A Wilde night

Last night we went to London and saw a production of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband. You might remember that I'm actually a huge Oscar Wilde fan; and you might also be thinking that we're a little theatre-obsessed. Yes, we love the theatre, but mostly we just want to see as many plays as possible because we know the arrival of our son will make that super-challenging.

The play was wonderful. I've loved it since I first read it, but this is the first of Wilde's plays I've actually seen on stage. The acting was flawless (particularly impressive was the guy who played Lord Goring-- Elliot Cowan), and the sets were gorgeous! Mostly we just laughed the whole time and enjoyed Wilde's witty writing.

I'm not sure why the photo is so skewed, but you'll notice a famous face among the cast of the play. As Mrs. Cheveley in An Ideal Husband, Samantha Bond (far right) is best known in her role as Miss Moneypenny in the Pierce Brosnan James Bond movies.


In addition to seeing this production, we also ate some German food at the Bavarian Beerhouse restaurant. No one who has read the blog will be surprised to see Jacob's selection of the Schweinehaxe. The food was ok, but not wonderful. We recommend getting your German food in Germany, not in London.

And just for fun, here are a few of the best quotes from the play:

• I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.


• One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.


• ...life cannot be understood without much charity, cannot be lived without much charity

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Saturday in London we saw Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof starring James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad. This production was directed by Debbie Allen, the famous choreographer/actor/producer. Performances by Sanaa Lathan and Adrian Lester were also incredible. (I love Jacob's talented timing in snapping the above photo right as a London cab was passing behind me!)

"Volcanic vulgarity" was the description in The Guardian (one of the big UK newspapers) of James Earl Jones's performance as Big Daddy. Jacob and I felt that Jones's performance was simply unbelievable. Seriously, it was that good.

The other interesting thing for me is that it's a very American story, set on a plantation in the Mississippi delta. This particular cast was all black, which was an interesting dynamic given the climate of the deep south when it was written in 1955. (And did I mention it's on a plantation?) It was interesting to be watching such a uniquely American play in London and wondering how it's received by the British audience around me. I was totally waiting for Adrian Lester to slip up in his American accent, but he didn't--it was perfectly spot-on all the way through. The whole production was fantastic!

Semi-related note: On my birthday last month I was delighted to report that I share a birthday with the First Lady. This play takes place on the birthday of Jones's character, Big Daddy. But in real life, James Earl Jones was born on January 17 too! (exactly 50 years before me)

To be, or not to be

Saturday we saw a production of Hamlet in London starring Jude Law! He was incredible in the role!

[We did have a few frustrating transportation snags on our way to the play and had to watch the first act from the lobby because we were late.] ):

For those of you who might not know, I'm a huge Shakespeare fan. Seeing a production of Hamlet in London is such a dream come true, and Jude Law was just the icing on the cake. I love the entire play, but some of the writing in Hamlet particularly excites me; here is a sampling (I'm totally skipping the really well-known passages from the play that everyone knows) ...

• Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks (Act II, scene ii, Hamlet)


• Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind (Act III, scene i, Ophelia)


• I must be cruel, only to be kind (Act III, scene iv, Hamlet)


• When sorrows come, they come not single spies, But in battalions. (Act IV, scene v, Claudius)


• I lov'd Ophelia: forty thousand brothers Could not, with all their quantity of love, Make up my sum (Act V, scene i, Hamlet)


• There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will (Act V, scene ii, Hamlet)

All the world's a stage...

When we moved to England one of my priority destinations was Stratford-upon-Avon to see the Shakespeare birthplace (above) and other related sites. We finally made it! Before I talk about our wonderful day in Stratford (Monday), I'll talk about what we did Saturday.

We went to London and saw our very first (but certainly not our last) West End production: Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre. We both thought the production was amazing--the singing, dancing, acting, pit orchestra, set, etc. I can't adequately emphasize how incredible it was!
As you can probably tell from the above photo, the Queen's Theatre was near Chinatown. We enjoyed walking through Chintown in London. Here's a photo of Jacob there.



Now for Stratford. Below is the house where Shakespeare was actually born, and we stood in the very room--totally awesome! The house itself was interesting, as it's the original house from the 1500s (with a few additions over the centuries), and there was an interesting presentation about glove-making, the profession of Shakespeare's father.

(Can you tell I was absolutely elated to be there?)

The next house is is called Hall's Croft and belonged to Shakespeare's son-in-law, who was a doctor in Stratford-upon-Avon. The house was also his medical practice, and it's believed he was actually Shakespeare's physician (which acquaintance probably led to his marrying Shakespeare's daughter).

The house where Shakespeare spent his final days (New Place) was destroyed and is now a beautiful garden. Adjacent to that garden is the amazing Great Garden where we saw a series of statues (by American sculptor Greg Wyatt) of Shakespeare's plays/characters. Here's the one of Falstaff (always a favorite Shakespeare character).

This is Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried (and was baptized and worshipped during his life). We saw his grave with the famous epitaph, as well as a first-edition copy of the King James Bible.

Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,

To dig the dust enclosed here.

Blessed be the man that spares these stones,

And cursed be he that moves my bones.

