Hogwarts - A Dream Come True

Be prepared for a long entry here. I'm far too excited about this subject.

If you've so much as met me, you're bound to know that I'm an extreme Harry Potter fan. One of my favorite sets of memories is listening to the audiobooks with my family while growing up and waiting eagerly for the next book or movie to come out. I really can't remember life before Harry Potter and it was an integral part of my childhood.
So of course, I not only jumped but leaped at the chance to go to the Warner Brother's Studio Tour with my school when the trip was offered. So the day after our Bath and Stonehenge tour, I leaped out of bed early again to get on the bus to see the Harry Potter sets in person. I was even more excited when I found that my friends Sara and Morgan had a seat saved for me. We were also next to Ashley who I think is in one of Sara's classes.
The ride to the Warner Brother's Studios was about 45 minutes but on a bus full of people excited about the same thing, that's no time at all. Pulling into the parking lot and seeing the sign was absolutely breathtaking even though it really was just a basic looking studio.

Inside, the lobby was lined with photos of the main cast throughout the movies and, of course, the flying Ford Anglia. We had a bit of time before our ticket times, so we wandered through the gift shop and picked up our audio guides. It turns out that Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy in the movies, narrates the audio guide which was very exciting. It was really cool to hear his stories and just to have him talking to me in general! 

At about quarter of 1, which was our ticket time, we decided to get in line. The entrance to the tour was situated next to our first set piece, the cupboard under the stairs where Harry sleeps in the first movie. After only a short wait, they let us through into the first room. Immediately, Disney world came to mind and we decided to stand close to the next door to be first out of the room. Once everyone piled in, a short presentation began. It was primarily various movie premiere posters and a few comments from the producers. This presentation led us into the next room which was a very Disney style theater where we got to see a short film involving an introduction from Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who played Harry, Hermionie, and Ron in the movies. They shared some of their experiences from living on the sets for ten years. The film ended with them turning away and leaving through the Great Hall doors, leaving us pretty hyped up for the next thing. Then, the screen lifted in front of us revealing the actual Great Hall doors! 

So we got to enter Hogwarts through the actual Great Hall doors that were featured in the movie. We found ourselves in the Great Hall itself, set up for a feast! 

We were able to wander and explore for a few minutes before our guide spoke to us again, pointing out the details and sculptures around the walls as well as the costumes that were placed around the walls. There were student costumes from all four houses as well as many of the teacher costumes at the front of the hall. Interesting fact: the fans were generally displeased that the students stopped wearing hats after the first film. However, it wasn't the decision of the studio. In one of the last scenes of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, the students in the Great Hall all throw their hats into the air. When they shot this scene, many of the hats actually hit the candles and caught on fire! So health and safety shut that down and the hats were gone in subsequent films. 

After our time in the Great Hall, the self guided part of the tour began. Even beginning at the beginning, I don't know where to start here. There were so many little pieces and props and sets from the films. I was absolutely surrounded by the world I dreamed of throughout my childhood and I admit that I cried a bit from excitement. 

Though we initially stayed close, everyone had a slightly different pace with the tour and audio guides, so Sara, Ashley, Morgan and I eventually went our own ways so we each could get the individual experience we wanted. 

 Ron's Bed

The entrance to Dumbledore's Office. 

Dumbledore's Office 

Umbridge's rather distinctive costumes

I was really struck by the amount of detail in everything. Absolutely everything was thought out and created to give the most believable world possible for the films. Even the tiny details that would never be seen on screen are there and quite often hand created. Just walking through it was insanely clear that everyone involved in the process loved every minute of it. 

One of my favorite displays was a board the showed pictures of the animal actors used for some of the main animal characters in the films. As an animal lover, it was wonderful to see the animals involved and to hear about how much everyone involved loved the actors and some of the challenges faced by the trainers. Each animal had their own personality. For instance, one of the cats who played Crookshanks was particularly good at being carried around and being lazy, while one of the others loved to chase Scabbers the rat. Many of these animals were rescues and found wonderful homes after the filming was complete. 

According to Tom Felton, one of the most popular days on the set was the day that they created the plates for Umbridge's office. In case you don't remember, Professor Umbridge's office was decorated with plates that had kittens on them. So they had 40 kittens on set being filmed in front of the green screen, all wearing tiny hats and bows and all sorts of adorableness. 

