The Ceremony of the Keys, Tower of London

 So, on Friday evening I was in London to go to the Ceremony of the Keys , at the Tower of London. 

The Tower of London by Night

The Tower of London is of course the worlds best known combined bird house and safety deposit box, housing, at it doesn, some very pampered ravens and the Crown Jewels. 

There was a Roman wall and other structures there (and there are still some remains of the Roman wall nearby, by the Underground Station) , the WIlliam the Bastard had a castle built there in 1066, in the style known, I believe, as 'Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough, Saxon losers'. Various other bits and pieces have been added since, mostly between the 11th and 16th Centuries. It's still officially a Royal Palace (although not a Royal Residence)  and of course is ope as a tourist attraction during the day. 

However, after it is closed for the night, you can still, if you have snagged a ticket, attend the ceremony of the keys. THis is something (the ceremony, not the ticketed attendance) which has been going on for the last 700 years. Allegedly, King Edward III turned up unannounced at the Tower one evening in 1340 and was able to walk in, unchallenged, and was a bit miffed at the lack of proper security (Presumably it did not occur to him that, just possibly, someone did recognise him and decided that demanding that the King explain what he was doing snaking into his own castle at night was not a wise career move) 

Anyway, he apparently decreed that the fortress must be properly locked up at sunset, and unlocked in the morning. It's not recorded whether he also made any rules about putting the cat out.

And so, ever since, there has been a ceremony every night (as far as I can tell, the unlocking in the morning is rather less formal!) 

The Duke of Wellington, who was the Constable of Tower in 1826, changed the timing to provide for the ceremony to take place at 10 p.m. every night, rather than 'sunset', and that's what's happened ever since. (It was slightly delayed once in 1940 when a bomb fell on the tower, but hasn't been missed)

You aren't allowed to take photos, so this one is from the official website

You have to book ahead - the tickets are only £5.50 each but there are only a relatively small number, and they have to be booked in advance.

I arrived at the Tower at about 9.15 - the tickets are very firm that you must be on time, and no latecomers will be admitted, so I wanted to be sure I was a bit early. So, there was a bit of hanging about outside the (locked) gares, then just before 9.30, a Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) wearing a long, red, 'guard coat' (rather than the tudor dress you see in the Yeomen in when they are on duty in the day) came up to the gate to let us in, ticking us all off on a list, and we were then let in through the gates. I think there were maybe 30-40 of us.

'Our' Yeoman then explained that we were not permitted to have phones on or to take photos during the ceremony, before taking us across the moat and giving us a brief history ot the tower and then an explanation of the timing and sequence of the ceremony, before leading us further in.

We were then let further in, where we waited by Traitor's Gate and he went off with a bunch of keys..

Then a group of four soldiers showed up, from the inner ward - One (1) officer with drawn sword, 2 (2) normal soldiers with big guns, and one (1) drummer (with no drum) there to carry a lantern, which contains a candle, because dammit, just because the place has multiple electric lights is no reason to change the habits of 700 years. 

One of the Yeoman (not our guide, a different one, wearing a proper Tudor bonnet) falls in with them, or they with him, and marches off to lock the outer gates, then they came marching back, with our Yeoman following on behind, and at this point, a single sentry came out to challenge them - the whole "Who comes there?" "The Keys" "Whose Keys?" "King Charles' Keys"  "Pass, King Charles' keys, All's well"

Then they march through the gateway and to the Broadwalk stairs, where there are a whole lot more soldiers, there's some presenting arms, and a "God preserve King Charles" by the  Yeoman, then (at 10 p.m.) the Last Post is sounded, after which  all the soldiers fall out and wander off. 

THat's the end of the ceremony, but the guide then gave us a little more information and answered questions, before escorting us out (through the wicket gates, if you are wondering. Presumably they don't require such ceremonial locking up!) 

The whole experience was interesting, and slightly weird. I'm glad I went, but also glad I had other things planned for the weekend, it would have been a bit disappointing if I'd  made a trip solely to see it.

If you want to go, you have to book ahead, via the Historic Royal Palaces website - tickets go on sale at the beginning of each month, and sell out pretty fast. 

Alexander the Great - The Making of a Myth, British Library

 I was in London to see Orlando and decided to get an early train, in order to go to the British LIbrary and see their exhibition about Alexander the Great, first - it's  an exhibition I thought looked interesting, but not quite one that justified a trip to London of it's own! 

The exhibition is arranged by approaching Alexander's life chronologically, birth to death, with manuscripts or other documents showing different iterations of the various legends and records of his life. 

