Exhibition & Theatre

Each year, for our wedding anniversary, G and I try to spend time together to celebrate, at least since this kids were old enough to look after themselves we have.

Last year, some of you will remember the post I did about our trip to London and the Champagne Flight we had on the London Eye, courtesy of our kids.

This year, I booked tickets to go and see STOMP the musical in London. We have both wanted to see this show for several years so I thought our anniversary would be a good time. Having booked the tickets several months ago, the theatre contacted me to say the shows run was ending a little early and so instead of going next month, we had to go this month.

We travelled up to London by train to save the hassle of driving into the city and finding appropriate parking etc. Exiting at Charing Cross, we walked along to the Embankment and across the bridge to the South Bank where the London Eye is situated. There is a festival on at the moment and the whole area is alive and jumping with all sorts of cultures and stalls and entertainment. The atmosphere was just fantastic. We made our way through all the excitement, slowly, soaking up the noise, and commotion. Breathing in the aromas from the food stalls as we passed each one. Fresh cut fruit, BBQ meats, roasted nuts.. the choices went on.

The younger children were wide eyed with fascination as they witnessed clowns and jugglers and uni-cyclists doing their thing to entertain the crowds. Older people were enjoying the group of bongo drummers, the stalls selling unusual items, such as digeridoo's and having henna tatoos.

Our destination was the Dali Exhibition. Dali is one of my favourite artists, I have several of his prints on my hall walls. I especially like his dream images.
As we approached the steps, a young lady thrust 2 booklets at us and asked if we would like a discount. £1 off each!! I looked at G and smiled, 'I don't think we'll be needing those darling'.





Before we had left home I had quickly looked on the internet for an offer - I am getting wise in my old age, it is rare that you have to pay full price for something like this when you have the internet to hand!! The ticket that I had printed off at home was a '2 for the price of 1' offer... total saving.... £12.00. Oh yeah, she could keep her measley £1 off each!!! I felt so chuffed with myself. Even more so when the couple infront of us paid £24.00 to get in!

It was fascinating not only to see in the region of 500 of Dali's paintings and sculptures, but to read about the meaning of them and the symbolism of certain elements that repeat throughout his works such as the melting clockface and the open drawers.

This last image is another of my favourites, I'm not sure how much detail you will see here but I love the two almost identical figures which are actually created by different means. The image on the right is actually a hand.



After the exhibition, we retraced our steps back along the South Bank towards Charing Cross and into The Strand where the theatre was located. I had booked a matinee performance so that we could have dinner afterwards.

I had never seen a show at the Vauderville Theatre before and was quite taken aback at how small it seemed. It was a cosy sort of feeling though, and I liked that.

STOMP's musical sound is unlike any other, the idea behind it is finding music in noises which we usually try to block out. There is little or no melody in a strict sense so it doesn't matter whether you prefer jazz, rock, classical, dance or pop, STOMP is about rhythm which is the basis of all music. STOMP combines the raucous with the delicate creating complex soundscapes which are endlessly inventive. STOMP's music is uncannily orchestral and joyously infectious.~Quotation from internet ticket site.

The show started with one guy walking onto the stage with an ordinary, run-of-the-mill broom. He was making 'sweeping' sounds to which he soon added banging sounds by tapping the broom head onto the stage. Every 10 seconds or so another cast member joined the stage, each with their own broom, adding to and building the full rhytmic 'tune'. It was incredible to watch.



This was the stage set, the backdrop to the perfomance. Even here though, they encompassed the road signs, metal poles, oil drums, saucepans and wheel rims in a truly magnificent orchestral piece in the latter half of the show, and all this was accomplished with two of the eight performers suspended on a rope and swinging from side to side to reach all the different 'instruments'.



Other 'Instruments' included many everyday objects, and here are a few pictures of some of them:













The finale involved 3 of the cast members using oil drums like stilts, with others playing drums on plastic water butts, cymbols with drum lids and a myriad of other complimentary percussion. Absolutely amazing.

This is a list of all the instruments I could recall, although knowing my memory there are some I have missed:

Plunger, Sink (with water), Saucepans, Brooms, Basketballs, Oil Drum, Plastic Containers, Platic Bottles (from water cooler), Road Signs, Metal Pipe, Rubber Pipe, Platic Bag, Paper Bag, Matchbox with matches, Cigarette Box, Metal fold up Chairs, Dustbins, Dustbin Lids, Zippo Lighters

The other thing that I wasn't aware of is that the show actually incorporates a great deal of comedy. It is brilliantly written and superbly executed and if anyone wants to see it, get your finger out and do it.

*Please note, that as cameras were not permitted in either the gallery or the theatre, the images here are from various online sources, and not my own work.