Londonholly

I am planning a trip to my favorite city from the 5th to the 9th october.

Now my question to anybody who is well informed about what is going on in London at the moment/is living there/just returned from London:

What is special at the moment; what is new, renovated or for another reason a must to do/see/visit at the moment?

Exhibitions, buildings, theatre, opera, ballet, shops or anything else?

PatrickLondon

Things I've got my eye on: East meets West at the V&A, new production of Cosi Fan Tutte at Covent Garden. But this is one for
http://www.whatsoninlondon.co.uk/
http://www.timeout.com/london/thisweek.php

ben_haines_london

There is a new play, called 58, showing about then in Canterbury, I expect at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, 100 minutes from Victoria by train. It reflects on the 58 Chinese illegal immigrants who died of lack of air when hidden in a freight truck at Dover.

The New Ambassadors Theatre has a play taken from spoken evidence which weaves together personal stories, legal opinion and political debate. Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom looks at the questions surrounding the detentions in Guantanamo Bay, and asks how much damage is being done to Western democratic values during the war on terror.

I mean to see the V and A East Meets West exhibition, on how cultures met and interacted after the new contacts between China, India and Europe

I mean also to have a look at the new ground level exntrance and exhibition room in the National Gallery on Trafalgar Squasre. The whole recapture of the square for walkers is admirable.

You might rest your feet and exercise your mind by going to a free public lecture. There is a list is on-line on http://victorianresearch.org/lectures.html/, and from it I select
Tuesday 5 October. 6.30. Wild Reckonings . Poems inspired by Rachel Carson?s "Silent Spring". The Royal Society, Piccadilly tube
Wednesday 6 October. 6pm. Business, Religion and the Rise of Islam by the Chairman of the Economic Committee, Muslim Council of Britain. St Ethelburgas. Liverpool Street tube
Wednesday 6 October. 6.30. Design and Enterprise. Chairman?s Address. Register [email protected] or 020 7930 5115 The Royal Society of Arts, Charing Cross tube

Thursday 7 October. 12.45. Our Environment: Too Hot to handle? Conversation with Sarah Mukherjee (BBC environment correspondent). Wesleys Chapel. Moorgate tube
Thursday 7 October. 1pm. Stress, anxiety and depression (SAD) . Gresham College, Barnards Inn Hall. Chancery Lane tube

Saturday 9 October. 12.30 to 4.30. London and the slave trade. This session you pay for : 6 pounds, concessions 4 pounds. Museum of London. St Paul?s tube

Welcome to London

[email protected]

caroline_edinburgh

David Hare's 'Stuff Happens' at the National Theatre (www.nationaltheatre.org.uk), about the Iraq war. The last I heard it was nearly sold out but there was some availability for weekday matinees. I am going down from London especially to see it next weekend.

walkinaround

i agree with Caroline.

The national theatre, barbican and other publicly supported venues are replacing the west end as the favourite theatre destinations for locals as the productions usually take more risks and have to worry less about appealing to everyone in order to make a profit.

Few visitors realise this and still consider the west end to be the ultimate in london theatre.

Patrick

While I agree in principle with what walkinaround just said, be aware that many of those "risk-taking" productions that become really successful DO move to the West End. The West End isn't all revamped American musicals or light fluff. Some of its stuff are these very productions from the National and other good venues!

Patrick

Darn. I hit "post" too soon. I also meant to say that while often it is impossible for visitors to London to get tickets to the really good shows at these often membership or subscription type venues, the most popular shows may move to the West End where tickets are not only readily available, but may even be available at discounts at TKTS.

I suppose many visitors are only looking for light entertainment, and there's nothing wrong with that. But if you are looking for something a little more "cutting edge" or "meaningful" there are always options available to them on the West End as well as the above mentioned venues, not to mention the "fringe" theatres.

walkinaround

i agree with patrick that many productions have moved from the non-commercial to the commercial theatres.

I also agree that the tickets are not quite as easy to get as just going to TKTS or another agency whose "bread and butter" is setting tourists up with tickets. However, your post is a little misleading as it implies that it is next to impossible for a visitor to get tickets without a membership. This is not true and often it is easy to get tickets to these shows. Tickets at full price are very reasonable and discounts (i.e. travelex deal at the national) are *sometimes* available. Perhaps the best tickets to the hottest shows go to the subscribers (or other VIPs) but isn't this the case with just about every show?

Like all popular shows (west end or otherwise) it is often difficult to get tickets on the same day as the show. therefore i propose that the fact that it is so easy to get cheap tickets to just about every west end show these days is a symptom of its decline. If visitors stick to the easiest, most tourist friendly avenue (in any pursuit), they will miss out on the best that london (or any city) has to offer.

daph

Michael Crawford is in a new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical - "The Woman in White", at the Palace Theatre. We couldn't get tickets when we were there.

Londonholly

Thank you all so much-I will check out everything later!

Please post any ideas!!!

Has anyone been to the " Off the beaten track" exhibition at the NPG?

Or to the "Ancient Art to Post-Impressionism" exhibition at the Royal Academy?

Or to "My favorite dress" at the Fashion and Textile museum"?

m_kingdom2

Shops my dear, Harrods has an huge Italian promotion on in all departments until the 30th October..

Brown's in South Molton St, also opening a new shop in Davies St (but not in time for your visit).

Marni in Sloane St is always fabulous.

Jil Sander in Burlington Gdns.

Oki-Ni in Savile Row - unique concept.

You must have a look at the newly refurbished Asprey flagship store in Old Bond St. too.

