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Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

1 May 2009

My newest review is live on Spoonfed for Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre:

When most students plan their gap years, preparations usually call for copious spending of their parents money, boozy nights in exotic countries and sorting out exactly how to make that all look good on a CV. Miss Ellie Kendrick on the other hand has opted to spend her gap year acting out the passionate throes of a Shakespearean tragedy and making her stage debut in Romeo and Juliet in the most famous Shakespearian theatre in the world. No doubt she’ll be fine when it comes to writing her CV…

Read On: Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

1930s Vintage Party at No. 5 Cavendish Square

30 Apr 2009

If I had been unsure of the time warp I was about to experience when some friends and I were preparing for the event by listening to 30’s jazz and modeling our hair after pictures of 30s icons, or if I wasn’t clear on what I was getting myself into when we later met up with more party-goers in a house that leaked early 20th century opulence like a sieve then walking into No. 5 Cavendish Square last night would have been a bit of a shock. But in fact the 1930s swingers party – which could hardly be described as a costume party but more of an attempt at an authentic recreation of a 1930s event – had been the talk of the girls in the office for nearly a week and even I was breaking my self-imposed work night curfew to check out the scene.

A friend knew the organizers (who had pitched their party proposal and won 10,000 pounds from Smirnoff vodka to host the bash) so after being checked off the guest list, we entered a world of pinup hair, cummerbunds and big band swing. The venue was perfect – various rooms wound up and down stairs leading to, among others a whiskey parlour and a private library. And the outfits! I was sorely out of place in what was probably a more accurate recreation of 1930s outside on a sunny afternoon compared to the evening gowns, gloves and pearls that all made their appearance on the women at the event but I didn’t notice a hair out of place thoughout the night. Instead, nearly everyone in attendence had tried their absolute hardest to come dressed for the era.

By 2am, I was beginning to feel the hour and so made my way back to 21st century London but I am so glad I went along and hope next time my wardrobe can be a bit more accommodating – amazingly the same friend knows another group who won another 10k for another 30s theme party – the next one out in a country house for a weekend of 30s frivolity. What a lark!

Happy Birthday Mr. Shakespeare

23 Apr 2009

Today is Shakespeare’s official birthday.  By official, I mean it’s the day the officials decided he was born. While it is a tad bit unfortunate for Shakespeare scholars and fans that his birthday isn’t known for certain, it actually worked out quite well for purposes of symmetry and national significance – April 23 is also St. George’s Day (and what better date of birth for a national hero than the day of the national saint?) as well as the month and day of Shakespeare’s death.  In any case, it is with relative certainty that we can say Shakespeare was born this week.

While I was unable to join the festivities, one of my favourite London landmarks, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, celebrated the date with Elizabethan-era music, dancing, costumed performers and the opening of their summer season.  I myself will be heading down to the Globe next Thursday to review this season’s Romeo and Juliet which, while lacking the unique flavour of improvisational Hamlet at midnight, promises to be absolutely magical.  In a tragic sort of way, of course, but that can’t be helped.  It will also be my third trip to the Globe theatre and I’m glad to be getting a start on the season early – I hope to have plenty of opportunities to go back throughout the summer.

For today, however, I’m wish a very happy (and very, very belated) birthday to Mr. William Shakespeare.  I don’t know where we’d be without you.  In honor of Shakespeare’s birth, here are a list of just a few of the words for which the first recorded use in the English language appeared in his plays. There are over 2000 words with which he is credited with inventing or using first.

  • Eyeball
  • Puking
  • Skim Milk
  • Obscene
  • Wormhole
  • Accessible
  • Accommodation
  • Bubble
  • Colourful
  • Critical
  • Dewdrop
  • Downstairs
  • Employer
  • Eventful
  • Lament
  • Love Letter
  • Moonbeam
  • Ode
  • Priceless
  • Successful
  • Torture
  • Weird

London and Technology: Open Soho

16 Apr 2009

This evening I attended a regular London event called Open Soho – so named for the area of town (Soho) in which it occurs.  Tonight marked the 6th Open Soho and the event is self-described as

