What to do...again

Question of the week: If you only had two weeks left in London, what would you make sure to visit or see again?

"A performance at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre."- Prof Kucich

* Photo by I am I.A.M., used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

Shakespeare Festival

Question of the week: Spring sees numerous festivals in London. This Spring, in particular, the World Shakespeare Festival will host international theatre companies performing works of Shakespeare in different languages. Which international production would you be curious to see?

"I'm always a sucker for a good production of King Lear (by a long distance my favourite), and so I'm particularly looking forward to the staging that the Belarus Free Theatre are planning for the play. The BFT was founded in 2005 by Nicolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada, and back in their home country their performances have to be held secretly due to the risk of persecution and harassment by the government. Despite these constraints they have has won widespread critical acclaim for the quality of their productions and I'm sure that this summer's Lear will be no exception."- Jamie

* Photo by Tracy Lee, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

Looking forward to in London - Cornelius

Question of the week: What are you looking forward to in London for the first part of 2011?

"Sir Derek Jacobi's performance of King Lear at the Donmar Warehouse theatre. Jacobi is widely acclaimed as probably the greatest living Shakespearean actor, and yet he has never performed the Bard's greatest tragic hero, King Lear. The production opened to universal acclaim, with reviews describing Jacobi's performance as the greatest Lear of this generation. Tickets to the live performance are like gold dust, but do not despair. On 3 February the National Theatre is arranging to broadcast a live performance in hundreds of cinemas around the world. For London venues check out their website."- Cornelius

* Photo by cormac70, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London on a Budget - Cornelius

Question of the week: Do you have any tips on getting the most out of London on a budget?

"I recommend the website A Night Less Ordinary. Participating theatres in London offer either free or heavily discounted theatre tickets to many of the leading shows in the West End in both subsidised and commercial theatres. Many LUP students have secured wonderful bargains in the past and strongly recommend the scheme. Sponsored by the Arts Council of Great Britain and the “Metro” newspaper, anybody under 26 years old can take advantage of it. Each theatre has its own policy for awarding these tickets, so it’s advisable to scroll down the webpage and check out the rules that each theatre has for applying for these tickets." - Cornelius

* Photo by slimmer_jimmer, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London bus routes - Miss Alice

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite bus route?

"Leaving aside for a moment my gratitude to the 24hr number 25, which has been able to get me to minimum-fare-taxi distance from everywhere I've ever lived in London, how about the 341, from City Hall to Seven Sisters. (The route actually carries on past there, but I've never been on the final leg.)

The #34 delivers a real cross section of London, from the big buildings and classic tourist London views as you cross the river on Waterloo Bridge, past my favourite dance venue, Sadlers Wells, through Islington, and into the areas of North London not troubled by tube connections - Stoke Newington, and the much loved Clissold Park (which is hosting a participatory sculpture installation this Saturday - DOG - which looks fab). From there, you head up past Finsbury Park, though Hackney and Tottenham to the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, another great venue for dance. This end of the route is a slice of 'average' London that most tourists will never visit."- Miss Alice

* Photo by Ines 93, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London Venues

Question of the week: London has hundreds of venues, for all types of performances. Do you have any particular favourites?

"If you're looking for entertainment, the Barbican is hard to beat. The sheer diversity of the things that go on there still amazes me, even though I have known about it for years. If you want to see live theatre, music, dance or comedy, you'll be able to find it there. If you want to see a movie, there are three theatres showing everything from the latest Hollywood blockbuster to winners at the Cannes Film Festival to important film milestones in Mexican cinema. It's also a great place to go to see art installations, both indoor and out.

The Barbican was developed as a new idea for living in post-war London. About half the flats were sold (and are still very desirable and expensive today) and the other half are social housing. The complex includes shops, theatres, education venues and other facilities that people might want close to home. The entire development was designed to look 'modern' (some would say ugly) and to represent a break with the old ways of living. Who's to say if it worked? It's still here and as popular as ever, even if the concept didn't really catch on..."
- Kris

* Photo by daveybot, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London Venues

Question of the week: London has hundreds of venues, for all types of performances. Do you have any particular favourites?

