Review of the London Theatre Week 2009

The week went splendidly as the hotel was perfectly located and our choice of theatre going proved to be better than we had even anticipated. We even fitted in one or two cultural visits that reminded us how much the capital has to offer.

We stayed at the Bedford in Southampton Row. This was described as am intimate little hotel although staying on the sixth floor defied the description of little if even height wise. However our east facing window overlooked the roof of the British Museum. The location was perfect as we could walk to theatre land from the hotel. If we wished to go further afield or return after a theatre visit we found London buses, helpful and friendly drivers and our senior bus passes invaluable. One trip involved a visit by bus to the V&A museum. We weren't sure of the route as we changed from the planned 14 to another one as the direction board seemed to indicate it was going in the right direction. The driver told us we needed to get off at Exhibition Road. As we neared we panicked and actually got off the bus a couple of stops early. The bus remained stationary and we realised that the driver was beckoning to us stood outside the rear exit door. We re-entered through the front doors and he said he had told us to get off at Exhibition Road. Humbled we remained on the bus until we reached the correct bus stop and our driver even indicated where we had to go next to find the V&A, which is opposite the Science and Natural History Museums. We were impressed that the driver remembered us and our simple request after the distance the bus had travelled and through some of the worst traffic conditions. We were equally impressed on Thursday night on the return bus up Southampton Row after seeing "Annie Get Your Gun" at the Young Vic, we found ourselves sat in the seats directly behind Janine Duvitski and a friend. Janine was the neighbour Angela in Abigail's Party and has starred in Michael Frayn's play "Alphabetical Order" and much television and stage work.
Another casual piece of star spotting (and the Best Beloved and I are always on the look out when in London) was seeing Nigel Planer eating in the plate glass window of a cafe opposite the Shaftesbury Theatre where he is appearing in "Hairspray". We were on the way to another performance elsewhere. He was sitting at one of those counters with stools facing the outside world through the window. He seemed to be "surprised to be recognised" but did reward us with a smile (I last saw him perform in "Wicked" at the Apollo Victoria - a musical I had wanted to see - but failed to be moved by in the huge auditorium there).

We were also sat two rows behind Eileen Atkins in the John Lithgow event, "Stories by Heart", at the Lyttleton and four rows behind Michael Morpurgo at "War Horse" at the New London Theatre. I recognised Michael easily because the Best Beloved and I had met him at talked to him for quite a long while at an English Teachers' conference run by Hampshire. I repaid the favour by identifying him to some GCSE students in front of us who hunted him down for his autograph during the interval.

My next blog or two will try to identify the five productions we saw in some sort of order and review them. The nicest thing about the London Theatre Week is that we are thinking of repeating it in subsequent years as it proved so successful this time. We might have to postpone it until 2011 as we hope to go on another canal boat holiday in September in 2010 (although I will try my best to persuade the Best Beloved we can do both! Although she will read this blog and she will now be aware thus making my task more difficult... Drats! SQUIRREL!!!)