London Tide is a play based of Charles Dickens’s book Our Mutual Friend. It was adapted to a play by Ben Power. He is a playwright, screenwriter and associate of the National Theatre. We saw it at the National Theatre, which we had been to just a few days prior to watch The Boys from the Blackstuff. Although for London Tide we had much better seats, only a few rows back instead of the side of the third-floor balcony seats we had for Boys from the Blackstuff. But London Tide is only playing at National Theatre, so I was glad to go back to see it.

This show was the most interesting play I’ve ever seen. It is directed by Ian Rickson, who has directed projects at National Theatre, the West End, and Broadway. The technical aspect alone was unlike anything I have ever seen. Granted, my theatre experience is not that broad, but it was still undoubtably impressive and incredible. And everyone else I was with knew more about technical theatre than I did and they were all amazed too. The cast were all so great I really loved all the performances. Ami Tredrea led playing Lizzie Hexam; Bella Maclean played Bella Wilfer; Tom Mothersdale played John Rokesmith; Brandon Grace played Charley Hexam; Jamael Westman played Eugene Wrayburn; Scott Karim played Bradley Headstone; and Jake Wood played Gaffer Hexam. They were all so incredibly talented in both acting and singing which the play had a lot of wonderful songs. I was also very impressed with young actress Ellie-May Sheridan who did such a good job as Jenny Wren.

The play was so unique too. When it started the lighting rigs were only a few feet above the stage which I thought just meant they were working on something, but then the play started with them still on the ground. Then the full cast crawled from the floor onto the stage as the lights rose. Throughout the play the lighting was constantly moving and changing color and brightness. It moved like a wave when they were referencing the tide, and helped separate the stage into different locations at the same time. It was actually so cool I know I had my mouth open in awe throughout the play. It was blocked expertly too with every single sound made was purposeful and useful.

I have zero complains or notes about this play. I went in with kind of low expectations. I should have know better considering it was based of a Charles Dickens novel. But we had seen The Mousetrap the night before, which I loved so much and was a “whodunnit” I thought could not be beat. It was also a long play after a long day, and after struggling against sleep in the uncomfortable chairs of the National Theatre a few nights before, I was not optimistic. But I was sorely mistaken, and I could not be happier about it. As soon as the play started though, I knew I had the wrong impression. Starting the play with the lights so low and the actors appearing suddenly from the ground had me instantly hooked. When the first intermission came an hour and a half later, I was sad because I knew we only had two hours left. The first half was incredible, and the second was somehow even more so. When it was over I knew it was the best play I had ever seen and I was devastated there was no more to see. I HIGHLY recommend this play to whoever has the opportunity to see it. I am hoping it gets more attention and praise as it has only been out for a month and I want it to stick around so I may have the opportunity to see it again sometime in the future.

WOW.

I really could not tell you the last time that a show has made me feel so many emotions all at once. I ugly cried. Laughed my ass off (sorry), and felt everything in between. This show was truly a masterpiece and cannot express how much I enjoyed it, and also hated it at times, which is a good thing.

I’m not sure where to start but I would say my favorite moment was when Lizzie jumped in to save Eugene. Also when Bella and John FINALLY got together, ugh. I just felt the strongest emotions during these parts. During the first one I was like wow, because of the effects of her jumping in and then the complete blackout, which wasn’t done many times in the show. And the second moment because of the TENSION between them was so truthful and ugh just so good.

I LOVED the lighting design for this show. I knew from the very first 10 seconds that this was going to be an amazing show. The system of lights they had that moved all together was so cool, I had never seen that before. I also enjoyed the use of silhouettes, I have seen shows where they get over used but I dont think this was one of these shows, they were perfect. I also really enjoyed how scene changes weren’t super crisp, and the lighting would just shift rather than completely go to black or really indicate “HERE’S THE SCENE CHANGE”, it all just flowed very smoothly.

I also cannot express how good the acting was, as we all obviously saw. I mean those actors were AMAZING, I don’t know how else to explain it. I loved that this show was about building character, and they really could not have done a better job, everyone was just ugh, chefs kiss. One of my favorite parts was the fact that they weren’t great singers! It made it feel so much more raw and truthful.

The music was amazing.

The sets (or lack there of) were beautifully done.

I cried so hard. Happy and sad tears.

I loved this show so much and will be going back.

Today we saw London Tide, an amazing musical performance at the Nation Theatre. Everything about this play was amazing to witness. The technical aspects were enchanting and the way they manipulated the theatrical elements was fantastic. The lighting was amazing the way they kept parts of the stage lit while also giving the actors the perfect amount of lighting to highlight what the audience was supposed to see while also keeping the rest of the stage in a dramatic shadow. The way they used the electricals moving them up and down and even having someone hang off of them was amazing. The stage movement and blocking was also incredible to see. I’ve never seen the stage itself move before and was amazed when they used it to show off the incredible blocking during the dances and scenes. Every movement of the blocking was instrumental to the story and the way they always utilized the entire space while keeping so much of the stage open was brilliant. The costumes looked amazing the way each one could let you instantly know the social status of characters as well done. I also greatly enjoyed their use of scenery such as the large wooden pillars on the sides of the stage and the way they navigated through them while also using them as things such as a coat rack. The amazing quality of the sound left me immersed within the world of the story for the whole production. They paid so much attention to detail within the sound work that several times I didn’t notice background sound such as waves crashing or a light breeze was playing until they stopped for a transition or music number. All in all London Tides was an amazing experience that I would recommend everyone to try and see as it was damn near if not the peak of Technical perfection in theater.