Halfway through the tour, we moved from one soundstage to the other, by way of the backlot. The backlot is where the outdoor sets were constructed and filmed and many of the sets were still there. This was the one place on the tour we can eat and drink and they were selling Butterbeer!! I was far to excited about this and did spend the extra money to get a reusable tankard cup to take home. 

YUM!

We also had the chance to take pictures with a few of the set pieces (well, replicas). Hagrids Bike, the Knight Bus, and the Ford Anglia were all out there in addition to Tom Riddle Sr's grave and Number 4 Privet Drive. 

Sara and I in the Ford Anglia! 

I didn't take pictures with the Knight Bus because at that point I couldn't feel my fingers, so I moved on to the rest of the tour. The first stop in the next soundstage took us through their prosthetic displays. I never fail to be amazed by special effects make up and really would love to give it a shot sometime. 

One of the coolest things in there was the animatronic Hagrid head. Since Robbie Coltraine wasn't actual half giant, they actually wound up using a taller stunt double for some of the longer shots. They put an animatronic model of Hagrid's head on their shoulders so that they could keep the illusion that it was actually Robbie Coltraine. 

There was also some fantastic concept art on display that I really loved having the chance to examine. The creative minds behind so much of the magic astound me and I really loved having the chance to see how it began. 

The very final stop on the tour was probably my favorite - the scale model of Hogwarts itself that was used for all the exterior shots. Cue the tears again because it was Hogwarts and it was right in front of me. I can't even begin to describe how happy I was. Every detail was perfect and I felt like I could just dive right in and settle into Transfiguration class. 

Sadly, the tour was over too soon, but I'd made sure to leave myself enough time in the gift shop before the bus left. I wanted absolutely everything but I managed to boil it down to a few things. Sadly, they didn't have ANY shot glasses, so I was really glad I'd picked up the Butterbeer cup. I also couldn't resist the Death Eater Picture that my friends and I had taken at the beginning. 

After a quick bite of late lunch/early dinner, we all piled back on the bus for the trip home. I feel so blessed to have a chance to tour the studio that was such a part of my childhood. If I did nothing else in London, I think I'd go home satisfied (don't worry Mom, I'm still doing ALL THE THINGS!). If you have the chance, please, go do this tour if you love Harry Potter! 

Stonehenge and Bath

Prepare yourself for some crazy catch up! I've gotten behind on my blog but so much has happened this past week! So we're going to do it in order!

Starting from Saturday - not the one that was yesterday, the one before that! Our Professor took our entire class on a tour across the English countryside to Stonehenge and Bath. I was particularly excited because I had never been to Stonehenge but always wanted to go. We had to get up far too early, but the bus was thankfully comfortable and we were able to catch a few winks on the way to Stonehenge.

Recently, a new welcome center/museum was built to change the way visitors enter Stonehenge, so we had to take a short tram ride to the rocks themselves. It's hard to describe the feeling of stepping out of the door and seeing them in person for the first time. In a way, its a bit anti climactic because it really is just a relatively small collection of rocks. However, there's something about it that is so very powerful and worth the travel. It's a big place of Druidic worship and there is a definite energy that hangs around that I was very struck by. In addition, I'm fascinated by the mystery behind the site because no one really knows why or how they came to be there.

Despite being unfamiliar with Druidic Gods, I have to admit that I thoroughly believe in them. This is because we clearly angered them. Two students from our group will remain unnamed (because the Study Away office reads this!) decided to cross the ropes and touch one of the rocks. I don't think that security noticed, but the gods definitely did because it started hailing about two minutes later! At that point we had seen about enough of the rocks anyway and were able to head back to the tram without feeling disappointed, though we were now soaked and freezing!
We spent a while in the gift shop, of course, where I picked up a few post cards and a shot glass for my collection. In addition, there was hot chocolate and meat pasties for sale which was perfect after being soaked! After a trip around the small museum, I decided that I really wanted to read more about the history and theories behind Stonehenge so I picked up a book on the subject that I'm sure my father will want to borrow when I've finished.

Shortly after all this, we all piled on the bus and began the drive to Bath! I was a bit more awake this time and was able to enjoy the gorgeous countryside, particularly the sheep! Our tour guide told us a bit about the area and it's history, but one line particularly stood out - "In the Bronze Age, people were defined by their bling. In the Iron Age, people still had bling but they were going to hit you with it."

