London Calling

Second day in London and we started with a trip to Leicester Square to book some entertainment for this evening. In the end we settled on “Potted Panto” - seven classic pantomimes in 80 minutes. It also helped that the show is at Wilton’s Music Hall - a venue I’ve always wanted to see. It’s more East End than West End, near the Tower of London.
After getting the tickets, we took a stroll up Regent Street to Oxford Circus via stops at Hamleys and Liberty. Then it was back to Stratford on a rattly Circle Line train (won’t be using that again!) for a bit of lunch and a look round the Westfield shopping centre. Returned to the hotel for a pit stop before heading out again. Just time for a spot of shopping on Oxford Street before making our way to the theatre.
And what a theatre! The original Victorian Music Hall, it is a masterpiece of “shabby chic” restoration with the stage and auditorium looking barely different to how it was originally. Cracked and flaking paint and plaster contrast with modern lights, sound and seating. If you want to know what it looks like, watch the video for “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, which was filmed here.
The show itself was superb. Basically two blokes playing all the parts, it was frenetic, chaotic and very, very funny. The finale mash up of “Aladdin” and “A Christmas Carol” - think Abanazer Scrooge - was superb. And I’m going to nick quite a few ideas from the show to use in our Panto!
We needed to calm down after all the frantic action on the stage so we walked back to the tube via Tower Hill, where I snapped today’s photo - a nice juxtaposition of ancient and modern, with the Shard lit up behind the Tower of London. It’s been a full on day - over ten miles walked - so we’re going to have a bit of a lie in tomorrow before heading home.