London on New Year’s

Awaiting the fireworks over the London Eye: We ate at a little Italian restaurant near our hotel, not the most elegant meal we have ever had but quite good and of course Terry enjoyed the people-watching.

Since then, we have returned to our hotel and spent the time in the Executive Lounge (only place for free WiFi) contemplating what we may do for the rest of our time in London. Also spent some time reaffirming why we love each other and how important each of us is to the other. I would be bereft without Terry.

Earlier we went to the theatre. We saw a new version of PIAF. It was terrific (although I hate the fact that in a theatre as small as the Vaudeville (maybe 600 seats) the producers felt the need to use wireless mikes on the actors. Piaf herself would have been appalled. She gained notoriety for the power of he voice (honed by singing over the traffic in Paris). The actor had the vocal power to replicate that, so not sure why the need for mikes.

As an old-fashioned actor myself, I pride myself on the ability to hit the back wall (even in a stage-whisper) without the need for amplification. Unless you are in the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, or some 5,000+ seat house anywhere, you should not need amplifying. Okay, sermon over.

We loved the show, the cast as a whole was quite good, but the woman playing Piaf and the woman playing Marlene Dietrich were particularly outstanding.

London Theatre – what a joy.