Great Theatre

One of the great things about theatre in London is the opportunity to see new work with terrific casts and great direction - at a very reasonable price. Not that there is not wonderful work being done in the US, but to have it concentrated in a small geographic area, highly accessible, and reasonably priced, is unique to London.

New York has great theatre, but it is very expensive, even the Off-Broadway can be pricey. And some of the best work is being done regionally in small theatres or LORT theatres, but it is spread around the country and often does not end up with a production in some centralized locale. You can go to Los Angeles, or Chicago, or New York, or Denver, or almost anywhere in the US and see wonderful theatre, but to see wonderful new plays in one location...well nothing is like London.

London's West-End has an abundance of non-musical productions, many of which will never make it to the US.

Ofcourse, the big, tourist-freindly musicals are here and are much in demand, but it is the dramas and comedies in the west-end that make it worthwhile.

Much of what I see, I take a chance on. I go to the TKTS both in the morning, to see what is available. Rarely have I ever purchased a ticket to something I had prior knowledge about. Part of the joy is seeing something I had no prior knowledge about and then being thrilled about what I had seen. I have rarely been disappointed. Some productions have been better than others, and some have been truly fantastic, but I haver never really regretted buying a ticket to any.

Theatre in London this week has again been a great experience. I will blog about the specifics tomorrow.