I arrived home this afternoon after spending two nights with a friend of my parents who lives in Penzance, in Cornwall. Nothing monumentally exciting, but it was a very pleasant couple of days - I read lots, wrote a bit, ate good food and saw some beautiful views. And I had gingerbread men for breakfast - what more could you want?
The main event of the trip, and the reason for our going in the first place, was to visit The Minack Theatre; an absolutely stunning open-air theatre built into the cliffs at Porthcurno, near Land's End, with amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean. (It also sold really scrummy vegan flapjack - bonus!) Now, in the pictures on the postcards, the Minack looks like this:
But as is so often the way, the weather was not on our side, and in reality, it looked like this:
Still beautiful, but not quite as practical, particularly once the rain had started to pour down in bucket-loads. So, sadly, the show - an excellent performance of Anthony Burgess's Cyrano de Bergerac - was called off during the interval for health and safety reasons (one of the actors had already slipped while trying to climb a ladder, and the rain didn't look like it was going to be letting up any time soon). A great shame, but they do say that every cloud has a silver lining - and believe me there were pleasantly of clouds! - and now my dad feels guilty and says he'll take me to see another play soon, which is very kind of him, and rather exciting.
---
One of my self-imposed tasks for the summer (see here) is to take more photographs, which I did with relative success. So I shall end this post with a few pictures I took.
I should say before I write this that it is not a review. I cannot write reviews. But I can write about shows, about why I loved them (I invariably do), and the thoughts and feelings they create in me. So that is what I shall do.
I had seen this show before, at the Savoy Theatre in London last summer, and thoroughly enjoyed it then, so I was really looking forward to watching it again. We arrived at the Hippodrome suitably early (my mother cannot bear to get to the theatre less than half an hour early), and were met with lots and lots of pink! Pink bunting in the theatre, pink fairy lights on the ice cream trays, and all the staff were wearing pink ties with their uniforms. I did have to wonder, though, who it was who sat down and thought 'I know! Let's dye the fountain!'
We were sitting slightly further back than usual, which I always take to be a sign that the show is very popular, considering my mum books all our tickets months in advance and gets what she considers to be the best seats left. I suppose this is only to be expected, for a show based on a very popular film, but it was still very nice to see it get the attention it deserves. I will admit to being slightly surprised by the average age of the audience - I had expected more young people, but I suppose it was a Tuesday night, and groups of young people wouldn't necessarily be sitting in the stalls anyway.
So, the show began, and right from the offset it was hard to stop smiling. I think this is one of the real joys of shows like this - as nice as it is to go and see things which challenge you, make you think, or take your emotions for a ride; it is also nice to sit down and do nothing but grin for two and a half hours solid. (One of the really brilliant things about theatre, I suppose, is that you could go and see two shows one after the other and have two experiences which could not be more different.)
But actually, it would be unfair to say that this show was totally devoid of meaning. Beneath all the glorious cheese, and the hilarity, there is a very worthwhile moral - don't judge others on their appearances, and always stay true to yourself. The show's end is idealistic and unrealistically perfect, yes; but it is also undeniably heart-warming, and I would be lying if I said I didn't leave the theatre with a warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach. If we can't have fairy-tale endings in the theatre, where the hell can we have them?!
Don't you just love a good old happy ending? Source
The show was brilliant. Technically, some of the voices weren't quite as strong as I'd heard when I saw the show in London, but somehow that didn't matter in the slightest. This musical has some absolutely hilarious minor characters, all of whom were played excellently, and to much laughter. Highlights for me would have to be the adorable Emmett (played by Iwan Lewis), the hilarious Gay or European, and the absolutely fabulous camp male hairdresser, who managed to hold my attention the entire time he was on-stage without having a single line.
As we were walking back to the car after the show, my mum confessed that she "hadn't expected it to be that good." And that is often the way with notoriously cheerful shows, isn't it? I know I have been guilty of going to see a show with slightly lower expectations, for no real reason other than it was based on a cheesy 80's film. (Footloose, if you're wondering; and it was actually brilliant, made me cry, and got a well-deserved standing ovation.) Perhaps we Brits, known for our cynicism, just don't want to be seen to be liking something that is too *gasp* happy.
If you ever get the opportunity to watch this show - do! It is frothy, feel-good fun at its very finest.
Today, more than anywhere else, I wish I was in New York. There are two reasons for this - both of which are undeniably very me.
---
The first reason is theatrical. 10 days ago, previews began at New World Stages in New York City for the revival production of the musical RENT, which is to open officially on August 11th. To say I loved this show would be a laughable understatement - it is undoubtedly one of my favourite musicals of all time, and that's coming from somebody who is hates picking favourites. But I have never had the pleasure of seeing it live, and to do so is something of a dream of mine. If only...
The RENT revival cast during Seasons Of Love. Source
---
The second reason is something very special which happened today - or rather, many very special somethings. As you may know, the Marriage Equality Act was passed on June 24th, making same-sex marriage legal in the state of New York. Today was the day this Act came into effect.
I cannot begin to imagine what the atmosphere must have been like, as hundreds of couples queued up to make their vows. Many, I'm sure, will have been patiently waiting months, years, or even decades for this day, when they could finally be officially wed to the one they love. Just the thought of it has had me periodically grinning to myself throughout the day; to have been there would have been simply incredible.
This is a small step, and there is still an enormous amount to be done before we reach equality. But it is a step nonetheless. And when you imagine the smiling faces of all those who married today, somehow it doesn't seem so small anymore. I wish every one of them all the best, and hope that other states, and other countries, will be following New York's example soon.
