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A night at The Old Vic, part II (now with more celebrities!)
Aug 04, 2009 Kelsey Sharpe
My previous post sufficiently covered the topic of culture, but where would any advulture blog be without the 'adv-'? This post is about the adventure after the show.
Me with Billy Crudup, Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan.
My friend Chris is something of a movie buff, so as soon as the show ended she and I zoomed out of the theatre and around the corner to seek out the stage door. I'm not the hugest Ethan Hawke fan, but I know I have a blog what needs some interestin' posts, so I volunteered to take a picture of her with him. While we waited the two of us noticed something odd — we were the only two people from our entire class there, and indeed there were only three other people waiting with us. Having both been to U.S. shows or concerts where the stage door was a writhing scrum of people post-show, we were a touch confused. We were about to leave when we saw that two of our classmates were headed our way. The four of us were soon joined by a fifth, and the actors began to exit. Most of them beat a hasty retreat (including Simon Russell Beale, who I would have liked to have gotten a picture with, but such is life), but some stopped to talk to friends who were waiting for them outside.
Chris with Ethan Hawke, who played Autolycus in The Winter's Tale.
It was at this point that one of our group recognized another one of the people waiting as Billy Crudup. Crudup is probably best known for his role as Dr. Manhattan (AKA "that naked blue guy") in the film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' graphic novel
Watchmen. I am a huge comic book nerd, and I enjoyed the movie very much, so as soon as his name was mentioned I imagine that I whipped around somewhat like
the hamster in that YouTube video.
By now Ethan Hawke had emerged, and after waiting for the various actors and guests to finish their conversations, the five of us approached and got autographs and/or pictures with our actors of choice. Both were very gracious about it, and when Chris congratulated Hawke on his performance, he deadpanned, "Thanks. It's my job."
High on the adrenaline of meeting someone(s) famous and being (relatively) on our own in a foreign city, Chris and I decided to take a double-decker bus to Macdonald's and get celebration McFlurries.
Comments
Amanda Dunham says:
You need to go to high tea at Fortnum&Mason. It's address is 181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER. I recommend the whole menu(especially the cakes). Cheers.
Stephanie McAliley says:
Greetings from you cousin in really, really hot and humid Florida. :-)
Wow! This is great. So glad your mom shared the link. Enjoy the experience.
Meeting Billy Crudup is cool. I didn't realize he was Dr. Manhattan in The Watchmen. Tim dragged Megan and me to the IMAX showing in Orlando. Not necessarily my cup of tea but it was a well done film. :-)
Holly Ortiz says:
Dear Kelsey,
We took many day trips out from London--they were all great. Hampton Court is an easy trip and really great (Henry the 8th). Windsor Castle is a great visit, also. We combined Stonehenge and Bath on a Grayline tour. The ancient and Roman views of Britain. The Canterbury tour included, Dover and Leed's Castle. Both wonderful. If you are up in Oxford, You might be able to make it to Blenheim Palace (birthplace of Winston Churchill). The truth is, there is so much to see and do, you can't get to it all. Just close your eyes and pick and you'll have a great time. Take lots of photos.
Love, Aunt Holly
Kelsey Sharpe says:
Hey Aunt Holly. I will definitely check Harrod's out, especially if they have noteworthy food. As far as day trips go, a friend and I bought train tickets to go up to Oxford on Saturday. We'll be going to Stratford-upon-Avon on Sunday, and we'll be there for about a week, but once we get back we'll have two days off in a row. So I'm still looking for something to do during those days. Would you suggest Bath and/or Canterbury?
Holly Ortiz says:
Kelsey,
While checking out the culture, don't forget to check out the food court at Harrod's--I'm sure Shakespeare would have approved. Are you taking any day trips out of London, like Bath or Canterbury?
Love, Aunt Holly