Czech us out: Prague on the blog

This week we had a few extra days, so we went to Prague! We had an amazing time, and photos don't do it justice.

We took a 6-hour tour of the city and learned a lot about its fascinating history. We saw dozens of gorgeous churches, but the Czech Republic has one of the least religious populations in Europe; our tour guide said that 75% are atheist. Most of the beautiful churches serve as concert halls/performing arts centers, but some do hold services on Christmas and Easter. The photo below shows Tyn's Church in the old town square. Also in the old town square is a reminder of Prague's importance in the tumultuous Protestant Reformation. The statue in the middle of the square is Jan Hus, an influential Protestant thinker who was burned at the stake in 1415. Hus's ideas influenced Martin Luther and the overall Protestant movement in Europe. We find it ironic that a place steeped in so much religious history is currently so nonreligious (probably a result of Communism).

Also in the old town square is the famous Astronomical Clock, constructed in 1410, with most of the original mechanical parts still operating. The Clock gives an hourly performance where the 12 Apostles appear in the 2 blue windows above the Clock; it was lots of fun to watch.


Our tour included a river cruise along the Vltava River. The cruise also took us into a cute little canal. We haven't been to Venice (yet), but we thought the experience felt a little Venetian.
Then we toured Prague Castle, which is the largest ancient castle in the world. The Castle is dominated by St. Vitus Cathedral, a breathtaking structure where coronations and other significant events have taken place in Czech history. Another historical event that took place at Prague Castle was the famous Defenestration of Prague, which started the Thirty Years' War -- another important event from the Protestant Reformation. (You can see the Castle on the hill above the Vltava River.)

We also took the Haunted Prague Tour, which was a little cheesy and not at all scary; but it was fun to see the amazing city at night.

Famous Prague residents included Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler; they worked on their groundbreaking theories of planetary motion there (Kepler as Tycho's assistant). The writer Franz Kafka was also from Prague. I read his most famous work Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis) in German in college. I wasn't a huge fan, but we visited his monument in Prague anyway. The statue is located in the Jewish Quarter (Josefov), which was preserved by the Nazis, who intended it to be a museum of an extinct people.

The Czechs were under the rule of the Communist party from 1946 until 1989 when the famous Velvet Revolution occurred in Wenceslas Square (pictured below).

Charles Bridge is one of the iconic Prague sights. Most sections of the bridge are original--from as early as the 1300s.

The Lennon Wall is filled with John Lennon-themed graffiti and Beatles song lyrics; it was originally an outlet for anti-Communist protest in the 1980s but survives today as a symbol of the ideals of peace and love.

We loved Prague!

Dubliners

Nick and I spent a few days in Dublin, Ireland this week! Other than a flight delay getting home, some rain and a cold I can't shake, we had a great trip. Many of you will recognize the title of this post as an allusion to a literary work by James Joyce (a collection of short stories). The above statue is of Joyce; he is just one of the many literary giants to have called Dublin home. My favorite writer from Dublin is Oscar Wilde, and I particularly enjoyed the statue of him in the city. (I love the expression on his face!)
According to our bus tour guide, Wilde is the most quoted person in the English language, and right in front of his statue are 2 monuments with some of his quotes; the statue is in a park across the street from his childhood home. It was a lovely little pilgrimage because I love Wilde's work so much.

Another interesting monument in Dublin is the Dublin Spire, the tallest structure in Dublin (120 meters/387.4 feet). It was created in 2003 to replace a famous sculpture destroyed in the 60s. Our tour guide gave us 5 nicknames for the Spire. I'll only give you 3 here because the other 2 are a little vulgar (you can email me for them if you really want to know). The spire is known as: "the rod to God," "the pole in the hole," and "the stiletto in the ghetto." Many Dubliners were not excited about the spire and their tax euros spent to create it.

We really enjoyed our guided bus tour, especially John, our guide/driver. He sang a few Irish songs and gave some interesting facts. We also visited Dublin Castle, which is still used as government offices. We went to the Trinity College library to see the famous Book of Kells, a 7th Century illuminated manuscript of the four gospels. And we spent a few hours in the Irish Museum of Modern Art, where we saw exhibits by Janaina Tschape (whose paintings we loved and whose photography we ... saw) and Ulla von Brandenburg, as well as a variety of commissioned works of modern art.

Here's a photo of Nick in front of the most photographed statue in Dublin: Molly Malone. We wish we could share John (the bus tour guide) singing the song, but we found one on YouTube we liked. Click here for a great version of "Molly Malone" by Barry Dodd.
Thursday we took a coastal bus tour to the south of Dublin. We stopped at the beautiful Powerscourt Gardens, where we enjoyed the breathtaking scenery in the rain. We also enjoyed some of the over-the-top inscriptions on the gravestones in the pet cemetery. A photo of the memorial to Doodles Chow is below.


A few more photos in closing: the adorable shamrock motif of the light posts throughout the city; the Custom House, famous for its architecture; and Aras an Uachtarain, the house of the Irish President. (Look familiar? The inspiration for this facade--the Leinster House in Dublin--also inspired the design of the north portico of the White House, which was designed by an Irish immigrant to America.)