Carmen

I have a couple of extra photo's to add from my last post and then I'll move on to my trip to the Coliseum theatre. 

Jane Eyre: Jane and Mr Rochester sit here after her return.

Jane Eyre: Jane and Mr Rochester see a dragonfly here.

 Jane Eyre: Jane sits by this barn when she returns and finds Thornfield in ruins.

I return to London and had to go straight back out as I had tickets for Roland Petit's Carmen at the Coliseum theatre. The Coliseum is wonderfully decorated in a slightly garish but in keeping with the theme, Roman style decor. It is also one of the few theatre that has decently spaced  boxes however I still managed to sit behind a really tall person.
I didn't realise that I would be seeing three different performances. L'Arlesienne was very sweet, using a Van Gogh picture as a backdrop. The story is based on a French play and uses Bizet music, A boy discovers on his wedding day that his fiance was unfaithful and slowly goes mad. It is beautifully choreographed and so beautifully danced by the whole company. The costumes where fantastic too.

We then had a 35 minute interval and then I think the best piece of the night which was Le Jeune Homme et la Mort which was set to the music of Bach and was beautifully performed by Yonah Acosta (is from Cuda and has the same surname so I think he is related to Carlos) and opens with a great homage to Henry Wallis's famous painting. This piece had a story written by Jean Cocteau so was very French expressionistic but was beautiful and so well acted. I will definitely be watching Yonah.

Another 35 minutes later and finally we had Carmen. Beautifully recreating the Havana of South America they used the always excellent score of Bizet's opera of the same name it was beautifully danced and the main couple had great partner pieces.

It was a good night (although the 35 minute intervals made this a tad longer then it should have been). I always like the coliseum and they have an interesting programme this year.

Facilities: With 35 minutes to work with, queues at the toilet aren't really an issue. They were however clean and there were plenty. They also had jugs of free water at the bar so you can help yourself instead of flagging down the wait staff.

Eyring at Haddon

Today we went to Haddon Hall which is  one of my favorite places in the England. It is going to become famous soon for its starring role in the Jane Eyre film coming out in September (already out in US) starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. However this is not the first time the Hall has been used in film and television starring in the recent BBC Jane Eyre adaptation, Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightley and Matthew McFadden and The Princess Bride!

The reason people use this place for filming is because it is a beautiful, well preserved piece of Tudor/Stuart history nestled in the hills of the Derbyshire Peak district. It is straight out of Gothic novels (think Northanger Abbey) and romantic fantasy. I love the intimate, slightly rough around the edges feel of the place. The house was lived in from 1150 until 1703 when the family were given a Dukedom and moved to Belvoir castle and the place was abandoned for 200 years until at the beginning of the 20th Century the family moved back and did some remedial work. It has a beautiful terrace gardens and obviously fantastic views. I personally feel the slightly overgrown, holistic garden is the best in the country because of its wildness but they are getting someone in to replant it over the winter (Haddon Hall closes over the winter) so I'm glad I saw it before it went. They also have amazing roses.

For me Haddon is like Broadsworth Hall and Wightwick Manor - built in a specific time period they have not been changed and encapsulate that time. I love places that have just enough to look around but that you still have time to sit and read or relax in the sunshine before heading home.

Facilities: The restaurant was ok. Home cooked food but not a massive selection. Toilets were great. Again they had a theme of horses but were very modern and clean. I would also advise anyone with walk difficulties to beware as the Hall is not access friendly and has lots of stairs and steep slopes.

I am going to add a photo tour of the Hall because I am a massive fan of the Jane Eyre (2006) and P&P with McFadden and Knightley. So if you want to know where things are shot here is your guide:

• Princess Bride: This is the courtyard where Princess Buttercup is presented to everyone (Haddon Hall is also used as the castle in the background in this film).

Jane Eyre: Jane and Rochester kiss here after the proposal.

Jane Eyre: This is were Jane overhears the servants discussing Grace Poole (I should have warned you it was going to be pedantic).















 P&P: This the 'Inn at Lambton' - Darcy speak to  the Gardiners here while Lizzy hides.

Jane Eyre: Jane is presented to Rochester for the first time here.

 P&P: Lizzy hides behind a curtain in this doorway (right)

Jane Eyre: Jane comes down these stairs on her wedding day.

P&P: This room was apparently used as Lizzy and Jane's bedroom at Longbourn (although I don't know if you can tell).

Jane Eyre: This was Mr Rochesters study and where Jane and he meet for their discussion.