Medieval French Manuscript with
illustration of Alexander's birth

It was interesting to see how different cultures, at different times, interpreted his life, with multiple versions of the same stories, and myths as well as history set out.

Persian Manuscript - 16thC, I believe

I would have liked to see a little more detail about the history, and clearer differentiation between history and legend, but i loved seeking the different manuscripts. 

THe exhibit included some comics, and other modern texts (and an image of Alexander's TOmb, from (I think) Assassin's Creed, as well as items up to 850 years old!

Enamel Tie from Liege, 1150 - Alexander and Griffins

I enjoyed the exhibition, although to be fair I am a sucker for illuminated manuscripts so would probably have enjoyed it regardless of the subject matter! 

Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort of) at Bath Theatre Royal

 Way back in September, I booked a ticket to go to see Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort of) in Bath, because I like Jane Austen, and so why not? And then I forgot about it until it popped up on my calendar, so it felt like a nice surprise! 

It was a lot of fun - it has a small, all female cast, with each of the actors playing multiple roles.

It's a familiar story, framed as being told by the servants, which allows for some helpful exposition (Although I admit that there was a point where I wanted to shout "no, that's not how an entail works..!") 

And it's told in unashamedly modern english, with the characters bursting into (Karaoke ) song at regular intervals (except Mary. Not you, Mary!)

Which is a lot of fun - Lizzie Bennett singing Carly Simon's  'You're so Vain' in response to Mr Darcy's criticism of her at the Meryton Ball was a highlight, although I think my favourite was, perhaps, Lady Catherine de Burgh's reference to her nephew, Christopher, before 'Lady in Red' is played..

Lots of breaking the 4th wall and asides to the audience, and impressive switching between characters (Mrs Bennett to Mr Darcy!) 

Well worth seeing if you have the opportunity https://prideandprejudicesortof.com/uk-tour

Othello at the National Theatre

Last year, I realised the Giles Terera, who I've seen, and been very impressed by, in his own play ' The Meaning of Zong', and as Aaron Burr in 'Hamilton'  was going to be appearing at the National Theatre, as 'Othello', so I wanted to go, and persuaded my friends, E and A to come with me. 

The Thames, and London Skyline

We all arrived in London early enough to meet up for a second breakfast,  before heading over to the South Bank for drinks and nibbles, then the show. It was a beautiful day, with lovely views along the THames, towards St Pauls, as we crossed to the South Bank.

It's a play I've only seen a few times before, I think, twice  at the Globe - once with Eammon Walker and TIm McInnerny, and once with Andre Holland and  Mark Rylance, and in Bath with Lenny Henry as Othello and Conrad Nelson as Iago. I think the last of those was on 2018, so it's been a while since I've seen the play.

Set, before the play started

In this production, the set is pretty minimalist - a series of tiers and staircases, which, before the play began were covered with projections of posters and playbills for older productions of Othello, and a cast member was cleaning the stage - cleaning away older iterations and assumptions about the play, perhaps?

This version of the play puts the inherent racism and misogyny of the characters front and centre - Iago (Paul Hilton) appears like a cut-price Moseley, all black shirt and pencil moustache, and there is a chorus (at times appearing as a literal mob with flaming torches) to back him up.  The Venetian nobility praise Othello's military prowess, and are, of course, quick to send him to defend them from the invading Ottoman navy, but will not shake his hand.

There's also a scene where Othello, called from his marital bed, is seen shirtless, his back showing the scars of beatings and giving us a very visceral reminder of his history of having been enslaved. 

NT Publicity Photo -
Rosy McEwan as Desdemona and Giles Terera as Othello

 As the play progresses, we also see Emilia, Iago's wife,(Tanya Franks) who (per the text) is used by her husband, to take the handkerchief which he uses to convince Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful, performed explicitly as a victim of domestic abuse, both attracted to, and frightened of, her husband. It's a powerful performance, and provides a rationale for Emilia's sympathy towards Desdemona and her silence in the face of Othello's growing suspicions. It comes across particularly strongly in her speech in Act 4.

I thought it was a very interesting production, and one which gave a new perspective on the play, but not easy to watch.

After the play, we went to Mere where we enjoyed some wonderful cocktails and a fantastic meal, of which, for me, the highlight was the dessert - a beautiful sphere containing coconut Mousse, kumquat Marmalade, and coffee mousse, flavour which I didn't think sounded as though thy would work together, but which really, really, did!

