. It’s quite funny to us now :-) But thankfully, the crisis was averted and we headed off to London on Saturday afternoon.
Back in December, Brit Boy and I went to see the West End production of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, starring James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad. If you missed my post about it, you can check it out here.
When we went the last time, Brit Boy and I really loved it and soon after, I had the thought that we just had to see it one more time. The idea of seeing the final performance seemed thrilling, so we bought two tickets for this past Saturday night. After experiencing the final performance of “Speed the Plow” two years ago, I imagined that Saturday’s performance would be great. It’s fun to see the actors out of character and thanking the audience for their support. So we were not disappointed this time either.
I want to rewind a bit though. We arrived at Paddington Station on Saturday afternoon and then took the tube to the Marylebone stop. Our hotel was a short walk away. Here’s a photo that I took out of our window.
We rested for a bit and then got dressed for our evening out. We headed to the tube and went over to Covent Garden. I LOVE IT there! :-) It’s such fun. We went back to Sophie’s for dinner again like we did the last time. The food was great this time too. This is our new favorite place :-) So when we can afford a treat again and we’re in London, we’ll have to pay them a visit again.
After we ate we headed over to the theatre which is maybe a block or so away. We had a bit of time to kill so we walked around to the stage door to see if we could see anybody from the cast going in. There were others there too hoping for the same thing :-) We were lucky and saw Derek Griffiths, who played Reverend Tooker in the play.
Then we walked back around to the front of the theatre and made our way inside. We were lucky enough to get seats only one row behind where we were last time and we were dead center. The Novello Theatre is a beautiful place. Here are some photos of the interior. The photos are a bit grainy, but I hope you enjoy taking a peek.
One bonus of the night was having a celebrity spotting :-) I looked to my right and saw the actress Lynn Whitfield one row ahead of us. I was thrilled. She is so beautiful!
The performance was stellar! I thoroughly enjoyed it and I was so inspired creatively. As each of the leads made their first appearance, the audience applauded this time. And at the end when the cast took their bows, the audience gave them the standing ovation that they truly, truly deserved! And then the cast was joined onstage by the director Debbie Allen this time and she was given yellow roses. I admire Ms. Allen’s work so much, so seeing her was a definite bonus. My memories of wanting to be in the TV show Fame came flooding back. LOL. What an incredibly talented woman she is! Our night couldn’t have gotten any better.
We enjoyed a nice walk back through Covent Garden and soaked in all of the nightlife. Then we caught the tube and went back to our hotel.
The next day, Sunday, we headed back home. It was a really wonderful weekend!
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11 comments:
That sounds wonderful, Dori. I should check out what's playing in our theater. I have not been to a play in ages...
I love the pics! I can't wait for the opportunity to spend a weekend in London and see a show on the West End. I absolutely love theater, and I've seen quite a few shows in Broadway. That's great you were able to see Cat On A Hot Tin Roof! I'm glad you had a nice time. :)
Oh and what is it with England and strikes? If Royal Mail workers aren't striking (which has caused me A LOT of hassle), it's some other group! Haha.
I'm so jealous :oD Eventually I'll make it to London ;o)
wow you went to see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. wow that had to be fun. lovely pics. now the only ones missing and the people who went to see the cat. (wink*wink)
You two make the most of your time together regardless of where you go.
I wish we could get out to London more often but it can be so pricey with parking and such. We generally catch the train when we go.
love the pics!!!! I would love to see a show in London...someday!!
Wow -- what a good time and a *gorgeous* theatre. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Great post Dori. I can imagine you and Britboy had a great time.
Long time ago when I was single I used to go to London for a long weekends and we then visited theatres like you did.
The Photo's look familiar to me.
Every time I read your posts on London I always think we must visit soon :)
The theater looks amazing! Btw, it's always an 'adventure' taking trains over here too -- you never know when you might get stuck!
Ivanhoe,
Yeah, it was great! I hope that you find a good play to go and see :) Have a great weekend!
Lis,
So glad you liked the pics :) I hope that you get to see a West End show soon. It's lots of fun. And oh, see I would love to see a Broadway show too. I've been to NYC, but I didn't get to go to a show. Maybe next time :) And it's true...there seems to be a strike every time you turn around these days ;-)
VABookworm87,
I hope you make it to London very soon. It's an interesting place :)
RE-Entrepod,
Oh yes, it was great...even better than the first time we went. And next time I'll have to throw our pics in ;-)
Kicha,
I do have fun with Brit Boy :) I understand what you're saying about the price for sure. We usually book the train ahead and it's a lot cheaper. So you are so right, that's the best way to go :)
Alida,
So glad you liked the photos :) I hope that you get to London to see a show soon too. It's a great experience :)
Jennifer,
It really was a beautiful theatre. It is my favorite that I've seen so far. I'm so glad that I could share it :)
Deana,
So glad you enjoyed my post :) And I'll bet you had a great time when you visited too. I love hearing about others' experiences. Hugs to you!
Duni,
Absolutely! I love sharing the fun with everybody and I always hope that everyone that reads what I write will go for a visit themselves. So I'm so glad to hear that :) And I second what you said about the 'adventure' with the trains. It can get really hairy ;-)
Oh, I'm glad you mentioned Covent Garden- I'm going to send my older daughter the link. She's going to London next month with a friend, and I think she'll love going there specifically. :)
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