ballet and theatre and London: Sleeping Beauty and Twelfth Night and many things to do

Before I forget...

Last week, I went to see Sleeping Beauty at the Coliseum Theatre. Actually grew up listening to this ballet (as well as the greatest hits of Bob Marley), which is what happens when your recently immigrated, non-English speaking parents go into a used music store in early 90s and pick out CDs at random. Nevertheless, the ballet was beautifull, the dancers wonderful and the music divine. I managed to get a great seat front and center in the first row of the balcony. But: who knew that after Sleeping Beauty wakes up, there's what seems like another 800 minutes of show? As far as I'm concerned, 'prince wakes princess/prince and princess dance a little dance at the castle/sail off into the sunset' would suffice. But nooo, before they can dance, the royal feline pair must dance, then Mr. cat by himself, then Mrs. cat, then they dance together again, then the royal parakeets (alone, alone, together), then the men and women at court (alone, along, together), then a few more pairs I can't remember (I was beginning to fall asleep), then the fairy (thank God the ballet version only has one).... LAA DEE-effing DAH. By the time it was finally over, I was about ready to pull my hair out. Clearly, I am not as cultured as I would seem/pretend to be. Ballets may not be for sissies, but they're also not for people who can't sit still.

Interestingly enough, I had no problem sitting through an equally long production of Twelfth Night on Monday night. I forgot how much I loved this play, as well as Shakespeare and his genius in general. Things to remember about Twelfth Night: different-sex fraternal twins mistaken for each other; Malvolio (Olivia's servant, played by Derek Jacobi) being majorly screwed over, and yellow stockings. Teeheehee.

Having gone to see Ivanov, Oedipus, Wicked, Sleeping Beauty and Twelfth Night (and taping of BBC show) is my only excuse for not travelling out of the English isle this term. Major weak sauce, I know. Have also been to Tower Bridge, crossed many other bridges, meandered through Piccadilly/Leceister/Trafalgar Squares and Regent Street and Covent Garden, and toured the Tower of London (but missed the Crown Jewels! I'm still shaking my head in disbelief and disappointment). But that's just the tip of the iceberg...

Places in London/England still worth visiting: Buckingham Palace, British Museum, Tate Modern, National (Portrait) Gallery, Sherlock Holmes Museum, Imperial War Museum (?), Camden Market, Portobello Road Market, Oxford Street (read: Primark), Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Hyde Park, St. James' Park, (insert name of ) some Garden, the London Eye... I know I'm missing others. Haven't even explored Chinatown decently enough to call myself Chinese. Not to mention I will not be getting on that plane back to the States come June if I fail to visit the "beautiful grounds at Pemberley"! (The actual estate is in Northern England, but no matter.)

Friends are coming to visit over New Year's and Easter break, so I will definitely be knocking more off this list. First'll be New Year's Eve at Trafalgar Square, which better live up to all its hype. (If not, champagne'll do the trick.) If the London list is this long, I can't even wrap my head around continental Europe. All that's set as far as that's concerned is a Paris 'mini-break' in March with Toni. But what about Geneva, Brussels, Amsterdam, The Hague, Prague, Istanbul, Athens, Florence, Rome, Venice, Milan, Naples, Munich, Berlin, and Moscow and St. Petersburg? Sigh, just like me to leave everything until the last minute.

So much to do, so little time...
- JT -