Given the rather unreliable habits of GWR at the moment, I'd opted to stay overnight and come home on SUnday morning - I had thought I might go to the British Library's ALexander the Great exhibition, but in the end I was too tired and din't fancy hanging around until 11 for it to open, so instead, I got the first train home (delayed by half an hour!) 

Everywhere was covered in heavy hoar frost, and looked lovely, if rather cold! 

I believe tht Othello is going to be broadcast to cinemas via NTLive on 23rd February, and hopefully on NTatHome after tht. I think it's worth seeing. 

New Year - Update

I didn't manage to blog much last year - must try to do better this year .

I got Covid on my birthday and ended up having 2 weeks off work and am still not 100%, which is annoying.

I had a fairly low-key Christmas - I went to a candlelit Carol Concert at Wells Cathedral 

Wells Cathedral

Then my parents visited for a week for Christmas, which I enjoyed. 

Christmas Tree and Omra

We mostly had pretty grey and wet weather and as I had developed a cold the moment I finished work, and my Dad was also getting over one, we had a very un-energetic time, concentrating on eating, drinking, reading and watching TV.  Which is a pleasant way to spend a week in winter.

Gate - The Bishop's Eye, Wells

Swans on the moat 

We did drive over to Wells on the one day the sun came out. We had thought that we might go into the Bishop's Palace, but it turned out that the Bishop's Palace was closed for the Christmas Period, so we didn't!

The Bishop's Eye Gates

Even the gates from the marketplace to the palace were closed, save for a tiny postern gate, which is only around 5' high so everyone has to duck to get through!

Gatehouse, Bishop's Palace

We took advantage of the very brief period of sunshine and went for a very short walk round the moat, and also took the opportunity to heck out the second hand books in Oxfam. We only bought 5 books between the three of us, which is pretty good going for a  family visit to a book shop!

The New Year started with a lovely sunny day, so I went for a walk 

I had been expecting to spend the first few days of the New Year prepping for a court hearing, but I was, at the last minute, able to get it adjourned, which meant I could book a day off on 3rd January, and ease into the new year with a three day week. Which was nice. 

So, that pretty much brings me up to date. 

'Good' at the Harold Pinter Theatre

 Way back in the Before Times, we learned that David Tennant was going to be appearing in a production of C.P. Taylor's 'Good', so, in February 2020 we booked tickets, to see the play in October 2020. For obvious reasons, that didn't happen - the play was postponed and we had new tickets for May 2021. And again, that didn't happen. However, the play was re-scheduled again, opening on 5th October, and so we re-booked, and on Saturday 15th October , headed to London for the performance.

I had a delay as the train I was booked on to was cancelled, but fortunately was able get the next train and still arrive just in time for lunch with my friends. It was a good lunch, and lovely to see friends.

The play is set in the period from 1933 to 1941, in Frankfurt, and features Professor of literature, John Halden, (Tennant)  and his gradual move into Nazism, not through any conviction of it's merits but out of convenience.. joining the party to further his career, attracting the attention of senior Nazis by writing a novel which is supportive of euthanasia, as he struggles to cope with his mother's dementia,   drifting deeper and deeper as he consistently makes the easy, rather than ethical, choices. 

The other cast members are Eliot Levey (Who I last saw as Herr Shultz, in Cabaret) and Sharon Small, both of whom played multiple roles   - Small playing Halder's wife, his mistress, his mother, and his SS mentor, Freddie, and Levey playing Halder's (Jewish) friend, Maurice, and a number of other roles, including a senior Nazi officer, and Freddie's wife. While Tennant is the star, and is of course the big name pulling in the crowds, both the others are excellent and have, I think, the more difficult job, having to constantly switch between multiple characters, with no changes in set or costume.

It is certainly not a cheerful play (although there is a delightful scene involving Tennant singing and dancing!) but is very good, and unhappily topical.

David Tennant - Photo from NT Live website 

It's well worth seeing - in person in London  until 23rd December, and via NTLive in cinemas, in April  (and, hopefully, after that via NTatHome) .

After the show, we had a slight change of cast of our own, with one friend having to leave to catch a train, and another joining us, before we headed to Mere for wonderful food and cocktails. 

It was a wonderful day (although sadly, the next day I started to feel unwell and tested positive for Covid, despite having had a negative LTF test before setting off to catch my train to London. I was fully masked on the trains and in the theatre, but not, obviously, in the restaurants, so can only hope I didn't pass it on to too many other patrons)

General Catch Up

 Hello blog.  It's been a while.  

A quick round up of what's been going on. 

