London Living

The last two days have felt like a week. It’s almost like time doesn’t exist here. I woke up at 4:30 AM yesterday, and it was completely bright outside. I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I decided to stay awake and read for a while. I attempted to meet people downstairs for breakfast, but I somehow ended up on a staff elevator and ended up in the kitchen… a nice worker man showed me how to get to the lobby, and all was well. After trying a full English breakfast for the first time, we got on a coach and got a tour of London. We spent three hours driving around London seeing the sights and getting a better feel for the city. Once we returned, a group of us traveled to a little vintage store called Hunky Dory. It was a cute little shop, but I was more obsessed with the area of town we were in. It felt like every surface of the city was covered in a combination of murals and graffiti that worked to tell the stories of the city’s character. We rounded out the night by going to the National Theater and seeing Dancing at Lughnasa.

First off, the architecture of the building was lovely. It is a brutalist type of building made with formwork concrete. The exterior is layered rectangle spaces, while the inside has a fun wood-like texture. I was obsessed with looking at the individual components that made up this building.

Once we made it into the theater, I was blown away by the beauty of the set. I don’t think I have ever seen a set with so much depth and character to it. The grasses, garden, and winding path stretched back into the void, while the little house was carefully placed at the front of the stage. There were no walls to block the limits of the house, but the actors’ blocking was done so well that there were no problems deciding where the windows and doors of the house were supposed to go.

I personally wish that the storyline of the play was a little better executed by the writer. Unfortunately, the writing feels very slow, and it seemed to only show the sad parts of life. It showcased the mundane tasks of life, and I don’t think I have ever seen anyone iron and fold laundry as much in a play as I saw in this one. That being said, I feel like the acting and directing of the play were beautiful. The dancing scenes were breathtaking, and I could feel the emotions that the actors were trying to evoke. I almost cried a few times because of the way the actors made me relate to the small moments.

I wish there was more to the story, but I don’t think they could have done a better job while producing Dancing at Lughnasa. The blocking made sense, and I wanted to learn more about the characters.

Overall rating: 6/10

               Plot: 2/10

               Set: 9/10

               Characters/Acting: 8/10

Today was just as eventful as yesterday. We started off at the Tower of London, and for some reason, I was obsessed with the windows. Something about the stone of the castle made it feel enchanting. A pigeon flew so close to my face that I could feel its wing hit the side of my head, we saw the crown jewels, and Amelia successfully stole Alex’s beloved fanny pack. We journeyed to Spitalfields market where I had some fantastic Pad Thai and Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble. I got lost in the antique booths surrounding the market, and finally fell asleep while listening to my audio book when we got back. This evening we went and saw a play, but I will give it it’s own review later. Afterwards, Alex, Ryan, Nick, and I went to Chinatown and had some interesting, seemingly Americanized Japanese food. It was pretty good though, it was a cool experience, and it was fun to try so many different kinds of food.

The only downside to London so far is that I haven’t found a great cup of coffee yet, and this wifi is teaching me a kind of patience I never thought I would need (including deleting all my photos multiple times before I could post).

That’s all for now. ❤