I spent Friday evening and Saturday in London, which was not quite the original plan. I was intending to go on Saturday and spend the day there, culminating with my theatre ticket to All My Sons and then hopping on a late train home – but it turned out, when I checked my ticket, that I’d bought one for the Friday evening performance by mistake. Oops! Thank goodness I checked, because it was a sold out run and I don’t know if they’d have let me in. So I made hasty arrangements for someone to feed Hargreaves, asked if I could stay with my good friend Lorna, and went off after work.
The best play I’ve ever seen was a production of All My Sons, starring David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker, among other luminaries. For those who don’t know Arthur Miller’s play, it’s an American family drama set in the wake of the Second World War, and that’s all I’ll say, because I don’t want to give anything away. It was a bit of a gamble, going to see another version of a production I loved so much – but Sally Field was playing one of the leads, so I couldn’t resist.
Was it as good? Perhaps not, but it was pretty darn close. The play is brilliant, and it was wonderfully brought to life by this exceptional cast and by Max Jones’s excellent set design – that feels lived in, even while it is disconcerting. Interestingly, where the other production I saw had felt very much about Suchet’s Joe Keller, this one was all about Field’s Kate Keller. For me, it was an object lesson in how a director can change the message of a play. Anyway, it’s all very good, and do see it if you have a chance.
The next morning I had a delicious homemade brunch with Lorna and Will, and then went off to meet my friend Lucy at the Fashion and Textile Museum near London Bridge. My first visit there was for their 1930s exhibition last year, and they currently have one on the 1960s. There were far fewer outfits involved in this one, but it was very interesting nonetheless – and a museum that will always be worth going to. Prepare yourself for a lot of Mary Quant!
Also worth going to is Comptoir Gourmand – a bakery just opposite, which sold me the most delicious white chocolate cookie I’ve ever had. And the most enormous! We sat in a park round the corner and ate our goodies, having a good old natter. Lucy was a library trainee with me at the Bodleian back in 2007/08 and, unlike me, has stayed in the profession. She’s an old and dear friend and it’s always lovely to catch up.
We share a weakness for bookshops, and I’ve decided that my book buying ban has essentially gone out of the window altogether now. Plus it feels wrong to go into an indie bookshop and not buy a book. Of course, one doesn’t have to go into a bookshop, but I hadn’t visited The Riverside Bookshop in Hay’s Galleria before, and it was an 8 minute walk away. What are two book nerds to do?
I went with purpose: I wanted to buy The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr. Well, there was a gap on the shelves where it had apparently been – but, as stated, I like to support independent bookshops, so took a mosey around seeing what else might appeal. In the end, I landed on Rebecca Solnit’s A Field Guide to Getting Lost, which looks to be a book-length essay on loss and getting lost. The lady behind the counter told me it was very good, when I was buying it, which is always a good sign! Has anybody read it?
Book in hand, I headed back to Paddington, and am now at home with a cat on my lap.
Sounds like a perfect visit: great play; interesting museum; bookshop (with a purchase); something yummy to eat and a cat at the end! What could be better?
It was really wonderful! I’m already planning my next trip around that bakery…
What a lovely weekend you’re having! The play sounds truly excellent – unfortunately, the recent NT Live showing clashed with my book group, so I missed out on a chance to see it. Damn! I’ll have to keep an eye out for any encore screenings.
A trip to the theatre feels like a special treat these days, especially given some of the prices. I was lucky enough to get a fairly late ticket to Death of a Salesman at the Young Vic earlier this week, and it was spectacularly good – the second act was electric. Definitely one of the best productions I’ve seen for a while.
Oh that does sound good! I’ve never seen or read it, somehow. Theatre is so expensive, but I can’t resist…
Sounds like a fab trip and of course it would be very rude not to buy a book. Throw caution (and book buying bans!) to the wind! I’ve not read any Solnit, but I think I bought a feminist book by her for my Middle Child, which came with good reviews. And it’s a Canon, so they’re usually good! :D
Yes, I’d heard of her because I *think* she invented the term ‘mansplaining’?
I love the Fashion and Textile Museum and that’s an exhibition on my list too. No I haven’t read any of the books you have ben talking about recently. Does that surprise you? Of course not! Love cats though :-)
And that’s the important thing :D
What an enjoyable London visit, nice and varied. I have read Rebecca Solnit’s A Field Guide to Getting Lost and enjoyed it. It’s the sort of book that probably merits a re-read, which I’m thinking of doing . I’ve also read her Wanderlust: A History of Walking, which crams in a lot, even though it’s not a short book. Interesting if you are any sort of walker.
Oh good to hear from a fan of the book! I keep wanting to read it immediately – and why not, I suppose?
It sounds like a wonderful trip! Don’t feel too bad about getting tickets for the wrong show – I once bought tickets to a production of Wicked for the entire wrong WEEK, and Iwas in no way capable of coming back the next week to see it. I just sat down and cried (I was quite depressed at that time in my life) until someone took pity on me and my friend and gave us folding chairs at the back.
Thank goodness they let you in! That does make me feel better, too…
I’m interested in your admiration for All My Sons. I just saw the New York production with Annette Benning and Tracy Letts–great actors, both–and while they were wonderful the play seemed talky and repetitive, and the big reveal at the end felt a bit creaky. I grew up with the belief that Arthur Miller was, with Tennessee Williams, the Great American Playwright, so this was a disappointment.
Oh gosh, how wonderful to see Annette Bening in it! A shame you didn’t enjoy the play as much as I did – I suppose I have quite a high tolerance for talky plays, and am always fooled by anything approaching a twist.
Aw, I love the Riverside bookshop – I used to go there when I worked nearby! What a lovely London you have had!
It’s such a nice little bookshop! Really well chosen stock.