Jane Eyre: This is where Jane says goodbye to Mr Rochester before going to Gateshead.

Jane Eyre: This is the kitchen and where Jane and Mrs Fairfax sit when Jane arrives at Thornfield.

 Jane Eyre: This where Jane and Mrs Fairfax eat with Adele.

Jane Eyre: This is Jane's Bedroom (it is currently Haddon's 'viewing room' hence the chairs).

 Jane Eyre: Jane's bedroom again.

 Jane Eyre: Jane escapes this way after walking with Rochester after the Mason event.

 Jane Eyre: The party pass past Rochesters window when he broodes over Jane.

 P&P: On the other side of this partition Lizzy reveals all about Lydia to Darcy and the Gardiners.

Jane Eyre: This is the drawing room where the party socialise each day.

I will add more tomorrow.

A visit to Chatsworth

From now on I'm going to add entries whenever I go out and  do something. This week I'm staying with my Father, Charles and today we went to Chatsworth.

Chatsworth is the estate of the Duke of Devonshire and is considered to be one of the most beautiful houses in UK (if not Europe). Famous for its Louis XIV style gardens and Baroque style house. Chatsworth the house is almost as famous as its owners (Georgiana being one of them and the other being a Mitford sister). Unusually it is one of the few places that lets you take photographs inside (it is very dark in some rooms though so not suitable for camera phones). The Cavendishes have always been good at moving with the times and they show this in displaying modern art along side their Gainsboroughs and Van Dycks. Most people will recognise Chatsworth from the recent film "Pride and Prejudice" starring Kiera Knightley (only the Painted Hall and the Sculpture Gallery and exterior but still conveys the scope of the place - no bust of Matthew McFadden either).  Beautiful and unique I would compare this to Waddesdon Manor for vision and execution. They also had a special exhibition on the 6th Duke who did alot to the house and was the only Cavendish to actually recieve Royalty! Visit his facebook page to learn more.

I also picked up a fantastic book in the gift shop that is amazing if you are an Austinite! Jane Austen: Tv & film location guide covers the locations of all the adaptations of Jane Austen (even the Laurence Olivier/ Greer Garson one!).

Facilities: Lots of toilets and they had beautifully decorated each one in a a slightly Edwardian way which was fantastic and so detailed ( Beautiful tile friezes of a hunt, each tile unique, in the Stable toilets). Loved it! Lots of restaurants too.

Sad day Sunday

Today Olivia was leaving (sob!) but before we had to drop her off for her train we decided to go to the V&A and see The Cult of beauty. We are both massive fans of the Pre Raphaelites and we are lucky enough to have lived in the North so have seen alot of the pictures before but what the V&A had done was to frame the pictures will all the aspects of the Aesthetic movement be that clothes, furniture and books. Everything was covered and everything was beautiful.

This exhibition beautifully concluded our week by bring Leighton and the Tudor/medieval influence of Hampton Court Palace together. I so enjoyed it and if you haven't been go this week as it closes on Sunday!

I was very sorry to see Olivia go but I hope to see her soon in September when I go to cat sit while she is in Bologna! Ciao Bella!

Best day Friday

Today was the best day. We went to Hampton Court Palace and had an amazing time. We started in the shop (always a bad idea). We then went in to the 'Base' court and watched the drama unfold! Katherine Parr is in trouble with her husband King Henry VIII for her religious writings and we, the members of the court had to help her convince Henry not to have her executed! Olivia got in to the swing of things and I think the actors (who as this was the first week of the new script) seemed to appreciate the help.

We then went off to the nearest cafe were we eat traditional Tudor food (Me: stew and Olivia had the beef and ale pie) and after seeing Katherine Parr get pardoned we started to follow the audio guide around first the Tudor kitchen and then HenryVIII apartments (the audio guide for the apartments wasn't very good. I recommend just reading the information). We also visited the Chapel Royal which has this amazing painted window (check it out).

We didn't even get to the William and Mary part of the palace and so I plan on returning but we headed back as we had theatre tickets for 'Being Shakespeare' by Simon Callow.

We arrived at Trafalgar Square to find Canada Day celebrations in full swing (and all the restaurants/pubs full so we ended up getting sandwiches at Pret a Manger).

Being Shakespeare was an informative one man show with Simon Callow who used play quotes to highlight events in Shakespeare's life. I learnt alot and it was beautifully staged although if I hadn't got a discount on the tickets I think I would have resented paying full price for such cramped seats.

