Finally we are starting to take advantage of our proximity to the West End. A couple of weekends ago we finally went to see Spamalot. It's been on our list of things to do since it opened in September last year.

Natalie snapped up some tickets from some English rugby fans who had decided to watch the Rugby World Cup final instead. I wonder if they were satisfied with the transaction? They lost around 20 pounds each on the tickets to watch England lose the cup (ah! sweet revenge.)

Andrew and I had both been looking forward to the production as we're keen Python fans. Andrew, more so; he can quote the film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, word for word. The production is based on the film so we had high hopes for an enjoyable evening.

Unfortunately, we were disappointed by Spamalot. Maybe our high expectations were our undoing. The whole thing seemed a little stale and was like a big university revue, with a better budget. Well, a university revue where you already knew all the jokes.

I think this reviewer sums up my thoughts nicely (maybe a bit harshly):
"...[Spamalot] systematically reverses everything that made the original funny. It is one big revue of cliches. The laughs are easy and unearned... Spamalot is the gaudy climax of a long, unfunny tradition of post-Python exploitation - books, action figures, video games - that treats the old material as a series of slogans to be referenced without doing any of the work that made the lines so original in the first place." -- Sam Anderson*

All things Python are hastily cobbled together with little new material. Always Look on the Brightside, the Fish Slapping dance, and the Finland song all make an appearance. There is a new song called "You won't succeed in Broadway..." which pokes fun at the Jewish. Obviously a joke designed for Broadway audiences as I didn't find it funny at all. Oh, and we heard the worst comedic French accent from the actors playing the French soldiers.

I did find their references to the World Cup Final, which was being played as we watched the show, quite funny. The Knights who say "Ni" turned into the Knights who say "'Ecky-ecky-ecky-ecky-pikang-zoop-boing-goodem-zoo-owli-zhiv... would you like to know the score?"

But now I'm just sounding ungrateful. The tickets were my birthday present from Natalie. Thanks Natalie. I did enjoy the evening! A chance to complete a London goal, a great meal of Okonomiyaki, a few giggles and good company were more than enough for me to rate the evening as a "great night". It was certainly better than watching the rugby.

Some photos of the Okonomiyaki from Abeno Too:

*Anderson, Sam (2006-06-21). And Now For Something Completely Deficient. Slate.com.

Another two items have been checked off my London to-do list. Last week we saw a play at the Globe Theatre and on Monday I finally managed to see a musical on the West End.

We saw The Merchant of Venice at the Globe. The Globe Theatre is a replica of the original Globe Theatre which existed in Elizabethan times. We wussed out and bought tickets for the stalls, rather than tickets for the yard. The tickets for the yard are only 5 pounds but you have to stand up for the entire play. I'm not sure my old bones would cope with standing for 3 hours straight.

Even in the seated areas I had a little trouble coping. It was freezing! You can hire blankets for the evening, but unfortunately we turned up a little late and they had run out by the time we arrived. Although I had brought a jacket and a scarf, I was still frozen by the end of the evening. You can also hire cushions, as the seats are only wooden benches and a little bit hard on the rear end. Wish I'd hired a cushion too as my bum was numb by the end of the play. (Yes! I am a very big wuss.)

The play was quite entertaining but it was definitely Shakespeare for the masses. There was too much gyrating and hip thrusting from the actors for my tastes. Often, the puns in the script were lost behind the laughter from a hip thrust. Disappointing.

Some trivia about the Globe:

• It is the first thatched building permitted in London since the Great Fire of London in 1666.
  
  
• The theatre can house 1300 people during a show. The original Globe could entertain an estimated 3000 people.
  
  

On Monday evening I snapped up a spare ticket offered by Tash to see Les Miserable at the Queen's theatre. The tickets were only 15 pounds so it was a bargain. Although, for only 15 pounds we did wonder what kind of seats we would secure. We weren't surprised to find that our seats were in the very back row with a view obstructed by the dress circle.

Still, I wasn't disappointed! Les Mis is my favourite musical and any viewing of it is worthwhile. Even an obstructed view from the very back row. Also, at intermission I relocated myself further down the front and got an clear view of the second half. Thanks for letting me tag along Tash, Matt and Ann. You've inspired me to get my butt into gear and see a few more musicals while in London.

The other night, Andrew and I tagged along with Juzzy and co to see Jump. The story of the show, a day in the life of an "average" Korean family, was really just a thin veil to show off. The actors dazzled us with amazing displays of martial arts and acrobatics. Mixed in with the acrobatic performances were elements of comedy. There was minimal dialogue and the show relied mostly on mime and slapstick. It was really effective; I'm sure Jump manages to cross all language barriers. With Andrew's history of Tae Kwon Do and my years of acrobats, I think we both left the theatre wishing we were in our early 20s and still enjoying our hobbies.

There were lots of kids in the audience and there was a young boy sitting behind me. He laughed uproariously at all the jokes and gasped in amazement at the acrobatics. His enthusiasm was infectious and his enjoyment of the show added to mine.

If Jump does make it it to a town near you, you should definitely make an effort to see it.

More Christmas Fun...

Lollies, sweets and candy...
For the past three years, one of my favourite Christmas events has been the Gingerbread House evening run by Heather's church. It is such a fun community event. Although I'm half a world away, I decided that this year I wasn't going to miss out on this event. Natalie and I put our heads together and sourced a couple of Gingerbread house kits. Natalie's came all the way from Canada and it's a typical North American mansion. Mine is from ASDA and is a classic European chalet (complete with Hansel and Gretel and a witch).

Natalie and I had a fun time decorating our Gingerbread Houses. Although there are no freckles, musk sticks, redskins or strawberry and creams decorations on our houses. The English really have no idea how to do tasty lollies.

