Audition and the London Eye

Brianne and I had our first British audition today, and it went really well! We found a casting call online for Me & My Girl, a 1930's British musical that will play at the London Palladium for one night only after - and here's the interesting bit - only 48 hours between the start of the first rehearsal and when the curtain goes up! It's a race against time, and it's for a lukemia charity.

We both did a monologue and song, and then had a quick and easy dance call. In all honesty, I felt we were among the top prospects in our group today. Of course, we're not counting chickens, because we estimate they're seeing about 800 people over two weekends. Still, they're looking to have a chorus of 50, and we'd like to think that they'll warm to the novelty of giving the cute Canadian newlyweds a shot!

One thing that got a good laugh in my singing audition came when they asked what kind of British accents I could do. I launched into a few bars of On the Street Where You Live and switched between RP, Cockney, Irish and Scottish. I recreate it below for your amusement.

After the audition finished up, we just a stone's throw from the London Eye, so we trundled over to enjoy another wonderful bridesmaid gift. In case you've not heard of it, the London Eye is a gigantic ferris wheel-like with about 30 glass "pods" fitting up to 20 people at a time that circle around on a 30-40 minute long cycle, and gives a commanding 180 degree view of London. The scenic view was quite spectacular and we got a lot of good pictures. Here's a sampling below.

The only thing that would've added to the experience was a less overcast sky. Unfortunately it was only bright and sunny when we left the house that morning and when we arrived home. BAH! Also, there were some very ill-mannered children who kept hogging all the good window spaces. Double BAH.

Dancing for Climate Change

Just wanted to post this, as I found it very interesting. There's a new "eco-friendly" dance club opening close to where I live right now. In addition to a wind turbine and solar panels, it will actually have a dance floor which generates the club's electricity by dancing on it! The bar will recycle all glass, plastic, and paper. The washrooms will have low-flow toilets and - I had to read this twice to be sure - waterless air-flushing urinals. On top of it all, the club will waive the regular £10 cover charge if you can prove that you got to the club by walking or cycling!

Oh Whiskey You're the Devil

When you think of the Royal Ascot, what probably comes to mind is race scene in the movie My Fair Lady, and that would be fairly accurate in terms of attire. Fancy hats and tail coats abound. The attitudes of the patrons, however, are not staid and stern. A fair percentage of the patrons are well off, but not stuffy; they shout "Move yer bloomin' arse!" just as well as Eliza Doolittle. The vast majority of patrons are regular folk in their Sunday best out for a view of the horses and, like all great social events, a chance to get rip-roaring SMASHED. This is why my fellow AYS crew and I were treated to a lovely drunken rendition of Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" on the train ride home on the second day of the Ascot. Picture this pop-tart anthem as sung by Fat Bastard from the Austin Powers films and you have a good idea of what this sounded like. Add to this the fact that he was screwing up the words quite badly, and I think we have a candidate for "Worst American Idol Audition Ever."

I find it interesting that the London Underground has only very recently made a rule against consuming alcohol while in transit. This rule went into effect about a month ago, and Brianne and I were coming out of the tube just as it struck midnight on the day; as we were exiting, we passed a squadron of cops heading into the tube to start rounding up the drinkers who were - at that very moment - now in violation of the law. They had their work cut out for them - some young lawyer from the city had used Facebook to organize a system-wide booze-up, causing the entire Circle Line tube to be jam packed with frat-style frollicking. It was a gargantuan mess that we had, mercifully, avoided.

At least this new tube law is one way to curb public drunkeness, but another factor to the problem that I've noticed seems to slip past unchecked: most pubs close at a decent hour of 12 or 1 am, but they stop serving food around 9pm. This leaves three to four solid hours for patrons to knock 'em back without the benefit of potato skins and nachos to mitigate the effects. And then we wonder why it is that there is a mob staggering out at closing bell to wander into traffic and belt out Rod Stewart's greatest hits!

The London Dungeon

This past Sunday we descended into the bowels of the old city, into the depths of gloom, doom and despair, into a cesspool of torture and decay . . . fun for the whole family and educational to boot! The London Dungeon is an interactive museum experience located near London Bridge. It uses costumed actors in a themed environment to educate visitors on the darker side of London history, including torture, imprisonment, the Black Plague, the London Fire, and Jack the Ripper. What a thoughtful wedding present from the bridesmaids!



