One Day in London
aka The 'I almost didn't got to London to see Hamlet featuring Benedict Cumberbatch cause I didn't have anyone to go with but Katya is awesome and told me to go so I did' adventure - recommended title.
Keeping up with my 'one interesting thing a week' track record this was probably the one I was most tentative about actually putting into action. The Plan: Bus to London, camp over-night for tickets, see Hamlet featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, end of plan. That was really as far as I had thought it out when I boarded the bus Thursday evening. When you're sitting at a bus stop by yourself with a big backpack heading towards a big city you kinda feel like a runaway in an indie film.
Oct 15th, 10:30: I arrived in London, navigated the Tube, walked a bit and got to the theatre. There were still people about, mostly just coming out for a smoke before going back in. I had nothing but time on my hands so I just started chatting to anyone who was out there. I met a lighting guy, a stage door person, the event coordinator and then had a lovely chat with one of the actors. He had picked me out right away as Canadian rather than American and explained the differences in the accents, most of which I never noticed. He even offered to take my program up to Benedict for him to sign, since he he only occasionally came out after the show! Talking to strangers is awesome! Afterwards I found out that because this had been the night that the live broadcast had gone around the world there was a party going on upstairs so they let me wait inside for a bit until everyone cleared out. The last person left and I settled into my borrowed sleeping bag for the night. First in line.
Oct 16th, 1am: Second in line came, her name's Sandra and she's from Germany so we chatted for an hour until the next two, guys from London joined. I nodded off at this point. It wasn't cold and it wasn't wet but sleeping on concrete is not comfy so I woke up on and off. When I woke up there around 5 there were about 20 people, and they started to let us into the building at 8 for more queuing and sleeping until 10:30 when the Box Office opened.
10:35: ticket in hand and a stupid grin on my face, I had the entire day to kill and the need to stay awake until the evening. Since I had wanted to travel light, I only had a small point-and-shoot camera on me so I was content trying to take well composed tourist photos. Kat had recommended the Museum of London so I walked around that for a while, then St. Paul's Cathedral (I aways sing the Marry Poppins song when I pass it, can't help it) and the adjacent Starbucks to charge my phone and let my parents know I had survived the night. From there I just strolled down the river, past Cleopatra's Needle (though actually it was carved by Thutmose the III and Rameses the Great), Past Trafalgar Square, through Leicester Square and then to the British Museum.
7:00: When I got the theatre people were already in line for the next day's tickets, really glad I went on a thursday. So I talked to one of the guys standing in line, he's from the States but his family moved out here recently and the whole crowd of them, about 15 were waiting in line for the next day already. I went inside, found Sandra, and then found my seat.
10:30: The play was phenomenal. I always become adrenalized and fluttery from theatre or really good movies and this story held me from the beginning. The set was expansive and amazing, everything fit together amazingly well. I'm pretty much going to run out of adjectives to say how much I loved it. There was a full emotional scale, the very real tenderness of Hamlet missing his father and a real fleshing out of the distance that grows between Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern which I'd never considered before. It's really surreal seeing someone that I've seen so many times in movies and tv and trying to make it click in my head that the real version is in front of me. It was also funny to recognize Benedict Cumberbatch's mannerisms from Sherlock; the thinking-prayer fingers, the ruffling hair and lots of fast paced yelling - but well that's Hamlet too. And as for his versions of 'mad Hamlet,' funniest thing I've seen in a long time and makes me smile every time I picture it, I'm pretty sure the director just handed him the drumsticks and the gun and said 'go nuts'. Gah, the whole production was just outstanding.
11:00: Outside a batch of cumbersome fans had already formed. I found Barry and he handed me my program - signed by almost every member in the cast! Granted Benedict Cumberbatch's signature is pretty much 'B squiggly line C squiggly line' but he does have a very long name :P Most of the actors were able to get out unimpeded but when Benedict came out the crowd kinda went nuts. Already having my signature, I waited at the back and just watched. So many cameras were pointed at him I could pretty much just watch the screens, however most people were just getting shots of his forehead due to the angle (and that his face is about 40% forehead). He signed for a while and then went back inside, where I believe are secret tunnels that allow him to escape to the river where a boat waits to take him home. Reading through the program I recognized a lot of minor characters for Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, Merlin and Claudius was also Mance Rayder from Game of Thrones.
11:30: So the rest of my plan was rather unscripted. I started walking to the bus station, about 4km away, but since my phone was almost done I took the Tube back. All the Canterbury buses had already gone, so I settled in for night #2 in the sleeping bag. I met a British girl named Hattie and we chatted for a while before nodding off.
