#BLAUGUST - Day 15 - Summertime in London

Hello dear readers, 

First things first: sorry this is slightly late - I've only just really returned from London! 

I went to the city today with my parentials as my dad treated me and my mum (it's her birthday too in a couple of weeks - why is it that this always happens - I know so many people whose birthdays are really close to their mother's!) to see the musical/opera, Porgy and Bess, based on the novel Porgy by DuBose Heyward. It features the song "Summertime" (hence blog title!) which Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong made famous with their cover of it. The story is set in a religious 1920s Charleston (which made it interesting for me, having just returned from there! The characters' street is called Catfish Row, which we went to visit on our trip), and is about a kindly cripple called Porgy and how he strives to win the heart of the promiscuous, but vulnerable, Bess. 

The whole production was done so well - the set was amazing (I'll upload a photo later) and I loved how everyone had quite large parts - the songs were shared out as equally as possible. The music is so beautiful - it's mainly jazz - and the cast performed it all to perfection, especially one cast member, who is incidentally part of the Sugababes! 

The performance was at the Regent's Park open air theatre, which is lovely as they perform whatever the weather, and the shows can be made a lot more authentic. The weather here in little Britain is starting to get a bit more chilly, and so we lugged sleeping bags around the tube earlier so that we'd be warm! It was definitely worth it though. 

Thanks for reading, 

The very (tired and) happy blogger 🎭

#BLAUGUST - Day 2 - Chichester Cheer

Hello dear readers,

As part of my great aunt's 80th birthday celebration, we booked her tickets to see the penultimate performance of the play Amadeus, starring Rupert Everett and Joshua McGuire (he was in About Time - refer back a few posts for my review on that one!) It was playing at the newly re-opened Chichester Festival Theatre (hence blog title.. Heh heh). So after a lazy morning (teenager over here), we made the brief, 45 minute journey to the lovely city of Chichester, West Sussex. 

The play was basically about the long-held dispute over whether the genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's death was of natural causes or whether he was murdered (by the character played by Everett). Largely based on the true story, the play's script was incredibly fast-paced and clever, complete with so many twists and turns, plotting successes (and failures) and, of course, many a mad composer and musical manuscript! 

Overall, it was the perfect mix of tragedy, comedy and suspense; including quite a few dirty references and jokes - much to the horror of my great aunt! The set was simple but so impressive - they captured the baroque style so well and it's all made a lot better as the theatre is round, so you really feel a part of it, no matter where you sit. 

We finished the day by eating a great pub dinner and returning home in time to watch the Commonwealth Games highlights (ps Tom D and Usain I adore you both). All in all, quite a successful day!

Hope you enjoyed this slightly different sort of post - I'm hoping to start uploading the photos from America tomorrow, when I have more time. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday nights/ whatever the time may be where you are - I'm going for the really wild approach: finishing my current chapter of Jane Eyre in bed! #can'tholdmedown

The very (thespian-feeling and) happy blogger🎭