DAY 1 The Burnt City and other Wonders


The room at my hotel in Kensington wasn't ready on arrival. Not a great surprise so I left the suitcase behind and went out for a walk to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).  In contrast to dry dusty and hot Riyadh, it was a cool green walk with a few rain drops.  I mostly walked along Cromwell Road. It is a road under a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).  Alex explained this to me and its objective is to help protect tourists and residents from terrorists and violent protest. 


The V&A had an example of a form of violent protest from British East India days.  "Tippoo's Tiger" pictured above was found in the music room in Tipu Sultan's Palace after he was defeated and killed in battle.  There is a wind up organ inside that entertained his audiences with what was considered the sounds of agony of an European interloper being chewed by a tiger.  The tiger is one of the highlights of the Museum... 

The museum has an impressive entrance and many other wonders with a less violent past.  I liked seeing the Iznik ceramics.  They reminded me of Turkey. I also learned that those three circles with wavy lines found in the ceramics and in carpets is a stylized depiction of animal pelts. 


There was also a caste of Trajan's Column that served as a Victorian era chimney. 


With my hotel room still not available, I decided to visit the Natural History Museum that is right next door.  It was crowded with school children and families. I looked at their rock specimens and was impressed by a 30 pound hunk of amber from Burma. 
After checking in at the hotel I headed out to Woolwich to attend the immersive production "The Burnt City." Housed in two aircraft-hanger sized buildings the fall of Troy is acted out in silence with the audience in masks following characters and the action as they chose.  Produced by the Punchdrunk company there are dozens of performers roaming the area acting out choreographed scenes. Audience members choose their own paths and get a unique experience. The production lasts three hours and features a cabaret bar with live music and drink for the audience that is separate from the performance. My ticket included a punch drink in a VIP section. It was tasty but I don't think I was punchdrunk...

Cell phones were not allowed but I did get to take a selfie in mask as I left the performance 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DAY 2 Wharfs, High Chai, Pubs and Cats

Image
The first London Walk today was "Undiscovered London: Butler's Wharf and Shad James." It went along the Thames River from Bermondsey to the area of the Shard and the Tower Bridge (in the distance).  An area of pirates, cholera and squalor in the past.  The cat pictured was part of a group of sculptures honoring a doctor who helped clean up the area to rid it of cholera. The girl sculpture below was of his daughter who died from cholera.  The cat sculpture is to left looking out at the girl.  The wharfs developed as a way to stop theft from ships and barges.  London is built on clay and the clay along the river was easy to excavate and then shore up with bricks.  The wharfs specialized in different products and buildings had bridges linking them to make it easier to move and exchange the various goods. The area has modernized but retains some historical reminders such as the horse statue below that symbolizes t...
Read more