London Calling: StageZine Crosses ‘The Pond’

MUST-SEE SHOW: Imelda Staunton in ‘Gypsy’ at the Savoy. Photo: Scott Harrah

By Scott Harrah

The two great capitals of the English-language theater are New York and London. In honor of StageZine.com’s 5th Anniversary, we crossed the Atlantic to review the best West End shows and pre-theater restaurants in London, to give a heads-up to our readers bound for Europe this summer.

This was not our first time in London. It is one of our favorite cities and we’ve been many times, but it was our inaugural visit as theater critics.

London, ‘Capital of Cool’

London means different things to people. For some, the largest city in “Old Blighty” means West End theater, and the theaters here are absolutely gorgeous. This is the land of Shakespeare and Noel Coward, Sir Laurence Olivier, Harold Pinter, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Joe Orton and more. For others, it’s about visiting literary haunts, shopping at Harrods and Harvey Nichols, grooving to the latest music in the many nightclubs, doing all the touristy stuff like going to Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, marveling at exhibits at the Victoria and Albert Museum, or touring Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. London is the capital of “cool,” where Vivienne Westwood, the Sex Pistols and Malcom McLaren created “Anarchy in the U.K.” with punk. London is the epicenter for 1980s new wave and classic British pop and rock, ranging from the Beatles and David Bowie to Duran Duran to the Spice Girls, the Pet Shop Boys, Boy George, Morrissey and the Smiths, Ozzy Osbourne, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones and others. London is known for the 1960s scene on Carnaby Street. It’s home to Notting Hill, the Portobello Road and Baker Street, Jack the Ripper, Ian Fleming’s James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, the BBC, and more.

PICCADILLY CIRCUS: One of London’s most famous areas. Photo: Scott Harrah

For royal enthusiasts, it’s home to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Camilla, William and Kate, Fergie and Prince Andrew, and the late Princess Diana and Princess Margaret. It’s the capital of the British Commonwealth and former Empire, a melting pot of British, Indian, West Indian and Arab cultures.

There are many similarities between New York and London. Both are crowded, congested, English-speaking cities full of culture, but London is cleaner. And, oh yes, be prepared for the high prices, but there’s good news for the budget-conscious.

NATIONAL THEATRE: Featuring cutting-edge shows, such as ‘Everyman.’ Photo: Scott Harrah

If you have not been to London in a while, now is the time to revisit. The currency exchange rate from dollars to pounds sterling is the best it has been in many years (and the dollars-to-euro rate is even better if you go to the Continent and explore France, Italy and other countries). Even so, London is perhaps the most expensive city in Europe, but many of the best things about the place are totally free. Explore Hyde Park by foot, walk around Piccadilly Circus or Covent Garden, window shop at the trendy stores on the Kings Road, or buy a sandwich and walk across Waterloo Bridge and take some snapshots of the River Thames, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Big Ben and Parliament and the Coca-Cola London Eye. Across the Thames, you’ll find the marvelous National Theatre, which currently has Everyman and The Motherfu***r with the Hat. Sure, it’s touristy, but splurge a bit and take a ride on the Coca-Cola London Eye for gorgeous panoramic views of the city. Book a “fast track” ticket so you don’t need to wait in any long line. Full rotation only takes 30 minutes, and the whole operation is clean and well organized. It is best to purchase tickets online and reserve a specified time to visit. From July 3 to August 21, 2015, the Coca-Cola London Eye is open until midnight for late-night rides. For tickets, please visit https://www.londoneye.com/

Over the next several days, we will be posting reviews of West End shows and pre-theater restaurants. We hope you will visit London and enjoy the city, the theater and the restaurants as much as we did.

OFFICIAL LONDON THEATRE & TKTS

For information and tickets to all the West End shows, please visit Official London Theatre at http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk

For discounted West End show tickets, visit the Clocktower at TKTS Leicester Square. You can even see what shows are on sale today, tomorrow and the following day by visiting http://www.tkts.co.uk/ and http://www.tkts.co.uk/whats-on-sale/

VISITLONDON.COM

A great website for everything about the British capital is http://www.visitlondon.com/

StageZine.com would like to thank the following people who made our visit possible and enjoyable: Anthony McNeill at Society of London Theatre; Mary Parker at the National Theatre; Stephen Pidcock and Philippa Redfern at Corner Shop PR; Lana Lay at Arthur Leone PR; Amy Barder and Catherine Rolle at Raw PR; Janine Shalom at Premier Comms PR; Mark Armstrong at the Savoy Theatre; Howard Rombrough at the Indigo Restaurant at One Aldwych;  Irena Pogarcic at Kitchen Communications (Hawksmoor Seven Dials); Petra Costandi at Dishoom; Elizabeth Broad at the Coca-Cola London Eye; and Rebekah Clement at London and Partners/VisitLondon.com.

BEST WAY TO GET AROUND LONDON: The Underground or “Tube.” Be forewarned, the “Tube” can be even more mobbed than the NYC subways. Photo: Scott Harrah

LONDON EYE AT NIGHT: Overlooking the Thames. Photo: Coca-Cola London Eye

ON TOP OF LONDON: A private capsule on the Coca-Cola London Eye. Photo: Coca-Cola London Eye