Patrick

Sorry if my post was misleading about the difficulty of getting tickets. I was basing that on my own experiences, and not necessarily at all theatres, but I have been unable during a two week stay to get tickets to a couple of "very successful" shows at the National, and several times couldn't get to the Donmar at all, even trying weeks ahead -- but admittedly that is a smaller venue. Of course, if I returned day by day, or spent much of my vacation rechecking, I suppose I could get them, but that wasn't my point. A case in point at the National where I was totally unable to get a ticket for Jerry Springer, the Opera when there one year -- completely sold out partly because it only played a couple of days I was in London, but the following year I could get tickets to it easily, and not anyone can get tickets to it at the TKTS booth at discount. OK?

I don't think my post was any more "misleading" than the post which seemed to imply that the West End was just "tourist junk" and the good shows are at other venues. One poster said that those other venues are "replacing" the West End as the favorite theatre destination for locals" -- well, I'm not sure I'd really agree with that. It is simply another alternative.

caroline_edinburgh

To add my persective on this - during the 10 years I lived in London I went to West End shows only twice, early on, and they were rubbish. After that I'm afraid I assumed they generally just purvey rubbish for tourists (including British tourists) who don't know any better. With the exception of shows which, as Patrick pointed out, had started off somewhere like the National and then transferred. (Actually, 'Jerry Springer the Opera' started off at the Edinburgh Fringe & I've always regretted not seeing it here So after my bad experiences in the West End I just used to go to places like the National, the Barbican (although the RSC don't go there any more, do they ?), the Almeida, the Royal Court, the Bush, the Riverside Studios, the Tricycle... there are lots of good places.

Londonholly, I assume you know to get a copy of 'Time Out' when you arrive for listings for theatre, galleries, sport & lots more.

Patrick

Wow, Caroline, with dozens and dozens of West End shows you only saw two of them in 10 years and made the assumption all were "rubbish"? That's kind of impulsive isn't it?

Wouldn't you chastize someone who ate at only two restaurants in a ten year period in Scotland, had bad experiences both times, and then announced that "Scottish food is rubbish"?

Two shows is hardly enough to brand such a broad spectrum of theatre.

By the way, I think we've all gotten off on a tangent. Some of us are major theatre people and thrive on it. But what we're talking about has little to do with the average tourist in London who would like to experience a show or two in London. Let's face it, for most people, performances of a couple of big West End musicals or comedies will delight and entertain more than the cutting edge stuff that we're talking about. Unless they are major theatre buffs, these venues we're talking about has little to do with them.

Londonholly

First; I am interested in everything about London as I am dreaming, better: planning to live there soon.

And thanks to my late parents I have seen many of the famous sights and musicals and even some of the "cutting edge stuff"-so I am interested in everything that is interesting or could be interesting!

So pleeaase: tell me everything you think is worth a look!

M-Kingdom, I looove to shop and will certainly go to Harrods (but not to Jil Sander as this label has a wonderful shop in Berlin!), but I am still looking for a really great cahmere and shoe shop, and I do not think about NPeal, or Jimmy Choo. I am looking for the little hidden gems of shopping.
Any ideas?

m_kingdom2

If you want some unusual shoes, try Scorah Patullo in Upper St N1, and there's another shop whose name I forget in Amwell St N1 (or maybe EC!) which is within a mile of the other one.

Otherwise, I can only recommend the mainstream shoeshops.

caroline_edinburgh

Patrick - maybe it was unfair, but I heard of work colleagues having similarly bad experiences with big West End shows, and WE theatre does have quite a poor image. And I probably went to 2 more WWE shows than the vast majority of Londoners ever do !

walkinaround

Patrick...don't take the word "misleading" personally, i was only trying to point out that if i didn't know better i would maybe not even try to get tickets to these places after reading your post.

I live in london so i am more flexible than visitors...perhaps this is why i have had less problems (although i rarely go to shows other than on saturdays due to my schedule during the week).

I have been to over 20 shows at the national and i am not a member at all. i am a barbican member (lowest level) which only gives me discounts but not priority for tickets and i usually can get tickets within a few days of a show (music and theatre).

The original poster sounded like she wanted to do something more like what a local would do rather than just see the average tourist type shows.

The west end is not totally dead and there are some good shows there. however, the fact that it is struggling and suffering from a serious dwindling of creativity is not disputed even among the average theatre fan in london and the mainstream press. My experience certainly says the same. on the contrary, the publicly supported theatres are generally considered to be in a time of great creativity with many successful shows (both in popularity and among the critics).

One problem with the west end is the trend to more shows with tv and movie stars (usual american). The shows tend to lack any creativity and the whole show is about the star. Yes, the national sometimes uses stars but with a much better result- and they are not the main purpose of the show.

I don't see the situation changing any time soon as the trend is certainly in the wrong direction for the west end.

Tulips

MK; I read somewhere about a new Yoshi Yamamoto shop in Mayfair (was it Dover Street; somewhere near there). They would be selling a variety of other designers too. Have you heard about his and has it opened yet?

Patrick

walkinaround, don't worry, I didn't take it personally. Yea, the National is the easiest to get tickets to and I've seen a lot there -- mainly I was referring to some of the smaller ones. The situation with Jerry Springer - the Opera was that when it had just opened at the National I was there for two weeks, but it only played a handful of nights and I couldn't get tickets for anything! I tried year after year to see whatever was playing at the Donmar until one year I called and booked about 4 months ahead for whatever was playing. It ended up being "Take Me Out" which later ended up on Broadway and won numerous awards including best play. But although my flat is only about a block from there, I've been by time after time to see about returns for that night and no luck.

By the way -- I could take your entire post about the current status of how it all works and substitute "Broadway" for "West End", and guess what? It would still be a totally accurate picture of what's happening here as well as there!