When we finally got to Bath, it was a bit dreary and cold, but we quickly got into the Roman Bath museum. Unfortunately, 2 hours wasn't really enough to explore much of the city, so I decided to really make the most of the museum and enjoyed the audio tour and the history. I did recognize a lot from my previous trip several years ago but loved it just as much this time around. It did make me want to have a spa treatment though, something that I don't say very often. Once we all finished the Bath tour, our professor did buy us lunch and I was able to pick up some postcards and, of course, another shot glass! 

Then, it was back on the bus for the trip home! 

The Roman Baths

The City of Lights

First of all, I would like to apologize to everyone, particularly my mother for the long delay between posts. Things got a little crazy this past week or so. However, I'm going to take the next few days to try to get caught up, starting with my adventure last weekend (not the one that just ended, the one before that)

It amazes me to be able to say it so casually, but I went to Paris! Yes, you heard me right, a few friends and I just went to Paris for the weekend. My roommate Sammie and our friends Olivia, Morgan and Sara all signed up to be part of the same tour to the magnificent City of Lights. So after our internships, we gathered and headed to Victoria station to meet the tour bus that would take us to Paris. Traveling to another country with just a purse and a backpack was the strangest sensation ever. I certainly had packed plenty for just a weekend but it still felt surreal.

Thankfully, Sammie and Olivia had traveled with this tour group the previous weekend, so they were familiar with the meeting point, so that part was relatively easy. Even better, it was right next to what felt like a gas station convenience store right in the station. So we were able to grab a bit of dinner and snacks for the trip.
We all piled onto the bus and Karleen, our tour guide ran down the plan - namely that we were going to drive to Brighton to pick up some more people for our tour before heading to France. I slept most of the way through that leg of the trip, despite the fact that the man in front of me had leaned his seat back pretty much in my lap.
From Brighton, we were finally on our way! I'd been wondering how the whole crossing the channel in a bus thing was going to work, so it was a bit mind blowing to find out that we would be going by train. As in our bus was going to get on a train and go under the channel. The train was huge! That was about as much as I established before falling asleep again because we were going to be traveling all night and jumping right into the tour when we got there at around 8:30.
When we eventually got to Paris, it was pretty much pouring. Thankfully, the first item on the itinerary was a guided coach tour, so we got to stay on board as we drove around central Paris.

Victory Arch in the rain! 

Finally, the bus dropped us off right at the base of the Eiffel Tower! It was still a little dreary, but the worst of the rain had stopped. Our walking tour began with breakfast! Though the main group went to one cafe, they were only offering two options because of the huge group. Therefore, our little group plus Emily, an American college student who was by herself on the tour, went next door to another cafe where we found some fantastic crepes with Nutella! Yum! I thought I liked crepes before but having them in France was something entirely new! 

After breakfast, our guide took us on a walking tour of some of the main sites of Paris. We hopped on the metro to Notre Dame! It was absolutely incredible to be there and walk around such a beautiful and influential site! 

For me, the appeal was of course the historical value and general majestic nature of the building. It amazes me just how huge it is, particularly because of how long ago it was created. I can't even begin to imagine what went into building it. We were given some free time to walk though the main floor which was incredibly powerful, even though I'm not religious. What was even more incredible was watching Morgan look around because she is actually Roman Catholic, so the experience was even more meaningful to her. 

From Notre Dame, we walked a bit further to the Louvre! They tell you that it's big, but until you get there and see this museum that covers so many buildings, you don't really believe them. Our free time for the rest of the day started there, so we were free to explore the museum as we chose. Of course, we had to go see the Mona Lisa. You hear about this piece of art your whole life and then all of a sudden it's right there in front of you! The crowd wasn't too bad, so I actually got to the front, about 5 feet away. While the painting itself is relatively small, looking at it and knowing the history it has seen and the many thousands of people who have passed by is incredibly powerful. 

Mona Lisa Selfies!

We spent a bit longer in the Louvre, walking around to Aphrodite, Cupid, and a few pieces in between, but with so much museum, we eventually had to call it a day and move on. Thankfully, the sun decided to put in an appearance and we began our exploration! In case you didn't know, Paris is HUGE! We were navigating with our map, but everything looked so much closer on the map than it actually was. So walking anywhere took a bit longer than we anticipated. By this point, we were hungry and somehow managed to wind up at a pizza place which may be a bit odd for Paris but it was INCREDIBLE pizza. I got one with seafood on it to try something a little different and didn't regret it for a moment! 

After lunch, our real adventure began! We had a few sites in mind that we wanted to get to, the first being Pompidou, a building designed to have the pipes and other generally exterior aspects on the outside. It was certainly far from pretty but a very interesting architectural design. 