We were quite fortunate to have fast-track tickets, as it was pouring rain and the regular line was half a block long. It seems every Londoner plays tourist on rainy weekends, we had the same thing happen when we went to the Natural History Museum. Here we are in the much shorter line, pleased as punch.



A humourous gravestone inside the main doors, and a gargoyle. I've always liked gargoyles.




They really set the mood well, from creepy sound and lighting effects to a dank smell. They have wax works and animatronics, and even a display full of live rats, as seen in the video.


At one point after being threatend with grisly torture, we and our group are taken by a bailiff actor to a judge actor to stand trial. I was picked out of the crowd and accused of wearing women's clothing for the purposes of soliciting sailors. Here I am on the witness stand.




They said the only way to get out of a horrible death sentence was to mince like a poofter and offer myself to a man in the audience for tuppence a throw. Of course, I played the whole thing to the hilt, even riffing improv dialogue with the two actors and Brianne in the audience who could barely keep from tearing up laughing. If even one person thought, "He must be a planted employee," I've done my job.



There was a flume ride in the dark through the infamous Traitor's Gate of the Tower of London.

There followed afterwards a virtual shave from Sweeney Todd, the history of Jack the Ripper, a lesson on the Great Fire, and a Drop-Zone style ride to simulating a trip to the gallows. Behold my aghast face, and Brianne's . . . scarf, actually.

A very creative take on history and a real fun time.

Random Thought

Did you ever notice that when people on a reality show are quarrelling with someone and they say "I'm not going to argue that with you," they actually mean "Please don't interrupt me while I'm insulting you, my sound-bite isn't finished yet"?

A Thought on Rubbish and Politics

I found it peculiar for the first few weeks I was here that I couldn't seem to find a rubbish bin anywhere within the London Underground tube system, once forcing me to carry a banana peel with me for about half an hour. It was later that a friend pointed out that this is a result of the July 7th 2005 bombings of tube stations; the authorities removed all garbage cans so they could not again be used to conceal devices.

"7/7," as it is short-formed, is a dark day for Britons. However, my friend informed me that it is not a constant discussion topic amongst authorities and politicians, who consider it bad form to dredge it up. I'm sure we can all see what a stark contrast this is to American politics. Heck, Guiliani's ill-fated run for the White House seemed to run on the "How often can I invoke 9/11 in a single sentence?" ticket. And though I can't site any specific examples, I am sure that even our own commandante Harper has used phrases like "The world has changed since . . ." and "In light of the tragic events of . . ." to further his agendas. Whatever else one may say of British politics, at least it seems that such knee-jerk righteous grandstanding is considered a bit gauche.

Just a little thought to chew on. I'll get back to talking about silly things next time.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Today we flew our flags proudly and celebrated Canada Day in Trafalgar Square in the centre of London. We put on maple leaf tatoos and enjoyed the festivities which included the street hockey seen above, bison burgers, Moosehead beer, a comedian from Just for Laughs, and real honest to God Tim Hortons! YAAAAYY! There was a busker who got the crowd going with some BNL, Spirit of the West, and Tragically Hip. Lots of canucks in the audience, knew just when to sing along. Also, heard a rumour that they had planned to serve poutine, but the cheese curds didn't make it through cusotms at Heathrow in time!

We had a nice outing last night as well, as we went on a ghost walk through the West End with a very friendly Scottish guide, pointing out various points of interest and telling neat ghost stories of the area, particularly having to do the theatres. One of the most famous is The Man in Gray, a benevolent spirit of the Drury Lane Theatre who has been sighted over 100 times over the centuries. Another favourite of ours was a costume coat in which an ingenue was apparently strangled to death, and subsequent wearers of the costume experienced loss of breath, welts on the neck, fainting and nightmares. ooooooOOOOOOOOooooooo. Fun overall, but still not quite as good and spooky as the ghost walks in Ottawa. Below you can see a classic alley of the type i always associate with Victorian London, narrow and atmospheric. Also, a vintage gaslight from outside St. James Park.

And just to share some other nice shots with you, we wandered by the London Eye before heading off on the walk. The Dali Museum is nearby. Check out his version of an elephant.