Look out behiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind yooooooooooooooooooooooou!
The last item on my Christmas in London to-do list was "See a Christmas pantomime". Yes, this Christmas really is all about my inner-child. So it was appropriate that our pantomime of choice was Peter Pan, a play about the boy who never grows up. Starring Sarah Jane Honeywell as Peter Pan (who!?!), Bobby Davro as Smee (who!?!) and (the reason we decided on Peter Pan) the Fonz as Captain Hook. I mean, Henry Winkler as Captain Hook.

Pantomimes are all about audience participation. The audience responds when an actor asks a question. The audience boos when the baddie comes on stage. Although I was a bit hesitant at first, I soon loosened up and joined in the fun. Even to the point of joining in the special audience participation section at the end of the panto. (It doesn't advance the story line at all; it's just there for the audience.) How could we resist though when Captain Smee, dressed in a big Kangaroo suit, made us all sing Tie Me Kangaroo Down. We were the only ones in the audience that were properly qualified to sing it. We sang loudly with the appropriate ocker accent.

The whole thing was just one big Helen De Paul dancing concert. The dancing and music were so very 80s with an Eye of the Tiger / Final Countdown medley at one point and a Queen finale. The Panto also borrowed heavily from other musicals. Consider Yourself (Oliver) and We Go Together (Grease) both made an appearance.

All in all, I had a really good time. I love punny humour and at the end of the evening my belly ached from laughing so hard. I'm definitely up for a panto at Christmas time next year. Although, I feel it would be twice as fun with a child in tow. I think next December it might be time for a "Holiday with Auntie Jess" in London. Just whack 'em on a plane, I'll meet them at the airport *G*.

For me, Christmas has always been about spending time with my family. So, I must admit that I'm a little sad this December. I'm sad, that I can't be home with the fam enjoying the traditional Christmas festivities. I saw some photos from our extended family Christmas which was on Saturday and it looks like it was a fun day.

In an effort to try and beat the homesickness, I've thrown myself into London's Christmas festive events. I'm trying to make this year so Londoney that I'll forget what I'm missing out on. And I've had a ball so far!

The Great Christmas Pudding Race
I read about this on LondonTown.com and thought it would be interesting to watch. The race comprises of 150 contestants in fancy dress racing around an obstacle course in Covent Garden all while carrying a Christmas pudding. The event is held to raise money for Cancer Research in the UK. Natalie and I ventured into Covent Garden to watch the spectacle.

The event was set to start at 11am but we had been standing around for about an hour before the first race actually started. I'm not sure it was worth the hour wait, although it was quite amusing to watch.

The participants are encouraged to dress up and many of the teams had gone to quite an effort. I was particularly impressed by the Parrots, the Christmas presents, and the girls in full reindeer costume complete with face paint.

We watched the Corporate Race which was a relay of sorts. To tell you the truth I had no idea what was going on. The obstacles on the course included climbing over an inflatable barrier, collecting eyes, a nose, a smile and ears to stick on the pudding, hanging a bauble on a Christmas tree and popping a balloon. The obstacle that seemed to cause the most trouble was the inflatable slide. The team dressed as Christmas presents found it quite difficult. One of the Present girls made it down the slide only to have to turn around and climb back to drag her friend down. It was definitely the most amusing part of the race.

Nutcracker Ballet
I was inspired to go to see The Nutcracker ballet by posts on a number of craft blogs that I read. They had blogged about the magical experience that is The Nutcracker at Christmas time. Most of the bloggers had a daughter or a niece in tow. Now, I don't have a daughter (nor a niece!) but I was sure that the little girl in me would enjoy it just as much.

And it was a truly magical experience. I really liked the set design and costuming which I guess could be described as wacky. In particular, I liked the set design for the Dance of the Snowflakes. The snowflakes leapt out of an enormous fridge and glissaded across the stage.

After 15 years of ballet lessons, I have a real appreciation for just how hard it is to do. Of course, they make it look so easy. The ballerinas pirouetted around the stage gracefully. The danseurs impressed us with their tours en l'air (jumping while spinning). The ballet ends with a pas de duex with the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince. It is the climax of the ballet so it is usually performed by principal dancers. Erina Takahashi played the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy and danced beautifully. The Prince was played by Yosvani Ramos. I'm sure he managed to complete triple tours. The music is so familiar but still so beautiful. I've downloaded the Nutcracker Suite from iTunes and have enjoyed listening to it at home.

I hope one day to share the Nutcracker experience with a niece (or maybe a daughter). One day...

(Photos care of the English National Ballet website)

Riding the carousel in Leicester Square
During the festive season, there is a fair in Leicester Square. There are sideshow alley games, a few rides and a carousel. The carousel was always my favourite ride at the Easter Show. After seeing the carousel in Leicester Square, I was determined to ride it. Apparently, this Christmas is all about entertaining my inner-child.

After the ballet, I dragged Natalie and Caitlin up to Leicester Square to ride the carousel. All three of us climbed aboard and mounted a horse for one and a half minutes of spinning and undulating to the accompaniment of organ music. Although maybe not quite as much fun as when I was 8, the merry-go-round ride definitely put a smile on my face.

Frost Fair
Another LondonTown.com recommendation, the Frost Fair, promised a Winter Christmas market with arts & crafts and food & drink stalls, ice sculptures and husky dog sledding. After my experiences at the Viennese Christmas markets, I was keen to see what London had to offer. Leah, another Christmas market aficionado, tagged along for the afternoon. We were both sorely disappointed with the Frost Fair. The place was packed with people and you could hardly move. The goodies on offer at the craft stalls were average and mostly tacky. We also paid a pound to get into the markets at the Globe Centre to be greeted with more of the same tacky, average crap. We will definitely be skipping this one next year.