First Impressions of London

We had been warned before arriving in London that there was an Underground (Tube) strike. Since 3 to 4 million people take the Tube everyday, getting around was going to be problematic. We arrived at the Hotel, the biggest one we’ve stayed in yet (though the rooms were still small). There we said goodbye to our Tour Guide Elzo, who had really been an informative and pleasant guide. He was heading home to the Netherlands for a few days to prepare to leading a tour to Russia and China (including Mongolia)!

Beth and I settled in a little then decided we would walk to St. Martin’s Theatre for the evening performance of The Mousetrap. Walking down the street was an adventure in and of itself since the sidewalks were packed full of people due to the Underground strike. And what diversity of people, on the streets we walked down I think we heard more non-English languages being spoken than English. We saw many shops and restaurants for people from the Middle East, many signs had Arabic writing on them, and many of the eating establishments also had hookahs out front (quite often being smoked by all ages of Arabic looking men (though I did see a couple of Caucasian young women smoking a hookah at one place). This was certainly not the London of Mary Poppins!

It took a long time to walk the 15 or 20 blocks to the Soho area of London (where all the West End Theatres are), simply because the streets were so full. Once we got to the right area, and located St. Martin’s Theatre, we picked up our tickets and still had over an hour before the doors opened. We found a little restaurant in the area called The Stock Pot. Here Beth was able to have a Liver & Bacon special - I had a taste (it was pretty good, but it was still liver). Beth enjoyed this because she doesn’t get to have liver at home since the kids all dislike it, and normally it is not to my liking either. I simply had a chicken and mushroom dish, which was nice, if not adventurous.

Back to the Theatre, where we took our seats. First thing I noticed was that the theatre was smaller than I expected. We were in the front row of the first balcony, excellent seats - where we could see everything very well, and yet were pretty close to the actors as well (we could easily see all subtle face expressions). However, just like La Scala in Milan, my knees pressed up against the balcony - obviously built for smaller people with shorter legs!

The theatre lights dimmed, some music that sounded like it was recorded 50 years ago played an opening fanfare based on Three Blind Mice, a female voice screamed in the dark… the play had begun. Before I knew it the intermission was taking place (during which a safety curtain came down in front of the main curtain - which neither Beth nor I could figure its purpose - we knew that it was a ‘safety curtain‘ because those words were painted on it in really large script letters). Beth and I chatted about who we thought were the best suspects (this is a play written by Agatha Christie, thus a murder mystery of course). Then the second act began. When it finished neither Beth nor I were right, but one of the actors told us during the cast call to “keep the secret of whodunit locked in your hearts” so we can’t tell you who it was!

This play is the longest continuously running theatre show any where in the world - currently in its 56th year! There was a sign in the theatre lobby that noted which number of show it was - I don’t remember the exact number but it was over 50,000. I think it is such a classic that it has influenced many other movies, books and even games since it opened. I don’t know for sure, but I wondered if one of my childhood favourite board games, Clue, was influenced by this play. For sure it was influenced by Agatha Christie books.

Over all it was a most enjoyable production, with great acting, interesting plot twists, and a superb setting. There were some humorous bits, and some dramatic moments, and it kept us guessing to the very end. No wonder it has played so long.

Getting back to the hotel was an adventure as well. We kept trying to hail a cab (at the corner the theatre usher suggested) but every cab that drove by was already taken. We had been standing in this spot for 15 minutes when some other members of our tour group happened to walk by. We decided to combine forces to try an hail a cab. Still no luck, finally we started walking back to the hotel. At one point we came across a phone booth, and I tried to call a cab that way - after some frustration trying to use coins to make the call (ending up using a credit card!) I was further thwarted by the cab companies having a automated recording saying “Due to the Tube strike we are experiencing high call volume, please call later.” So we kept walking. Eventually, purely by luck we came across a cab that was available, and we were able to make it back to the hotel before midnight. I wasn’t too happy about the Underground Union that day.