I've  seen several shows over the last few months - 

-    Jerusalem, starring Mark Rylance and Rhys Ifans, (Very good) 

-    Henry VI parts 2 and 3 at the RSC (Good, but making the best of what's not Will's best material, and with some irritating filming / camera work, which I didn't feel added much to the performance) and 

-    Days of Rebellion, another production  of the Wars of the Roses (combination of Henry VII parts 1-3) by the graduating class at Bristol Old Vic (a good attempt, but the idea of setting it as corporate warfare rather broke down once the actual bodies start to pile up)

- The Tempest, the the Ustinov Studio in Bath - the opening production for the new Artistic Director, Deborah Warner, With Nicholas Woodeson as Prospero and Dickie Beau as Ariel

- Headlong Theatre's production of August Wilson's 'Jitney', in Bath,  directly from the Old Vic.

- Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim's musical directed / designed by Terry Gilliam, which I enjoyed.

-The Doctor - an Almeida Theatre production, at Bath, starring Juliet Stevenson, which was very good, but depressing.

As you may have noticed, the Queen died last month, and we all had a week of wall-to-wall coverage.- I didn't feel any particular sense of loss, although I did find  some of  the ceremonial quite interesting. 

It was also the reason for my  ringing for the first time in a long time - (I have a shoulder problem which it aggravates)  Bells are rung muffled for funerals, it and it was asked that the bells of  as many churches as possible rang for the state funeral, so I asked whether anywhere local needed a hand (many ringers ring at more than one tower, and not all churches have a regular band, so trying to get the bells rung everywhere on the same day isn't easy)  and ended up joining a mini trip to ring at several churches which don't have regular bands. We got quite a few positive comments from passers-by, which was nice!

And I have enjoyed a few walks - enjoying the late summer sunshine.

Finally, I acquired a new kitten..It's a good thing she's cute, as she's also full of mischief! Vashti is not overly impressed with her, but she is getting used to it.

Jerusalem - Apollo Theatre

Way back in August of last year, I learned that Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook were reprising their roles in Jez Butterworth's play, Jerusalem - originally  performed at the Royal Court theatre in 2009, and acclaimed as the play of the century. I didn't see it the first time round, but Mark Rylance is always worth watching, and I've never seen Mackenzie Crook on stage but he's generally good value too,so obviously I had to buy a ticket.

So, on 21st May I got a train to London to go to a matinee.

It's interesting,and a lot of fun. 

It's St George's Day, and Johnny 'Rooster' Byron (Rylance) is about to be evicted by the council, having been living in his caravan in a piece of woodland, on the edge of the village of Flintlock, in Wiltshire. 

The play allows him to tell stories with roots in English folklore (he claims to have met giants, for instance) and also issues of local pride and tradition, and how these are changing.

Rylance's role was incredibly physical, and very different to roles I have seen him in before, and it's a very interesting play, although I felt there were some parts , especially some of the attitudes and language about women, which have not aged well. But very glad I went! 

Fabergé at the VandA

 Not so long ago, my friend E suggested, that it would be fun to go to the  Fabergé exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum, lunching beforehand at Mere.

It seemed like an excellent idea, so on 2nd April, I made my way to London, and the three of us (E, our mutual friend A, and me) met up at Mere, where we enjoyed some delicious cocktails and food.

Cocktail

We lingered a little longer then planned so ended up getting a taxi to the museum, which was very entertaining.

I also found the exhibition itself interesting,although not necessarily one I would have picked for myself, without my friend having suggested it.

I had not appreciated, although of course I was aware of Faberge, that it involved a substantial business, I had always assumed he was a small craftsman. In fact, at it's peak, they had shops in 5 cities, and over 500 employees!

No photographs were allowed in the exhibit, so I can't share my favourites, but apart from the eggs there were lots of cigarette cases, model animals (including many made for the royal family here) and jewelry.

I particularly liked the enamelwork - there was a brilliant blue cigarette case, inlaid with silver and diamonds, (made, I think, for Mrs Keppel) 

There was a very economical multi-purpose tiara (you could apparently remove the head band and wear it as a necklace! ) and some items which looked startlingly modern.

The exhibition ended with the eggs, which are simply stunning - so intricate and delicate. I loved the peacock, and the very modern looking winter egg.

A lovely day. (And we may have gone back for another cocktail after leaving the exhibition, because why not!

The Meaning of Zong - Bristol Old Vic

 Back in 2018, I went to a workshop  performance / reading of a new play by Giles Terera, at Bristol Old Vic (I wrote about it here) It was a deeply moving event and I planned, then, to see it when it was produced as a full play. 