Facilities: First mention goes to Charing Cross underground station: you are a major transport hub so why, why do you have lots of coin only oyster top up machines and only one working card machine?? Stupid. The toilets at Trafalgar Studio theatre were small but modern and had hand lotion! The bar was only in the foyer so once we were in the theatre we didn't go back.

My Birthday

It was my birthday today and after opening my presents (a watch, perfume, PC game and a DVD) we set off to Kensington High Street.

We started by visiting Leighton House, the house of Fredrick Lord Leighton the famous Aesthetic/ Pre Raphaelite artist who had his own house built with a great big studio upstairs, his own art collection beautifully hung and an 'Arab room' which is styled like a Moroccan interior and then he has a tiny bedroom! It is such a beautiful place and at only £5 for year long entry (if you return the form filled in) a complete bargain.

We then went on to Kensington Palace where the Enchanted Palace exhibition is on while the Palace gets renovated (it reopens in March 2012). We arrived hoping to eat at the Palace but the restaurant was closed so I raided the shop for shortbread and Kensington Palace chocolate (which turned out to be the best chocolate ever tm). Also I think a special mention for the toilets at Kensington as although they were temporary they were very nice (better then most of the theatre loos).

The exhibition was amazing. You are given a dance card and you have to fill in the mystery princesses. It was beautiful and great fun. If you get the chance to go before the Palace reopens do. It is so worth it. I also went abit mad in the gift shop ( I brought Royal wedding tea, chocolate - of course and a book on the Georgians).

We then went to Waterloo and after watching the kids gather for their prom on the Southbank while eating the best duck stir fry ever at Giraffe (apparently big fat gypsy wedding is a fashion choice). We then headed to The Old Vic for Richard III with Kevin Spacey and directed by Sam Mendes. He was amazing, bring Richard rather sympathetically to life and the setting was great (loved his dictator costume). However the rest of cast were abit wooden and his performance highlighted that.

Facilities: You have just rebuilt your theatre so lets build a toilet with no room to queue! Must be built by men and idiot bar woman who tried to make us queue across the entrance blocking everyone and confusing the queue so people started pushing in! Cardinal sin especially with limited time in the interval. Luckily I did get out with enough time to get to the bar which was pricey (which was to be expected judging by the crowd) and had an OK selection.

Women Wednesday

Today we went on the Jack the ripper walk from 'Walks of London'. We only got to Mitre Square as the directions were abit unhelpful if you are not a local. It was all a little disappointing as most the places are modern buildings (thanks to the blitz) or slightly pretentious shops (thanks to redevelopment). As we had left it quite late we decided to head to Covent Garden.

We eat cupcakes at Ella's ( the end store in the middle, on the left). We also had ice cream at the Ice cream Boutique (facing the Jubilee market) which was strangely designed to look like a biker bar but the ice cream was good.

We then went to see Woman in Black at The Fortune Theatre (opposite Shrek: The Musical). A brilliant Victorian horror using a minimal set and alot of suggestion to create the frights. It was beautifully told and very atmospheric! The only thing that spoiled it was that there was a class of schoolkids in who insisted on screaming at everything. OMG a door is open! AHHHHH! It ruined it a little bit for me but the two actors were great and very believable. We also discovered that we were at the 9000th show as the Producer jumped on stage at the end and made a speech (we also saw the cake!)

Facilties: Ok I don't know who thought putting toilets in what was quite clearly an old cleaners cupboard was a good idea but it doesn't work! Basically they had shoehorned two cubicles in to a tiny room down a tiny corridor. It was hard to get in when there wasn't a queue, I didn't attempt it at the interval. As we stayed in the stalls we didn't go to the bar and although the Merchandise store had some interesting things it wasn't open at the end.

Triptych Tuesday

Today we went to the British Museum and visited the two special exhibitions Afghanistan: crossroads of the world and Treasure of Heaven. We thoroughly enjoyed them both. The Afghanistan exhibition is packed and has alot of details and follows the history of the country up until present day. Fascinating and beautiful. it closes on 17th March and moves to America so nice to have got the chance to see it.

Treasures of Heaven cleverly used the dome like Round reading room to create a cathedral like space. For once there was lots of room to walk around and plenty of benches to sit. It was very pretty and informative especially when some of the relics will be next revealed to the public (Germany 2012 anyone?) It was all so lovingly created and beautifully presented. Shop left alot to be desired, not much selection.

We then went to see The 39 steps which is a loving pastiche of the Alfred Hitchcock movie. Using minimum set and a cast of four they have reproduced the film really well! Olivia and I realised that we know the film a little too well and can quote it! We were also lucky enough sit next to a group of kids who really enjoyed themselves and got in to the spirit of things. So much fun! It is the only play so far I want to see again.

