It’s London, Penn and Teller, and late-night Shakespeare
LONDON — As the Clash once said, “London’s calling.” I think they also said, “Never bow to the obvious,” but there’s your intro.
The Kats! Bureau at this writing is a hotel on London’s West End, and it is raining. Check that. Just stopped. But soon, again, it will rain.
You might have noticed on the socials I have been in London this week. I’m visiting the city for the first time, as Penn and Teller perform their first shows at the London Palladium. Opening night is Saturday. The 11-show series is among the highlights in the guys’ 50th-anniversary celebration.
Thursday night, just after arrival, I met up with Emmy Award-winning set designer Andy Walmsley and his wife, Amy, at Carradine’s Cockney Sing-A-Long at Mr. Fogg’s Tavern in the Covent Garden district of London’s West End. This was a bangin’ little show, a Cool Hang Alert certainly in this neighborhood.
Local showman Tom Carradine, playing on “The Ol’ Joanna” upright piano, led the crowd through a series of cockney tunes (“Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do! I’m half crazy, all for the love of you!”). That was until he randomly shouted, “Anyone from Las Vegas in here!?” You know it.
Seemed random, but Andy had earlier e-mailed him we’d be in the room. Then the crowd shouted through a passable rendition of, “Viva Las Vegas.” We toasted pints of Guinness, and at least one FizzyWater.
Andy is working on the set for the show. P&T have been loading in and rehearsing. On Friday, Amy led this London rookie on a tour of Westminster Abbey and Tower of London, thus far, actually staggering experiences.
No chance in capturing and chronicling the rich history in a quick post. But even the original tour brochures for Tower of London are older than the United States. There is flat wear in London that is older than our city.
Friday night was a late-breaking adventure with Emily Jillette (the Queen of Late-Breaking Adventures) to Shakespeare’s Globe and a midnight performance of “Twelfth Night.” Shakespeare’s Globe is a thorough reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse that opened built in 1599, for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. The theater’s reconstruction was finished in 1997.
Synopsis (and, spoiler alerts) from our friends at the BBC, “Twelfth Night” is “a fast-paced romantic comedy with several interwoven plots of romance, mistaken identities and practical jokes. Separated from her twin brother Sebastian in a shipwreck, Viola disguises herself as a boy, calls herself Cesario, and becomes a servant to the Duke Orsino. He sends her to woo the Countess Olivia on his behalf, but the Countess falls in love with Cesario. Meanwhile Olivia’s uncle, Sir Toby Belch, gets drunk with his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek and they play a trick on Malvolio, Olivia’s steward. Eventually Sebastian turns up and causes even more confusion, chaos and comedy.”
Fast-paced over 2 1/2 hours, with a 20-minute intermission. Or, “interval,” as they call it here. Also, it rained, late in the performance. Shakespeare’s Globe is open-air in the standing GA area. We ambled out at 2:45 a.m. But still … For a Las Vegas entertainment observer who hits an intermission every 12th year, this production soared.
Emily had just seen a version of “Twelfth Night” at Shakespeare in the Park in NYC a couple of weeks ago. Contemporary interpretation featuring Sandra Oh, Peter Dinklage and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. But the work is so adaptable, it can be twisted into any time period and point of view (Dinklage played Malvolio, a character who is not a little person, in the NYC company).
Point is, study and absorb Shakespeare, the arts, and other destinations and cultures whenever possible. Appreciate the difference in London’s heritage and the youth of our city and its culture. Enjoy the role of tourist/ambassador seriously. You might learn something. And I’m learning, or being reminded of, jet lag as a genuine concern. Nap time. Check back after P&T.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.