One of the few things I miss living in Paris is the English speaking theater. My French is not that fluent, so I cannot understand Moliere and other classical French theater yet and I’ve heard most modern French theater is not up to par with British and American theater. As a former NY culture junkie, I more than made up for it last weekend seeing 2 plays and one musical, 2 museum shows with a few lunches and dinners in between.Here’s what I did:
Theater
I was astoundingly reminded last weekend why I miss it. I saw two shows that altered my molecules and one show that reinforced the brilliance of the English language.
Sunday in the Park with George is one of my favorite Sondheim musicals having seen it twice before. I was lucky enough to score two tickets to one of the last performances of its critically acclaimed revival. As I sat in my seat pleasantly enjoying the show, an inexplicable wave of emotion came over me and unstoppable tears were running down my face during the last 15 minutes of the first act. . I’m not sure what triggered it, but I think it was the overwhelming beauty of the music, lyrics, and powerful human story of love and art.
It’s bittersweet to so praise this show, as the last performance was Sunday.
Frost/Nixon at the Donmar Warehouse is an electrifying, entertaining, edge of your seat drama about the famous David Frost interviews with Richard Nixon after he resigned the presidency. Frank Langella playing Nixon, gives a scarily real interpretation of Nixon without a trace of mimicry. This astounding performance makes you think you are reliving private moments with Nixon. The rest of the cast is superb, the writing taut, and the authentic feel of the 60’s make it a must see show.
Rock n’ Roll
Tom Stoppard’s latest is a political, social and family saga spanning from 1968 and 1990 taking place in Cambridge and Prague. I found it less dense than Stoppard’s other works, which made the characters more accessible and the story flow easier. It explores the idealism of Communism from an older British professors view and the reality from a young, spirited Czech student of his. The references to rock and roll are cleverly inserted on a screen in between each scene with a particular song’s and musician’s names, and original recording date. There is an important theme that incorporates Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett running through the play. Performances by Rufus Sewell, Brian Cox and Sinead Cusack are excellent and the intelligence of the writing demonstrates how satisfying and relevant theater can be.
Frost/Nixon- Donmar Warehouse till Oct. 6, www.donmarwarehouse.com
Rock n’ Roll- Duke of Yorks Theatre royalcourttheatre.com
Museums
Kandinsky at the Tate Modern is an expansive retrospective showing how he went from a landscape painter to an abstract modern master from the years 1908 to 1922. I am not a huge Kandinsky fan but the show made me appreciate his work in a new way.
The 60’s Fashion show at the Victoria & Albert is a colorful throwback of 60’s clothes and accessories from Mary Quant, Biba, Zhandra Rhodes amongst others. The fascinating side notes and videos told about the origins of swinging street fashion from Carnaby Street to Kings Road. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the paper dresses, paisley peasant dresses, and Nehru suits, representing a time when fashion was truly fun and inventive.
Kandinsky at Tate Modern till Oct. 1, www.tate.org.uk/modern/
60’s Fashion at the Victoria & Albert Museum till Feb. 27, www.vam.ac.uk/
Restaurants
Saturday night I ate my in first revolving Sushi bar. Itsu in Soho with a continuous conveyor belt of sushi and other Asian delicacies on parade is a fun, not too expensive dining experience and I chowed down on delicious salmon rolls and rare beef Teriyaki.
My London visits are never complete until I go to my favorite tearoom Patisserie Valerie in Soho. With yummy French pastries in an authentic British tearoom setting, I polished off a heavenly coffee éclair before heading back on the Eurostar to Paris.
Itsu Soho 103 Wardour St., Soho
Patisserie Valerie 44 Old Compton St., Soho
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