Friday evening Fi & I bussed it to London straight after work for the Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of Cinderella at the London Coliseum. Before then, neither of us had any familiarity with the ballet version of the classic fairy tale, so we were both very excited to see what it was all about. Also we've been watching a BBC mini-series called Agony & Ecstasy, a documentary on the English National Ballet, so I felt primed for some real-life dancin'.
A little internet research tells me that Cinderella's score was composed between 1940-1944 by one of the great Russian masters, Sergei Prokofiev. You'd doubtless recognize his music from another famous ballet, Romeo & Juliet. He also composed the score for one of my all-time favorite children's stories, Peter & the Wolf.
The Birmingham Royal Ballet did not fail to impress. Cinderella danced much of her role in what looked to be bare feet -- Fi & I could hardly believe how well she did with that handicap. Her step-sisters were a riot, providing constant comic relief. One of them even donned a fat-suit (that's something you don't see every day, a corpulent ballerina). The sets & costumes were all quite colorful & animated too, making for some spectacular scenes.
Picture me rollin'
For the most part, the story followed the same trajectory as the Disney cartoon, so I didn't find myself getting lost & wondering what on earth was going on (personally, I don't find ballet to be the most articulate medium for story-telling). My favorite moment turned out to be during Cinderella's dress fittings for the ball, where, instead of the all-mice team from the movie, we got a couple of lizards & a frog too! These guys were running around in circles like crazy men, flailing their arms & bobbing their heads back & forth. It was hilarious.
'Does anyone else feel ridiculous in these shoes?'
Whether the Birmingham Royal Ballet will be touring any further afield with this production, I don't know, but I can say that I really enjoyed it. Should you have a chance to take in one of their shows, don't pass it up!
So.. Moving right along. . . .
This morning, that'd be Sunday, Fi & I rose with the sun to venture out for the Columbia Road Flower Market in east London. The Market is open on Sundays only & is a prominent destination both for locals & tourists, so we aimed to arrive early for the best possible selection. A long trek from the underground, tracking through a dicey but hip neighborhood called Shoreditch (I might like to live there someday), the Flower Market opens up like a street fair all the way down Columbia, both sides of the road lined with stalls as far as I could see.
Already bustling at 9 a.m.
The stalls were manned by the flower-mongers & their boys, each purveying a dozen different varieties of cut flowers & potted plants, campaigning the quality of their flora & sensibility of their prices. I had so much fun listening to their London accents. Learning about the UK's different regional accents has become a hobby of mine since my arrival, & the Cockney London is one of my favorites.
'Best roses in London, each bundle's only a fiver!'
I also remembered to pull out my camera for a few close-up shots of the flowers, a smattering of which turned out reasonably well, despite the difficult lighting.
Tulips, workin' it
The Flower Market made for a super fun Sunday morning. Fi & I did really well with our purchases too, coming away with almost more than we could carry back on the tube. As such, we re-fueled with some delicious bagel sandwiches before repairing homeward.
Crab & rocket on poppyseed. Phenomenal.
Another enjoyable wknd in the Big Smoke!
See you all back in Oxfordshire.
Those flowers are so beautiful!! I am looking forward to a trip to that market one morning. Magic!
ReplyDelete