It’s not the first time I’ve done something this crazy: I buy a theatre ticket in London first, then book the flight and accommodation…
But I couldn’t miss the chance to see, just a few meters away, Cate Blanchett – winner of two Academy Awards (and multiple nominations), three Golden Globes, and other major awards.
CHEKHOV’S THE SEAGULL
What do you think I did? I searched my parents’ library for the book with Chekhov’s plays. I figured I’d read The Seagull before going to London, just to make sure I’d understand something there 🙂
My problem was that this “comedy in four acts” didn’t feel like a comedy at all and I, either I’ve lost the habit of reading plays, or the Russian names confused me so much that I couldn’t remember who was who!!!
Wait a sec! Who’s this one? Who’s this guy with? What role does she have in the household??? That’s how I ended up reading the play, damn it, flipping back a thousand times to the first page with the list of characters and their relationships. I kept wondering how on earth I was going to understand the play in London…
BARBICAN THEATRE
I rarely go see plays outside the West End. But this was one of those rare times. The theatre is a bit out of the way, in a building that totally reminded me of one of those… Children’s Palaces we used to have back home 🙂
It’s a big, kind of “rocky” building, full of odd-shaped rooms – nothing like the classic London theatres I’m used to. With a terrace where you can chill while the night rolls in, munching on something from the little restaurants around the place.
I got there way too early (for fear of being late), so I grabbed something quick to eat: a margherita pizza and some pimientos de padrón. The guy selling them had no idea what they were called, but hey, he was selling them anyway. I played it smart, throwing around the Spanish name like I was straight out of that tapas place back in Bucharest 🙂
I was one of the first to go in, so I could gawk at everything, take pics, analyze the stage setup…
The set? Super minimal: just a white fabric backdrop. And right in the middle of the stage, a bundle of reeds.
Soundtrack for the ears? A loop of different bird calls, soft and calming, playing over and over.
Speaking of sound, I look at the microphones and I’m like, wait, why are they there in a theatre play? I’d only seen that before in Romania, in random cinema halls turned makeshift stages by theatre companies.
No time to waste, I snap a few selfies:
And then the play starts. With surprisingly modern touches (contemporary music, mobile phones, etc.), but they’re so well integrated that nothing feels off or forced.
And guess what? I actually get the humor too. So yeah, it is “a comedy in four acts” haha.
The bunch of reeds in the middle of the stage ensures the entry and exit of 90% of the characters throughout the show. How they then vanish through a trapdoor or disappear into the back, I had no clue till the end.
And the microphones? Totally make sense now. Aside from some moments when they’re used for singing, the actors also deliver parts of their lines directly into them. Director’s vision.
Okay, I’ll admit it: I was kinda proud of myself (quietly!) for reading the play beforehand. I didn’t have to struggle to understand what they were saying in English. I already knew the main plot, who’s who, so I could just enjoy the acting, focus on the details, and fully check out Cate from head to toe…
Thank God they didn’t use those full-length Russian names. That helped a lot!
During intermission, I watch the activity on stage. Nothing major, nothing long. A few new props appear, the background lighting changes a bit, but the bush stays right where it was.
I keep enjoying everyone’s performance, I’m happy to finally see Cate Blanchett live and just like that, the play comes to an end.
In a totally questionable legal gray area, I sneak in a few quick photos while also trying to clap at the same time.
The folks in the pic are the whole cast. Very good, I’ve got nothing but praise!
And get this: third from the left is Nina from the play. None other than Emma Corrin, the actress who played Princess Diana in The Crown, a role that won her a Golden Globe! (I also saw her in Deadpool & Wolverine.)
source: Des Willie/Netflix; Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios/Marvel. via people.com.
And here you go, I even managed to get her autograph:
CATE BLANCHETT AUTOGRAPH
What do you do when you’ve got time to kill? Well, you squeeze into the crowd outside the stage door, hoping to get an autograph from a celebrity.
I’m pretty used to the whole routine – waiting so long my ears start to droop – for some star X or Y to finally show up. Or… not.
One by one, the actors start coming out. Some stick around to chat, others just scribble a quick signature on a program and rush off. But it’s clear, we’re all waiting for her.
When she finally steps out, a wave of excitement hits the crowd. Everyone instantly goes into “stretch mode”, holding out phones, notepads, or photos like our arms are made of rubber.
I was like a total groupie haha. I wanted to film, take photos, get an autograph… damn it, I needed six hands and an extra pair of eyes! And all that in the worst possible conditions: first of all, the space is a nightmare. It’s full of bright panels that ruin your photos, your videos, and your eyeballs. Whoever stuck them there clearly didn’t consider us poor souls trying to get a nice shot with the Megastar.
Then, just like it’s happened before with other celebs, Cate was led astray, in the opposite direction from the path of the other protagonists.
Watch the video and don’t be surprised that I got the autograph… upside down, on the back cover. But hey, better the autograph upside down than me upside down from not getting it at all 🙂
Once I secured that signature, I immediately started trailing Cate through the crowd of fans. At this point, I’m pretty sure my right arm is a few millimeters longer than my left…
If you haven’t read about how I stalked Emily in Paris, aka Lily Collins in London, here’s that story.
If you missed the epic prep I did to score an autograph from Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband, Matthew Broderick, check that out here.
And if you’re curious about the Sunset Boulevard experience with Nicole Scherzinger, you can read here.