Facilities: The toilets were ok but we didn't make the bar however they did leave the merchandise shop open after the show so I could buy the book and the DVD of the film.

Monday Mousetrap

Since Monday was so hot we chose to go somewhere where there would be air conditioning so on the suggestion of Fiona we went to The Wallace Collection.

The Wallace Collection is the accumulative work of the Marquess' of Hereford set in a Regency townhouse it contains some of the most famous art in the world such as the laughing Cavalier and The Swing.

We started in the very posh restaurant (very expensive but it was nice) and then went to the  best  toilets in the world! They were their own little room and very clean and lovely. We had a nice wander around the the collection until we were very politely shown out. Special mention should go to the Time Regained exhibition by kevin Coates. He is a goldsmith who has created some great modern pieces. It is free and on until September so go check it out.

We then went for a wander down Bond Street (mostly to avoid the crowds) and very tired now jumped on the underground to Leicester Square and then on the St Martin's Theatre for The Mousetrap.

On the recommendation of Lydia we had food at the Cantina Laredo where we had the Best Churros ever! So delious!! And great service (but it was a monday night). We were very excited to find out that the lead actress of Mousetrap eats everyday at the restaurant before the show, recommendation indeed.

As I'm sure you are aware The Mousetrap was written by Agatha Christie and is a murder mystery. It is famous because at the end of the play you are asked to not reveal the murderer so I don't know how much of the plot I can reveal however it is set in 1930's and is a one room play very typical of this period which meant it was little dull but everyone acted with conviction and there were lots red herrings. It was like watching an episode of Miss Marple, comfortable with a dark edge and yes I did guess the murderer.

Facilities:  As this is an older theatre the ladies loos were only accessible by a door at the back on the other side of the stalls. Still they were ok and we didn't queue for long. We headed to the bar and watched the bartender explain to an American why his son couldn't take glass in to the theatre (the kid got it but Dad didn't). Not much choice but adequate. Also they shut the merchandise shop before the end so I couldn't buy anything after the show (why do theatre do this? I might not want to buy anything at the beginning because I haven't seen it yet but at the end I might want the t shirt and the signed programme! They are missing an opportunity.)

We had a nice walk home down St Martin's lane enjoying the still thriving Covent Garden.

In the beginning

I wanted to give a more in depth account of my week with my mother as I don't know when I will see you or what we will have time to talk about here is a daily summary of what we got up to.

Our first day of fun started on Sunday with a visit to the The Globe. We decided to walk from St Pauls to the Globe and were lucky to have great weather. We went passed a house that Olivia got very excited about because a book has been written about it (the white house next to the Globe exhibition entrance). Then we headed to the Globe entrance and went in via the gates. The courtyard was full of catering carts full of traditional food like hog roast sandwiches and sausages as well as coffee shops with meringues! We collected our cushions and settled down to an afternoon of romance.

All's well that ends wells is based on a story from the Decameron. Helena is in love with Bertram the son of the Countess who she is living with. Helena's father was a famous doctor but Helena feels she is not worthy of Bertram. Bertram goes off to the French court and Helena is very sad. Desperate for news of Bertram she hears that the King of France has a dreadful illness and no one can cure him however she still has some of her fathers notes and sets off to the French court to prove herself. She cures the King and is rewarded with the hand of any man at court. She chooses Bertram and he is horrified...

The globe is such an amazing experience that if I had gone to see anything I would have enjoyed it. The actors all interact with the audience at the beginning and end. They have real renaissance musicians and they have beautiful costumes which are carefully thought out to show status and wealth. There was a beautiful back drop which was a line drawing of fields and trees and then was turned round to reveal the same picture but on a blue background for night.

The play its self was fine, well told and acted although the guy playing Bertram seemed a little awkward when doing love scenes. My only issue with the play was that in a cast of strong female characters - Bertram seemed a petulant boy getting upset about marrying Helena however I had not seen it before so enjoyed it anyway.

Facilities: I also think that reviews should tell you useful stuff like "well stocked bar" and "plenty of loos" so I'm going to review theatres and places on their 'facilities' and other issues.

The Globe had good loos with an entrance and exit door so queuing was easy and plenty of cubicles as well as being easy to get to. It also had a brilliant gift shop ranging from books and Manga comics to t shirts and jewelry themed for the plays in the season. It was very good and easy for us to navigate back to the tube station. A very solid 8.