So, To Sum It All Up - Summer Summary

Hi!!!

Well, hello again! I'm back from my travels (and I had a very nice time) and thought that as it is now September, a summer summary was in order, to fill you in on everything I've been up to. I haven't written a summary in ages but this was really fun to write and I hope you like it.



I've been to the theatre a lot this summer - I went to see Sunny Afternoon at the Harold Pinter (which I enjoyed lots), King Lear at Malvern (which I didn't ever get round to reviewing, but was good), No Villain at the Trafalgar Studios (which I wasn't all that impressed by, to be honest), The Seagull at the National Theatre (which was amazing), and The Plough and The Stars at the National Theatre (which was a very good production). I'm super lucky to have seen such a variety of plays and to see some really memorable productions. I also went on a tour of the National Theatre and for afternoon tea - I got tickets for my birthday - and it was awesome and something I would highly recommend.

 

I celebrated my birthday in July, as I do every year. It was lots of fun. I spent my birthday with my family and had a lovely time catching up with everyone. I also spent some time with my friends as part of a joint-birthday-type-thing with Elf Girl which was great. I was fortunate enough to receive lots of lovely cards and presents, which I'd like to say thank you for once again.

 

I've also been to a whole bunch of places this year. I've been in London a few times, which I always enjoy, I went to Cambridge to see some outdoor Shakespeare performances and see my cousin, I stayed in Watford for some family time and I went to Cyprus for a week with my Mom and Auntie S, which was such a great trip. We went to archaeological parks, the beach, to see a waterfall, to castles and we ate some wonderful meals.

 

Some other things that deserve a mention include - going to the cinema with my friends, getting my guitar, feeling really proud of my blog and content and regular posts, watching movies and getting the right answers on quiz shows.

 

So, to some it all up, I've had a really rather wonderful summer - I've spent time with my favourite people, I've been to great places, I've seen plays, I've read books, and I've enjoyed myself.

Happy September everyone, I hope you're having a good week so far.
What have you been up to this summer? What were your favourite parts? Have you got any comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments below!
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post.

Have a spectacular day!

 

GingerSnaps xxx

It's Showtime!!! - Theatre Review - The Seagull.

Hi!!!

As some of you may know, I celebrated my birthday on Sunday. I've spent a load of time at the National Theatre since Sunday, as I received tickets to various things there. Today I'll be reviewing a show I saw on Monday night - 'The Seagull' - which is currently in its previews.

 

The 'Young Chekhov' series that has just begun at the National Theatre consists of three plays - Platonov, Ivanov and The Seagull. They have been adapted and translated from Russian by David Hare for the series. I saw The Seagull - they are all stand alone plays and so you don't need to know about the others to enjoy any of them.

'The Seagull' follows Konstantin, an aspiring writer, and the people in his life - his overbearing mother and her successful husband, the girl he loves and so on. It charts the successes, failures and tragedies that they all experience as time goes on. It is both comic and tragic and totally captivating.

 

The play is powerful, detailed and observes human life in an intelligent and yet accessible way. The characters are emotional and highly developed which allows the audience to connect with them and so in turn, the play's action.

The production at the National is, in my opinion, outstanding. Having been to see a few less than amazing productions recently, which I haven't reviewed, I hoped that this would be great. It was - it reminded me why I fell in love with the theatre in the first place.

The set design is completely stunning, innovative and detailed - I am in awe of the talent of everyone involved in its construction and design. The lake on stage, the trees, the house, the little details like reeds, are all so beautifully crafted and look as though they have just been found and put on stage. It creates the perfect backdrop for the action.

The cast work very well together and truly succeed in bringing the characters to life. My stand out performers were Joshua James (Konstantin), Anna Chancellor (Irina Nikolaevna Arkadina), Peter Egan (Sorin), Olivia Vinall (Nina) and Adrian Lukis (Evgeny Dorn) - it was really difficult to choose favourite performers for this, actually, which is definitely a good sign.

I'm very happy to give five stars to 'The Seagull' - it is an excellent production in every way and I would highly recommend going to see it.

You can find more information about the show, the theatre and tickets here.

Thanks for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it.

Have you seen a play from the Young Chekhov series? Do you have any theatre recommendations for me? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments below.

I'll speak to you all soon.

Have a show-stopping and spectacular day!

GingerSnaps xxx