Walking through the Tower of London, I was truly impressed by the sheer amount of history and information that was being put on display. We started the tour by seeing the Crown Jewels, which were a bit underwhelming at first, until I got a look at the whole exhibit, and was in awe of the sheer vastness of the collection. Learning about the royal coronation ceremonies from that was incredibly interesting, and seeing all the different tools and implements of the practice was fascinating to me. The wide collection of different ceremonial maces, crowns, swords, dining ware was amazing to see, and thinking about how well those artifacts were preserved was really cool as an aspiring archaeologist (I do not have any pictures from the exhibit, however, as they did not allow photography there, apparently for security reasons). Walking through the prison towers and cells around the area was fascinating, especially learning about all the different torture implements and famous prisoners that have been kept up in the towers many different cells. I found the prisoner Charles Bailly, a papal agent caught in London attempting to smuggle to multiple members of the ruling class detailing plans for a Spanish invasion of Eastern England, to be particularly interesting, especially, as he made multiple, very neat, inscriptions along the walls of the Tower of London. Wandering the battlements was incredible, as each room contained wildly different histories and exhibits from the ones before it, starting with King Edward I’s bedchambers and telling about such things as the Royal Beasts and WWI. 

My favorite exhibit, however, was the White Tower, which I almost missed most of because I was afraid we would run out of time. When I was told about how the higher floors had a dragon statue and a highly impractical combination gun-ax on display, however, I knew I had to go back. And I was not disappointed at all, being greeted not only by those two displays, but with the sights of other oddities like highly decorated weaponry, a look at the vast weapon stores kept below the tower, The Lumley Horseman, a full chapel, and even a small arcade-esque Musket shooting game (that sadly was not working when we were there). The White Tower had so many incredibly interesting finds that pulled at my archaeologist heart, and it is definitely a place that I would like to visit again.

If I am completely honest, I did not think I would care too much for the Tower of London. I know, sue me! I think it came from a place of not having fully understood the historical weight and history that it holds in the city. But I am glad to announce to everyone, that I am now more cultured over its history!

Let’s start with my first impressions. As soon as we got off the Tower Hill underground station, everyone GASPED at the sight of the Tower of London. It looked so cool from afar, and I was so excited to enter. Before we made our way, we stopped to see a surviving part of the Wall of London. It was a defensive wall built around 200AD back when London was a Roman town port called Londinium. My brain cannot comprehend how even that small part of the wall has survived till this day. 

We continued our journey into the Tower of London, and our first exhibit was “The Crown Jewels” which I was most looking forward too. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Other than maybe the fact they didn’t allow any pictures, and how fast it went by. Anyway! I was absolutely blown away by the detail and beauty of all the pieces in that exhibit. It was so interesting to read up on all the different traditions and all the coronation regalia. I knew royal coronations were important, but I never realized just how much goes and has gone into it. Such as the 12^th century coronation spoon displayed at the exhibit. How it survived parliament’s destruction of the crown jewels in 1649, making it one of the oldest artifacts in the collection. I was so impressed by the insane details on all these pieces, especially the Sovereign’s Coronation Robes, which are also known as The Supertunica and Imperial Mantle. I had such a hard time finding my favorite piece. Then I stumbled into the artifacts and regalia used at Coronations Banquets and fell in love with the Grand Punch Bowl and its Ladle. It could hold 240 bottles of wine !! But the tradition was abandoned in the 1800s’ because of how expensive it was. 

My second favorite exhibit had to be at Tower Hill. Although I don’t love executions, it was interesting to read about all the different kinds of prisoners and their stories. The story that stood out to me the most was about Queen Anne Boleyn, who was imprisoned and then later executed for not providing a son for King Henry VIII in their 3 years of marriage. He sent her to the tower and found her “guilty” of adultery with four men and incest with her brother. When I read that, my jaw dropped. She denied the accusations, and I believe she was telling the truth. Because that was a crazy statement to make, and a crazy sentence to read. But it gets funnier because she was actually calm at her execution, laughed, and commented “I have a little neck”. When I read that, I immediately thought of when I say “I’m so small and petite”. All the older people won’t get it, but if you know you know. 

The Tower of London was right beside the Tower Bridge, which I was lucky to have walked through. I got to see the tower from a great view and discover a different part of London.  It was filled with so many food places I couldn’t wait to eat! I was also matching with the bridge (not planned), which means I really am the main character.

I am so amazed by the history of London so far, and am excited to see what’s next. Tonight, I will be seeing London Tide at the National Theatre. I hope it won’t be too depressing, But alas, I will be going now. 