Our next destination was the opera house that inspired the story of the Phantom of the Opera! Since that's one of my favorite shows, I was very excited to see it. Apparently, the idea for the story came when a crystal from the chandelier fell and killed an audience member. 

But before we could see that, we had to find our way. We found it on the map and had a good plan, but didn't quite anticipate the distances involved. We also made a few stops on the way to find French wine and macaroons! Yum. I didn't know what macaroons were before this trip but now I'm craving another. They're this great cookie-ish thing with a slightly crisp outside and chewy inside and is delicious! 

After we finally got to the opera house, we began the next leg of our trip to the Victory Arch, built by Napoleon. Sadly, it was getting late by this point so we had to rush a bit and exhaustion was starting to creep up on us. But we did make it to the arch without getting too lost. However, at this point we only had 15 minutes before meeting the tour group, so we decided to hail a cab. Thankfully, Sara speaks fluent French which had saved us a few times throughout the day and helped now. Between 5 of us, the fare wasn't too bad and we were perfectly on time. 

The Eiffel tower is absolutely gorgeous at night. 

After all that walking, getting back on the coach was an absolute blessing and we were all very excited to get to the hotel. Thankfully, we were only at that hotel one night because the rooms were about the size of an average dorm room and there were 3 of us in each one. But you can do anything for one night and we really were just there to sleep and recover for the next day. Emily, Morgan and I shared a room and had a bit to recover before we went and found dinner. 

The next morning came too early, but the hotel thankfully provided breakfast and more importantly, COFFEE. Their coffee machine was the fanciest I've ever seen in a hotel and had options for things like lattes and mochas. Plus more Nutella! 

I was very glad that day to have met Emily because the main tour portion of the day was an optional trip to Versailles that cost and extra 30 euros and my companions from FIE decided against it. However, I wanted to go and was very excited to have a friend to go with! So most of the tour group piled on to the bus for the ride. The best part was that we were able to doze off a bit on the way. 

The gardens of Versailles are absolutely incredible, even in January! I can't even begin to imagine what they would be like in spring or summer! Emily and I took a walk around, but couldn't even cover a tiny fraction! You really could spend a few days just exploring these beautiful gardens. 

I do have to admit that my favorite part was the fact that I met a cat in the garden! He was super sweet and actually let me pet him and seemed to really like me! I miss my kitty so much and meeting another one did help me a lot. 

From Versailles, we took a short walk to a local traditional food market. Emily and I bought a baguette and walked around eating it while looking at the various fruits and such. We found a stand selling French wine and each bought a bottle - I'm developing quite the taste for wine while over here! 

The final stop of the day was Montmartre, the very Bohemian area of Paris that contains the Moulin Rouge and was where they filmed the movie! We got some souvenir shopping done there before getting back on the bus to head home! 

My First Day

As we all know, internships are valuable learning experiences. And today I learned about running errands, washing dishes and stairs.

Please, take that as the intended joke because in all reality, I am super excited about this internship and had a fantastic first day. When I first arrived, I was greeted once again by Benji, the adorable pomeranian who made me smile right away. Things were a bit chaotic first thing in the morning so mostly I got a glass of water and stayed out of the way until things calmed down a bit. I met Tash, the runner of the company and the woman I would be working most closely with. In a company like this, the runner is pretty much what it sounds like. They run errands, make sure every room is stocked with what it needs and generally makes everything run smoothly. For the duration of the internship, I will be assisting her and helping out wherever I can.

Following the initial rush of everyone getting in and settled, Tash walked me around the building which is on three floors plus the ground floor (which is just an entry way). We have 9 studio rooms to keep an eye on, all with different equipment and such. Downstairs, producers and directors from BBC and other companies come in and cut together their trailers and promos. Once that's finished, the work goes upstairs for final audio and video tweaking. Usually, the producers can do the first cut themselves and the specialists in our company help them with the rest.

So first thing in the morning, Tash makes sure that there's fresh fruit and water in each of the studios that is being used that day (I'll be helping there). As clients start to arrive we make sure they're settled and offer coffee, tea, or other beverages. We have most of it on hand but if there's a special request like a latte, we run out and get it. My first run of the day was across the way to Starbucks for a latte. This was also my first lesson of the day because I realized that places in the UK don't automatically hand you your receipt. You have to ask for it. And because we log these receipts, I needed one. So I was able to run back and get it.