Devised by PopJam’s Alex Tew and Irish opportunist Paul Walsh, OpenSoho has helped create a community of like-minded followers through its Facebook group and Twitter page, causing a clamber for tickets each time they’re made available. With a sponsored bar and late-night dancefloor, OpenSoho is a highly acclaimed night on the tiles for those currently causing waves and shaping the future of the UK digital, media and advertising scene. These folk work hard and play harder, come join in the fun.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect as I entered the venue, located on the second floor of a rather posh-looking restaurant.  As has been the case for many of the meetups I attend, I went alone.  Generally speaking, attending events solo is difficult but for something so based on networking I didn’t expect to have any problem and was right to think so.  What a charming, social, friendly group of people! I’m fortunate to have a story (“I moved to London with no job, no place to live and not knowing a soul!”) that gets people interested but I think even without a tag line I would have had some incredibly interesting comversations.

I’ve had some trouble nailing down a focus for this blog, as I’m sure many of my regular readers have noticed.  London, of course, plays a prominate role but so does technology and the two subjects have not come together very often.  Open Soho has, for me, combined the best of both with Londoners truly excited about their startups and businesses all meeting together in one of the best parts of the city, while sharing their technological and internet-related thoughts and ideas.  I met part of the webteam that runs What’s On Stage, a London theatre website hoping to meet some techies instead of just more theatre critics; someone who seemed to be taking advantage of the fact that London is a fashion capital with his upcoming Facebook app focused on the modeling industry; a fellow American in London looking for ways to get people jobs and many more besides.  Plus there were a couple of familiar faces from previous meetups I’ve attended.

Tomorrow morning I’m off to Scotland for the weekend but I’m very glad I got one final push for tech, business and networking in this week before I switch to the polar opposite, rural setting.  All in all it was a great event and I very much look forward to the next one.

I should give a plug to the sponsors of this evening’s bar and Open Soho event, the endlessly cheerful and sugary sweet I Like U Coz, the site that lets you tell anyone in the world exactly why you like them.  Go check it out!

Happy Easter from London

13 Apr 2009

Happy Easter! In the UK, Good Friday and Easter Monday are official holidays so I’ve been enjoying the time off to get over a rather nasty cold that has been keeping me less than active the last few weeks. The cold hasn’t stopped me, however, from having a lovely Easter Sunday.

In the morning, Alex kindly invited me to join himself, his girlfriend, his mother and his prep school Latin teacher for their annual Easter tradition – brunch at the Brasserie in South Kensington followed by the Latin mass at the Brompton Oratory just around the corner. The Oratory is a Catholic church of nearly cathedral-like proportions and dominates the skyline in the area. After a lovely breakfast, we joined the hundreds of others heading to mass and managed to get seats right near the front. This turned out to be a bit of a problem for me when the service started. Some rather enthusiastic members of the clergy got a bit carried away with the amount of incense (I’d say slightly more than strictly necessary) and I had such a bad coughing fit I had to leave the building for a bit then spend most of the rest of the service standing at the side near the door. At least there were plenty of religious relics and people around for laying of hands should it have become necessary. As it turned out, what was really necessary was water and fresh air and hiding my embarrassment for the rest of the service.

Despite my lung’s lack of cooperation, it was a stunningly beautiful service. I had never seen a service done in this older style with the priest facing away from the congregation and the readings all done in Latin.

After church, I returned home to start cooking my own Easter meal. I had spent quite a bit more than was probably necessary for one person but was very excited for a bit of gourmet (and wanted a chance to try out what I have been told is the best butcher shop in London). The menu included a sirloin steak with thyme and red wine sauce, asparagus sauted in butter and garlic, French green beans and roasted baby potatoes. For dessert, I made a chocolate mousse served with strawberries and cream.

Amazingly, the entire meal went off without a hitch. Everything came out very tasty and which I certainly won’t be spending quite as much on the ingredients again, my kitchen multi-tasking and the lovely flavours have inspired me to try to get a bit more experimental in my cooking. Of course it helps when I have half an afternoon to prepare instead of coming back late in the evening after work.

Overall it was a wonderful Easter – I got to spend time with friends, attend a beautiful church service and eat a delicious Easter meal. What more could one ask for?