10th
March, 2012
Watching a
stage drama in the UK
for the very first time was a memorable experience, which happened to be
yesterday. The show was to begin from 7:30 pm. “The Lady from the Sea”, a play
written by Henrik Ibsen, was directed by Stephen Unwin. The most interesting
thing was carrying cushions from the home for paying less as £8/person for pit
cushions seats. After checking the train schedule, we (sister-in-law and me)
decided to catch a train at 5:18 pm from Hounslow Station and left home at 5:00
pm with 4 cushions in bags.
At 5:26 pm,
we reached Twickenham and caught 5:34 pm train to Kingston. Weather looked gloomy from the
window. Just the third seat behind us, there seemed to be a man lying above the
seat unconsciously. A train staff came with his cordless and informed the
authority of the scenario. He was saying “The person is not talking to me…might
be an addict….” Every passenger that passed through that seat looked concerned
about the man. However, the scene was not invisible from our seats. Some passengers
were suggesting the staff but he said that the man will have to go through
ambulance and police in Kingston.
Throughout the train travelling, the fainted person carried our drama thoughts
away. When the train was beginning to slow down in the last station Kingston, we could hear the
ambulance siren. Excited about the quick UK system, we left the train and
roamed around through the shops.
We had
bought a pink and blue frock for Mikenda (aunt’s granddaughter)’s birthday few
days ago. Now, we were looking for some accessories to go with it. Since it was
6 pm, most of the shops had already closed; some were hurrying to do so. We
bought a blue sunglass in M&S and went to the Rose Theatre
where our friends were waiting. It was neat and tidy (English way) and looked like
a proper British place. The cafe inside the theatre was classic and targeted at
British customers.
I was
having an orange juice while skimming through a newspaper article review of the
drama placed on the table. Moving my eyes around inside the theatre, I doubted
if there was anyone else from the Oriental world. The theatre hall gate opened
at 7:00 pm (half an hour early). After keeping our bags and jackets in the
cloak room, we went inside. The stage looked wonderful.
Few
volunteers and two audiences were inside and we were observing the hall from the
entrance gate. To reserve our places, we kept our cushions right in front of
the chairs and below the stage. It looked really awkward with few people in the
hall and few cushions below the stage. The volunteer said there were 25 pit
cushions in total and, in a way, relieved us. Also, he was kind enough to explain
us about the theatre.
He said it is
the only theatre in the UK
built after 2000 AD and was built 4 years ago. It replicates Shakespearean Rose
Theatre although few changes were felt required for modern audience. It has a
capacity of 900 people; however, has remained houseful only a few times. He
mentioned that he just received a phone call about a wheelchair-bound audience and
needed to make a seat ready for the person immediately. We could see 3 levels in
the hall apart from the pit cushions section. Light management was visible in
many places. However, no microphones were seen. The backdrop was that of sea,
and the floor was made from wooden beams. These extended diagonally throughout
the stage resembling sea waves. Door, main gate and chairs in the stage were
decorated with garlands (looked like Laxmi puja in Deepawali although they were
different flowers and not marigold). We reserved our seats, went outside and
came back again.
More people
could be seen now inside the theatre and pit cushions area. We remained in our
cushions and waited for the play. The stage was a bit high from the floor
level. So, we felt slightly uncomfortable in the beginning but all went well
later. Once the volunteers made sure everything was okay at the scheduled time,
the audience area went dark, stage lights were on and the play began. Having
visited Gurukul Theatre in Nepal,
I was expecting similar process. But it did not happen. No information on drama
was given. Nobody appeared. The play started abruptly.
Women
appeared in long light- coloured gowns resembling the Victorian age. Two
daughters, a father, a lady and three men were the main characters. Language
used was English and speech was easily understood. Drama went on smoothly. Stage
went dark followed by applause. This was a 20-minute break. The play began
again once the hall was occupied. It began abruptly as before. Actors were
great. Few mistakes were seen but
remained overshadowed by their performance. The play ended happily. Applause
followed. Actors appeared in the stage hand in hand and bowed, went backstage. As
applause continued, they reappeared and re-bowed and left the stage. Thanking
the actors and the people involved to create a beautiful drama, we moved out of
the stage with cheerful faces.
After
collecting our stuffs from the cloak room, we departed from the Rose Theatre
with a promise to come back next time for the play “The Cherry Orchard”. Hungry
as we were (since it was 10 pm), we stopped in Wagamama and had a heavy and
delicious dinner. At 11 pm, we moved out (as it was closed) towards Kingston bus station.
Caught the bus number 281 and headed towards Whitton Admiral Nelson. All 4 of
us dozed off on the seats as it took us nearly 30 minutes to reach there. After
waiting for about 10 minutes, headed in H22 bus towards Heath Road. Reached home at 12:30. Had a
wonderful day.
