Thursday, April 25, 2019: London Theatre 3: All About Eve; London Theatre 4: Hamilton

Although our favorite bookstore in the world is Redbery Books, we're off this morning on a jaunt to visit Persephone Books, a unique bookstore that reprints neglected mid-twentieth century (mostly) women writers.  All of the books have an identical, elegant grey jacket.  But each book has a unique "fabric" endpaper matching the period in which the book was written.  It is London and for the first time we wear our rain jackets in a light shower.

We head back to one of our favorite shopping areas in London: Covent Garden

with street performers most every day

and an Apple store.  This is the interior of the Apple store.

After our disappointment with dinner last evening, for lunch today we do the tried and true, a traditional British pub, in this case the Round House near Covent Garden

and have traditional fish & chips although with a non-traditional glass of wine rather than a pint of ale.  Yes, a food picture!

We doubled up today with both afternoon and evening theatre.  The matinee is All About Eve at the Noel Coward theatre

starring Gillian Anderson and Lily James, directed by Ivo van Hove.  The adaptation of a 1950s Marilyn Monroe movie is the story stardom, egos and jealously in Hollywood.  The play is well over two hours long without "interval" which was a severe test of my bladder (TMI).  [Picture below is a stock photo.]

We decide to walk to our evening theatre along the Mall alongside St. James Park where preparations are underway for Sunday's London Marathon

and admire the flowers.

We hadn't had a chance to see Hamilton in the US and thought it would be interesting to see it in Britain at the Victoria Palace Theatre.

Tickets were strict but not impossible to get only several weeks ahead of time and, I hear, a lot cheaper than in the US.  It was a very enjoyable performance and I can see what most everyone raves about.  And, no, the rap was not done with an English accent.

[Stock photo below.]

We are hungry and decide to find some post-theatre food.  We wander around on our own between Leicester Square & Covent Garden and pick a restaurant that is open late by random.  We walk in and announce that we would like wine and a little something to eat.  After being seated and presented with an elegant and elaborate menu we notice that most everyone else in the restaurant is dressed very nicely (suit and tie).  We are not.  We have a great glass of wine and share a delicious cheese plate (she had me at gorgonzola).  Later we discover that this is one of the top and expensive Italian restaurants in the area.  I give them a lot of credit for accepting us as we were.  [Photo taken the next day.]

It is another late night.  We return to the hotel and fall into bed.