I have
to go on about London for a while because it made me feel almost like a new
person. The main reason for this was of course that I haven’t been going
anywhere since Mars 2020 (my last trip to London to see “Uncle Vanya”) and I
was terrified of even thinking about going to the airport. I didn’t really take
it in that there was a Tube strike in London a few days before my flight, and
the German unions were pretty active in the transport sector as well. I was
just terrified about having to do everything by phone for the first time,
check-in and all. But – having now a proper mobile phone for once! – everything
went surprisingly well. That is, not everything, of course. I wasn’t able to
get a bar code for ANY of my pre-booked shows on my phone – but there still is
a box office, as there has been since the beginning of London theatre in the 16th
century and will be, I am sure, until the end of time (at least where London is
concerned), and they just needed my name to give me the bar code … And of
course, after I had been so delighted that the check-in for my return flight on the
phone had worked, machines at Heathrow Airport weren’t able to READ my barcode so
that I had to go on a wild goose chase for a Lufthansa check-in counter. If I
cannot think of a reason to be at the airport hours in advance, it will turn
up! – Never mind, I soon realized that, having finally arrived in civilization,
there is WiFi at every location, and there really is no need to panic. In fact,
on my first evening, sitting on a bench in front of the National Theatre and
looking on the Thames while chatting with my mother in Bavaria – which I
couldn’t do on my old Windows phone for no reason anyone could ever explain to
me – I knew I would be alright.
On my second day I had my best experience outside the theatre when I succeeded in exchanging old twenty-pound notes which I still had from my last trip. As I had WiFi, I found out that they MIGHT still be exchanged at the post office, plus the information which Post Offices in my neighbourhood might do this. I set out to find the closest on Drury Lane, not feeling very optimistic about the whole thing, but, as it was a hundred pounds in notes, felt I had at least to give it a try. I know if I had been in Italy or Spain, the post office wouldn’t have been open at any reasonable hour – even though it said that it was open on the door! – and, if by any chance I had been able to make it there within their three-hour window, nobody would have bothered to change notes for one of these stupid foreigners! (I mean: what is in there for THEM!) If I had been an unfortunate tourist in Germany, I would have to find the right bank and show my passport, fill in a form, and then – maybe – I would have had the value of my outdated banknotes deposited on my account in a few months time … The Asian-looking woman at the counter in the Drury Lane post office was INCREDIBLY friendly. On my timid request to exchange my old twenty-pound notes she answered with a bright smile: “Of course!” and asked me if I had ever exchanged money at the post office before. “No, I haven’t!” I answered and thought: now comes the form … “That’s great!” she answered and issued a slip of paper. “Please write your address here!” And THAT was it! We had a friendly chat about the weird spelling of my name which she was familiar with because she had tried to learn German for her exams, and I got issued my pound notes which I now felt I had every right to spend at Foyles … And, not for the first time on this trip, but most vividly, I had this feeling that I was HOME again! Back with a civilization I recognise, where I understand what people are talking about, where people seem to react normally to me, which makes me react normally to them, which makes me FEEL normal! (Is this really so much to ask?)
So, this time it was the “little” things mostly – not, like last time with “Uncle Vanya”, the theatre. I kind of knew how Covid had messed with everything. Most of all, quite irrationally, had made me feel that I wouldn’t be able to go where I wanted to go ever again. But the theatre was, of course, interesting enough. After having missed Simon Russell Beale in “John Gabriel Borkman” and David Tennant in “Good”, I felt I just COULDN’T miss Sophie Okonedo and Ben Daniels in “Medea” on top of that. So “Medea” became the reason I made it to London after all. As “Phaedra” was still on as well at the National Theatre, I chose this for my first evening. And as I couldn’t believe the incredible daftness of making the “Bake-Off” into a musical, I thought it would be fun to see this on my last day. In fact, “Phaedra” turned out more remarkable than “Medea”, more interesting and breath-taking. First of all, I couldn’t believe to be back at the National Theatre after five (?) years (“Antony and Cleopatra” with Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo): the atmosphere, the shop, even the weather played ball and I had a clear evening and night stroll along the Thames … But the production was really special as well as it wasn’t a modern version of the Greek/French classic, but they had taken the myth as an opportunity to write an entirely contemporary play about an upper middle-class family, immigration, the works ... A vivid comment on the question of “What is a classic?” that got answered in a significant way in the programme. As it is a question I have been dealing with off and on in my blog – without actually asking it, I think? – I hope I will be getting round to writing some more about it.
It is especially interesting in comparison with “Medea” which WAS a contemporary version of the Greek classic – which actually made it a bit boring, at least at the beginning, compared with “Phaedra” where you get thrown into the middle of vibrant family life with everybody talking at the same time without listening to the others, whereas in “Medea” we get the “classic” update by the nurse about Medea’s distressed state following recent developments. In fact, the greatest attraction of this production for me was for it to be played in the newly built Sohoplace theatre that had been finished in October last year and is, of course, really beautiful. It wasn’t at all a bad thing that this version of “Medea” was partly “about” this theatre, that is about using the structure of its rather “Greek” setting to best effect. These exterior aesthetics is what I enjoyed most about it, will remember most, whereas in “Phaedra” it was the liveliness and life-likeness of the whole production. Even if you don’t care about these people – as I didn’t! – they make you suffer. “Medea” had a simple, entirely beautiful – and rather “classic” - structure which was very much informed by the exterior structure of the theatre.
Whereas in “Phaedra” it didn’t impair the performance that the stage set got damaged at one point and there was a short interruption to fix it, it was a pity that Sophie Okonedo had a sore throat. I think it took a great deal off the power of her performance, at least in the first half. Afterwards it became better, and I was able to enjoy her amazing sensitiveness as an actress that I had already noticed in “Antony and Cleopatra”. It is so “un-classical” that it is neither really compatible with Shakespeare nor with this rather formal version of a Greek classic, but, as soon as it comes to full effect, in both cases this turned into a strength of the production rather than a weakness. As to Ben Daniels, I rued it that I had missed “The Normal Heart” (where he got an Olivier Award nomination) as soon as he entered the stage. I haven’t actually seen him that often, but every time I see him I get the impression that I have seen just a fraction of what is there to see. This impression got still stronger this time as he is such an incredible presence on the stage already without doing anything that an accomplished actor cannot do with one hand tied behind his back. He is definitely still on the list of actors of whom I want to see much more in the future …
As to the “Bake-Off”: It wasn’t daft at all. I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching the clever, funny and incredibly accomplished performances. And I liked it that, at the end, we don’t get to know who wins. Of course, winning is an important issue, but the outcome made me realize that it is not why “we” are watching it. It is, in fact, the little things, the comedy and tragedy of NORMAL life – instead of the great tragedy of the stage and the world that we do everything we can to stay clear of. – So, this rounded it all off really well.
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