reviews, theatre

Theatre Review: Plied & Prejudice – Waterloo Vaults

On Thursday my friend and I went to the Vaults theatre in Waterloo, just round the corner from the Old Vic, to see five very enthusiastic and energetic Aussies play 20 characters in a parody of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, with a fab cocktail bar and despite the heat, driving us all a bit mad, a great night out.

The run has been extended into August, so get those tickets now – here – you’ll regret it if you don’t.

I laughed the whole way through, it’s absolutely hilarious.

The bar area is designed as a garden full of delights, the bar serves delicious frozen margs (and other drinks), there’s a selfie area, an Only Fans corner (see photos), and a Crystal Maze style money booth, where you could win the Marriage Mart with a Darcy or a Bingley or lose with a Collins or Wickham. It all sets the scene.

The show itself is in the round, with the audience sitting either side, the actors in their multiple role playing, quick costume changes, at one point it gets so fast, it’s dizzying. And they do this every night!

If you play the video below with the sound on you will hear all the laughing, including my cackle!

Mr Collins and Lizzie

They whizz through the novel, skipping all the terribly boring bits. We do get Mr Darcy in his wet shirt (because deviating from the source material is fine) and even a kiss! The actor who plays Mr Collins *shudder* made him the creepiest, slimiest version I can remember, no idea why Charlotte marries him. 

Lady Catherine de Bourgh literally creaks as she moves. And everyone marries their cousins because well, it’s legal in Australia (Google it!). There’s lots of in jokes that will keep you giggling all night and marriage vows that sound very reminiscent of Rick Astley…

Honestly it’s a genuinely brilliant night out and we had a great time. It culminates in a dance party/wedding reception to which there audience is invited.

Dance time with cast and audience

We were gifted our tickets, as it was a press night, so thank you very much.

adventures, life, travel

The buzz, the buzz of a city…

I took a bus through part of London today, something I rarely do, preferring the speed of the tube or walking the back streets. But it was nice to watch the city pass by.

The city called me/so I

came

– Emmy the Great

The buildings, some Victorian, some older, some new and glass fronted. The columns of St George’s Church in Bloomsbury, the narrow alleyways you can almost see the Artful Dodger vanishing down.

image
Photo via Twitter

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life – Samuel Johnson

I didn’t take photos, blurry through the bus window, I just took it in. The quirky old fashioned gentlemen’s outfitter, the cafés and restaurants serving cuisine from every corner of the globe.

image
Picture via Twitter

That mix of old and new, those glass fronts amongst brilliant red brick, the people rushing by.

The title of this post is from a song about San Francisco by Vanessa Carlton, but London hums, the trains beneath the streets, the traffic rumbling past. The ranks of black cabs and red Boris bikes, hundreds of languages carried by the wind.

image
Via Twitter

What has always fascinated me is how organic London is, it grew not from plans drawn up in an office somewhere, but from necessity, taking in farmland and spitting out city.

There are hundreds of stories, both real and read in this city. The echoes of Twist and Holmes, the Ripper and Whittington. Soaked into the paving beneath our feet.

image
Via Google

ramblingmads

paris, travel, wish i was there...

Paris, mon ami

Is there a place you’ve visited that you could happily move to? Although I fell for Venice last year when I went there, my heart still belongs to Paris.

image

I love London, it’s my hometown, it’s where my friends are and as Samuel Johnson said

when a (wo)man is tired of London, (s)he is tired of life.

But Paris, especially in Spring, is beautiful. My French is atrocious, but I can learn, I have French names so I would fit in, a whole district and I share a name.

image

I love the faded glamour of Montmartre and Pigalle, the wealth and gloss of the champs Elysee. The view from Sacre Coeur and the gargoyles on Notre Dame.

image

The madness of Parisian drivers, reversing down one way streets and ignoring traffic lights, the bistros on every corner, the Metro, the smell of fresh bread.

image

I don’t find charming the fact that no one scoops the dog poop or how rude shop assistants are.

But nowhere’s perfect, right?

Where’s your favourite place?

ramblingmads