Monthly Archives: November 2005

Guys and Dolls

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That Ewan McGregor is one smooth character! Perhaps this wasn’t the perfect vehicle for his singing but there was definitely no faulting his stage presence, his acting and his dance moves. Very smooth!

R and I had booked tickets for this show back in July (!) and it was definitely worth the wait so that we could get the seats that we got – prime viewing to see this spectacular show. The sets and costumes (love the suits that the guys wear!) are relatively simple for a big West End production (though still fairly impressive) allowing you to enjoy the characters and storyline which is basically about gamblers and their ladies.

Oddly endearing “cheap bum” Nathan Detroit (Douglas Hodge) bets Ewan’s Sky Masterson that he can’t make missionary Sarah Brown (Jenna Russell) fall in love with him. In the mean time Nathan has his own issues juggling his engagement to Adelaide (played engagingly by Jane Krakowski) and avoiding the eyes of the law as he tries to find a suitable venue for his crap game.

The four leads have a great chemistry and nearing the end of Ewan’s run in the musical the bond between them really shows. Lots of great dancing (look out especially for the scene in Havana where Sky and Sarah dance their rocks off in a huge saucy number) and the score is swinging! The comedic timing is also spot on. What more can you ask for a fabulous musical.

A bit of culture

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For those interested in crafts there is a little gem of a gallery, housed by the Crafts Council in Angel, which hosts a revolving programme of craft exhibitions. The current exhibition hosts the work of eight crafters shortlisted for the Jerwood Applied Arts Prize 2005: Metal. Gold, silver, iron and steel, etc. have been manipulated by these crafters into the most interesting of objects. For novelty factor check out the magnetic wall that plays hosts to visitor comment cards.

The Ping Pong experience

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The comments about Ping Pong Dim Sum serving reasonably priced dim sum (or yum cha as I know it) has me scratching my head. For £2.80 a serve it seems at first glance competitive in terms of price with the multitude of other dim sum restaurants housed in or near the Chinatown area of Leicester Square. However, what we received per serve seemed less … generous? perhaps that I am accustomed to. Oh well I guess we were here for the experience.

The new locale for Ping Pong in Soho seems very well matched to the feel of the restaurant – it is hip, (trying to be) urban and trendy. There is none of that bustling noisy messy atmosphere you would usually associate with traditional dim sum. Instead, dishes are requested through the very orderly process of marking a slip of paper given to your waiter who then forwards it to all the relevant people. I think people also go to Ping Pong for the cocktails as the cocktail/bar area rivaled that of the dim sum preparation area.

The selection of dim sum was rather disappointing – Ping Pong are clearly going for quality rather than quanity and quality – but what we did receive tasted as expected (not special nor awful.) The Jasmine tea (though a bit steep) was an experience with the flower arriving in your glass as an unopened bud then flowering to beauty as the hot water is infused.

If you are looking for variety and a challenge to your palette Ping Pong is not for you, but if you are after standard though reasonable quality dim sum, ambience, cocktails and are willing to stomach quite an expensive bill, Ping Pong would be right up your alley. It will be interesting to see if the Ping Pong that seems to be a work in progress on Westbourne Grove in Bayswater will deliver the same experience.

Readers welcome

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Qu'ran on TTP - an interactive display that allows visitors to virtually 'turn' the pages of a bookKing's CollectionIn an attempt to add a third to a current list of two libraries that I have joined but never seem to visit today I headed over to the British Library at St Pancras. The British Library is UK’s national library and one of the greatest in the world (we’re talking over 150 million items kids!) Its quite an impressive building and to a tourist would seem more museum than library, for example, as a general visitor I visited The John Ritblat Gallery where I saw many versions of the Qu’ran, the Magna Carta and Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest manuscript of the complete New Testament.

To access actual reading material (that is, the reading rooms) you must apply for a reader’s pass. I thought I had brought all I needed with me – my photo ID and bill with address. Unfortunately I didn’t bring the most important thing – an actual reason for wanting to use the library, that is, a research topic. I didn’t want to make up anything on the spot since that seemed against the spirit of the library so next time I guess!

And you thought the British liked to line up!

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Last week my brother and I queued at the Russian Consulate for over three hours (but probably closer to three and a half) to hand in our passports to get tourist visas for our Christmas visit to Russia. We had arrived before the appointed time of 9am only to find that there were about 20 people in front of us waiting for the gate to open. We were pretty relaxed at first as we thought it would simply be a case of people handing the passports plus applications in and then we would be off. How wrong were we?!The consulate is only open for a limited time including Mon-Fri but not Wed (what the?) 9-12 (accepting last applications at 11.45) or you can lodge between 3-4pm but you have to pay £120 or £180 for the privilege. Luckily for us we got in but we were absolutely the last people (at 11.44!) so we were relieved that our whole morning was not wasted. For the poor guy behind us this was his 3rd time lining up and he just missed out. Not sure why he didn’t make an effort to get there earlier and be first in line this time around. People are sometimes very strange like that. It was only later we found out that he was flying out the next day. Oops. So that was queuing experience number one.

Today I left work early so that I could pick up our passports/visas (again open only for a limited time 11-12 and 4-5) but to my dismay I found yet another line of people in front of me. Just as well that this time around I only waited half an hour to pick up our items but still … this was queuing experience number two.

I certainly hope that this trend of queuing is not what I have to look forward to in Russia …

Broken Flowers

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This was no Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Thank goodness. Bill Murray still delivers that silent brooding-pondering-on-life’s-meaning type of acting but in an infinitely more interesting vehicle. In Broken Flowers, Murray plays Don Johnston, a forever bachelor, who one day receives an anonymous letter telling him he has a son who has come searching for him. He is all for ignoring the letter but his PI wannabe neighbour convinces him to track down his supposed son’s mother. So, for some reason, he embarks on this road trip that brings him back into the lives of former girlfriends played by Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange and Tilda Swinton.

Overall it is an enjoyable movie, touching and dosed with subtle humour. To say too much more would give much of the story away. Suffice to say its not a movie that will come out and grab you, filled as it is with long pauses and silence and a lot of introspective analysis, but in the end will leave you wanting more.

Les Miserable

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This year sees Les Mis’ 20th year of performances in London’s West End. After all this time you would think that the show would be a just a little bit old and a little bit stale. To my pleasure it didn’t have that feel. With a new home (moving to The Queen’s Theatre from The Palace Theatre in April last year), updated sets, slight adjustments to the acts and of course an ever-changing cast this performance felt fresh and powerful.

The basic premise of the show (an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s epic novel) is the fight of the poor against the wealthy set against the backdrop of the Paris uprising in the French revolution. The audience should be warned that the story is not a simple one and at times I found myself having to give up on trying to follow the intricate story weaving and just sitting back to enjoy the performances – which I was happy to do. For the most part the tale is depressing but be assured that peace and happiness is found at the end.

The show definitely wowed me through the entire 3 hours (don’t worry – there is an intermission!). The singing was superb and heart-felt (even if a few songs did seem to go on and on at times) and was well supported by the orchestra. But mainly I was impressed with the ingenious sets and the great choreography that allowed scenes to meld seamlessly from one to the next.

If you are one of the few people in London who haven’t yet made it to a performance – get your skates on, get down to The Queen’s Theatre now and Hear The People Sing.