CHEERS,

Belinda (your fav)

For a theater major I would say I’ve seen an embarrassingly small amount of theater in my life. With that small caveat, I think London Tide was perhaps the most impressive play that I’ve ever seen. With intresting choices like using the batons to imitate the movement of waves, provide scale to rooms, and even letting an actor hang off one during a musical number it’s not something that I’d ever really thought of as an option for scene/lighting design. That being said, it worked perfectly. Speaking on the scenic design, I find the show’s minimalist approach to be a perfect fit for a story with such a large scope.

Tech elements aside, the performances were also great. I felt all four romantic leads were highlighted and were each given moments to individually shine. Perhaps the best performance though was delivered by Jake Wood in his appearance as Gaffer Hexam. Even as a minor character when he was on stage he commanded so much attention and provided such a nuanced portrayal of a character that could have simply come off as a very one note angry brute. His portrayal gave a window into someone molded by their surroundings of questionable but often understandable morals. To me his performance, in particular in the song the burning boat, really pulled together a lot of the family dynamic we see in the other two Hexams and highlighted his children’s decisions for the rest of the play.

Overall, I loved London Tide. Aside from the show itself, I loved the experience because it gave me the opportunity to see a show of a calibur that I’d never gotten the privilege of viewing before. Do I think it’s the best thing ever in every way? No, but it’s mix of drama with a few songs set to the backdrop of gorgeous technical work made for an experience that really shows why theater is such an important part of our culture. It’s a show that I won’t soon forget. 

I see you’re back…I suppose I should say hello. Don’t think I didn’t see you following me in the streets earlier. I’m onto you, you creeps.

Anyway, jokes aside–last night we saw London Tide at the Lyttleton Theatre, which is one of the theatres in the National Theatre building. Unfortunately, the picture of the free program is the only picture I am permitted to post, lest I get banned from the National Theatre forever.

London Tide is an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel Our Mutual Friend written by Ben Power with music and lyrics in conjunction with singer-songwriter PJ Harvey; it was directed by Ian Rickson with Ian Ross as the musical director. The show premiered with the National Theatre in April.

I thought that the work done by the entire team was absolutely phenomenal. It utilized many interesting, complicated, and evocative effects in production as well as an unpolished, honest tone in its performance that made it stand out to me in ways I could not have imagined just by reading the synopsis. There were technical effects I had never seen live before, such as a stage that can elevate and lower itself and very coordinated flywork with a grid of lights. Due to its being set on a river, there were a lot of unique effects that had to be interpreted by the production team, and were often displayed in creative ways.

This play revolves around change: the change in the tides, the change in public opinion, and the changes within characters, to name a few. As such, I observed that the director’s vision in putting on this production was to show an ever-dynamic setting from a basic, minimal set design by Bunny Christie and staging that ebbs and flows like the bank of the Thames. This interpretation allows for the people to be the central element of the story; this shows through all of the production elements. The lighting design by Jack Knowles highlights the characters and the changes that they go through exceedingly well. Throughout the entire play as well, the sound design by Tingying Dong and Christopher Shutt kept me entirely immersed in the world created by this absolute masterpiece of a play, which through a snapshot in time shows the most pivotal moments of all of these characters’ lives. With all of these special effects shown in the production, I think that it would have been very easy for the play to become a spectacle, but because of the wonderful acting and direction, I could never begin to think of it that way. I had no complaints whatsoever about this play, and given the chance would love to see it again.

I would go so far as to claim that it is the best show this side of the Thames (and maybe also the other side as well?).

Stop following me!

CW

As I close out my third day in London, perhaps my favorite thing, of which there are many, is the history behind every ounce of the city. So, as one might assume, the tower of London was one of my favorite things we’ve had the pleasure of seeing so far. A location that works as a sort of architectural amalgam of the city’s history, with pieces on display ranging from gifted samurai armor, dragons and a number of live ravens which traverse the ground waiting to interact with patrons lucky enough to come across them.

One of the most intresting parts of the tower though isn’t the architecture or pieces on display, it’s the sheer number of people who have at one point or another been imprisoned there. The one I’d like to talk about, or ones in this case, are the twin Kray brothers who stayed in the tower in 1952. As some of the last two people to be imprisoned there the Krays’ stay was because of their failure to show up for National service when they were younger. An interestingly tame crime considering they’re mainly remembered for their later involvements in murder, racketeering, armed robbery, arson, etc. 

As we visited every exhibit, walked many flights of stairs, and passed through generations of London’s history one couldn’t help but get excited about the culture. Upon our exit, I think I’d have been hard-pressed to find a favorite thing I saw. Perhaps the crown jewels or a collection of terrifying torture devices, at the end of the day though I think my favorite thing was simply seeing a singular, somewhat funny, item. Coming all the way from a nobleman’s castle in Bavaria the tower displayed an ax pistol. The reason I love this so much is it’s a piece of history where the inception of it in theory makes sense but in practicality, it seems almost impossible to use and becomes perhaps the silliest item on display. A picture has been attached for reference. Overall, the Tower of London was a great experience with exciting things to view, it just makes me excited for the wealth of other museums and such in the area!