"A short while ago, a friend asked me to recommend a couple of not-too-obvious theatres in London, if I knew of any. I managed to mentally scrape together one or two and began to write an email. Then I continued to write. Then I wrote a bit more. Soon enough, I found that I'd written enough to completely exhaust and bewilder any reader - too much for a friendly email and definitely too long for a blog post. However, these were the venues that came immediately to mind and I found I couldn't whittle the list down into anything less unwieldy. So, here it is: I present my list to you in all its lumpy, tiring, inelegant glory.

-----
Old Vic - Just because Kevin Spacey is the director doesn't make it populist; it is a bit old fashioned in the chandelier-and-sweeping-staircase style, however.

Young Vic - The Old Vic's recalcitrant younger sibling. No Kevin Spacey.

Royal Court** - Probably my favourite of the medium-sized theatres; it's one of London's best established but it doesn't feel like it. Productions are always outstanding - it's serious theatre. There are 'mainhouse' productions in the larger auditorium and more experimental works in the upstairs studio. Two nice bars, as well.

Donmar Warehouse - Again, medium sized and well-established, but certainly worth checking out.

Almeida Theatre* - Lovely small-to-medium sized venue with very inventive staging and consistently excellent productions.

Trafalgar Studios - For when you want to see a decent quality production without walking too far.

Southwark Playhouse - Now we're getting down to the less obvious venues. I can't comment on the drama, as I've only ever seen stand-up comedy here, but it seems a decent, studio-style theatre, very popular with actors. Surprisingly hard to find, though.

Menier Chocolate Factory - I'd normally recommend this place as an intimate venue to see well produced contemporary theatre, but they seem to be showing some dreadful-sounding musical at the moment. The restaurant is, I'm told, also worth investigating.

New Players Theatre - Again, actors love it as it serves as a bridge between fringe theatre and the West End (which, I think, best describes the performances you'll find here, too).

Hampstead Theatre - This is a trendy venue that concentrates on new writing: almost all of the productions staged here have never been performed before. Of course, what that means is that of the two plays I've seen here, one was fantastic and one was embarrassingly poor.

Orange Tree Theatre - This place is in Richmond, so off the beaten track in a lot of senses. It's a very intimate venue, with plays usually performed in-the-round, though as it concentrates on play revivals, quality can be variable.

Arcola Theatre - In a small community theatre such as this, things can seem a little cobbled together at times, but it's always full of surprises and very vibrant.

Tristan Bates Theatre - This place seems to be run by and for actors, which means that sometimes productions seem more like showcases for individuals than coherent pieces in their own right, but that also means you can see a few things here that are extremely unusual indeed.

King's Head* - This is a real theatre, but it's also the back room of a pub. As with all of the smallest venues production quality can vary, but I like visiting this place for its own sake. Also, if you don't like the performance, the beer is exceedingly well-kept, they have roaring open fires and often jazz bands through the night once the play has finished.

Old Red Lion - Another pub theatre with a surprising variety of shows on all at the same time.

There! That's probably enough to keep you going for now! In addition, however, please don't overlook the National Theatre for being too obvious. If you fancy seeing something that isn't strictly dramatic theatre, I'd also recommend The Place, which is a contemporary dance theatre (not everybody's cup of tea, I know) [try getting a 'return ticket', which is only slightly more expensive than a standard ticket, but will get you in to any other show at no additional cost] and The Comedy Store as a stand-up venue which usually combines amateurs and big-name professionals on the same bill.

I feel quite exhausted now.'
-----

Phew! I stand by what I said there and would endorse any of these places happily. Mind you, I'm very easily pleased - try for yourself picking somewhere at random and seeing what's on."
- Phillippa

* Photo by Slimmer_Jimmer, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.