That was delayed, like so many other things, by Covid, but it's finally here and I went to see it on 8th April.

The play is about the 18th C court case of Gregson v Glbert . It concerned the slave ship Zong. It was an insurance claim - the ship's crew had murdered 132 enslaved people, by throwing them overboard, and made an insurance claim for the value of the dead, claiming that it had been necessary to throw them (cargo) overboard due to a shortage of water, in order to save the remaining people on board. 

The case was heavily publicised due to the efforts of Olaudah Equiano, (Played here by Giles Terera, who also wrote the play) himself a formerly enslaved man, and Granville Sharp, an abolitionist who was already well known for his activism and support of fleeing slaves. In the original trial, a jury found in favour of the ship owners, in the appeal, new evidence was produced which identified navigational errors by the captain or crew, and evidence that rain had fallen, sufficient to replenish the water supplies, before the final group of people was massacred. As a result, the Judge found that case should be re-heard. There are no records of a further trial, it's likely that the owners either reached a settlement with the insurer or chose not to pursue it, but the publicity helped to expose the inhumaity of the slave trade, and to increase support for abolition movement. 

The play opens in a modern setting, with a young woman (Keira Lester) in a bookshop, raising the concern that a book about the slave trade is shelved under African history, rather than, where it more properly belongs, under British history, and being brushed off by the staff, before moving to the historical setting of the Zong court case, interspersed with the stories of three of the enslaved women on the ship.

It's a very powerful play, and not easy to watch. 

The set and production, as well as the cast, are excellent - there are allusions to the legacy of the slave trade - wooded cases marked with the names of slavers such as Colston, and a moment when the hammer beams of Westminster Hall, where the court is sitting, descend and for the ribs of the ship - very cleverly done,and a visual reminder of how inextricably linked the establishment was with the trade.

Music throughout was provided by Sidiki Demele.

The run was fairly short but I hope that there will be revivals - if there are, it is very well worth seeing.

Loki

 Those of you who know me on Facebook will have seen that sadly, Loki left us at the end of March.

Baby Loki, 2014

Loki in the snow

First ,meeting with Vashti

Loki relaxing with Vashti

I miss him. RIP, Loki.

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Playhouse Theatre

 Last summer,I  booked to see Cabaret, starring Eddie Redmayne as the Emmcee, Jessie Buckley as Sally Bowles,and Omari Douglas as Clifford Bradshaw.  That was a long time ago, when nothing seemed certain, and making any kind of booking felt light offering a hostage to fortune. It  crept up on me a little, and had I known ahead of time it was going to fall just as our government moved to an 'ignore it and  it will go away' policy on Covid, I might not have chosen this week, but such is life...  

The theatre has been completely reconfigured inside, there's now a central, circular stage, with seating behind as well as in front  of the stage, creating the feel of a club. In addition, the first few rows of the stalls have been replaced with cafe style tables. There are art-deco style, monocled masks on the walls (I can't remember from my previous visits, I think they are covering up the Roman style Ox skulls that used to be there) - it's very thorough.

The booking e-mail sending tickets also gives you an entry time, encouraging everyone to arrive early to allow time to visit the bars and pre-show entertainment. My entry point was the stage door (who knows how the actors get in!)  so one goes in to a rather utilitarian corridor, to the first of the bars,(and a complimentary shot of schnapps (or a bottle of lager or water) where a live pianist played,

On the main level, the second bar, in decadent white and gold, murals on the walls (destined, no doubt, were we truly in Wiemar Germany, to be condemned in the near future as degenerate art)  with dancers on a platform over the bar, live musicians, as well as a champagne bar.

And all this before you get to your seat!

Then - the show itself.

It's good. Very good. 

Eddie Redmayne is superb as The Emcee - almost clownish in the opening number, (sporting a fetching little party hat) and gradually becoming much darker, and colder, as the show continues, including an angel of war or death for 'Money Money Money', moving to a more conventional, if grimmer, appearance towards the end of the show.

Jessie Buckley didn't appear at the performance I saw, the Sally Bowles role was played by her understudy, Sally Firth (according to her mum, who I bumped into in the foyer during the interval, it was the first time she'd appeared in the role) 

The rest of the cast is very strong - Ellliot Levey and Lisa Sadovy, Her Shultz and Fraulein Schneider were particularly strong, and Omaro Douglas as Bradshaw was also excellent.

Booking information here, (the cast is changing from the end of March, Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley are leaving)  but I think that the production is good enough that it will be  well worth seeing even without them!

There are some photos of the show here, and of the redesign of the theatre here