The rest of the morning was mostly spent making drinks, checking on clients, washing dishes and, of course, meeting the other people in the company. If you know me, I'm terrible with names but I'm getting there. I definitely remember Jon, the man in charge and Rachel, my official supervisor in addition to Tash. And I know how Jon likes his tea.

Around 12:30, we asked around and made a lunch run. Since there were two of us, Tash and I split the orders and I found myself headed to Leon, a Mediterranean fast food place, list in hand. All these little errands were a wonderful chance to explore Soho, and I'm loving that part, despite the rain. At least it wasn't too cold!
Once all the clients were fed, I had the chance to run out for my own lunch and grabbed a pulled pork sandwich around the corner. It was yummy, but I think I'll go for something less messy next time!
Our afternoon was much quieter since everyone was hard at work, but there were still a few more errands. A fun one was getting to run out to an adorable little store of cute infant things, most of them handmade. My mission was to pick up a gift for a client who had just had a baby. I love all the little shops in the area and look forward to browsing them when I have a chance.
Once I was back from that, there was a bit of down time where I got to hug Benji and sit with Rachel (a different one) while she showed Tash some things on Avid. I was excited to learn a few things but also that I was recognizing bits and pieces from my classes, which makes me feel like I won't be ENTIRELY out of my depth in a professional world.

Also, Tash said she was really impressed with how fast I was picking things up! I guess I did pretty well figuring out the spreadsheets (they aren't that different than the ones I made for Mostly Harmless Designs) and puttering when I didn't have direct tasks to do (thanks for that skill, Mom!) so I am feeling pretty proud of myself and how I did for my first day.

More details will come after some more experiences and when I'm less exhausted! In the meantime, please enjoy this amazing dog I get to hang out with!

Elementary!

This Saturday, I went out with my friends Sara, Shira, and Morgan to explore some of the nerdier parts of London! As most of you will know, I can get far too excited about this sort of thing. 

The first and main stop of our day was the Sherlock Holmes Museum! The museum is set up in the real 221B Baker Street, a very narrow row home. Interesting fact - the street numbers don't line up because most of the block was destroyed in the London Blitz and was renumbered when it was rebuilt. However, because of the fame of the 221B address, they decided to keep that one the same even if it didn't line up with the new numbering.

It was surprising just how crowded it was! The line stretched about halfway down the block, but actually moved very quickly. They let us in in groups in order to manage traffic. Unlike many museums, it was more of a display. We were expecting a bit more information on Conan Doyle and his life and writing. Instead, the place was set up as if Sherlock and Watson could walk in at any moment and solve crimes. The props were all replicas, so visitors could pick them up and handle them and take photos. Therefore, there are some pretty fantastic photos of us with the Sherlock hat and pipe, sitting in his chair. 

The crowd thinned out once we got upstairs and outside of the main living room. The upstairs contained Sherlock and Watson's bedrooms along with a few more props. However, two of the rooms contained rather eerie wax statues of various characters from the books, which were rather disconcerting. I took a few photos with them but still am not sure how I feel about them. Currently rethinking my visit to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, though I'll probably still try to get there. 

Following our trip to the museum (and an obligatory stop at the gift shop) we wandered around Regent's Park for a while, enjoying the birds and people. Sadly, the outdoor theatre doesn't open until May, because we would have loved to see a show there! 

Our wanderings then took us to King's Cross Station and Platform 9 3/4. Morgan and Shira had already done the photo op but were nice enough to wait while Sara and I got our photos taken. I totally didn't cry when walking into King's Cross. Nope, not me! 

The Platform 9 3/4 photos were very well set up, in my opinion. The line moved through fairly quickly and they had great people with wonderful energy running things. When it was your turn, you got to put on a house scarf of your choice (oh the looks I got when I selected Slytherin) and they posed you with the trolly that's halfway into the wall. You get the chance to take your own photos and then they take one professionally which you can choose to buy or not. Then you're left to find the shop and buy your photos. It was incredibly exciting and I loved the way my picture turned out! It was very hard to resist buying ALL of the Harry Potter things, but I reminded myself that I was going to the Studio Tour in a few weeks. And I'm sure my little sister will kill me if I come back from that without something fun for her. 

Our day ended with dinner at our local pub, the Glouster Arms where I fed my addiction to British meat pies. I don't know what I'm going to do when I go home and don't have easy access to these any more! I guess I'll need to learn to make my own! 

Yum!

I feel like a lucky cat!

Today was a very exciting day and it's only 11:30! As part of the FIE program, we had the opportunity to sign up for an internship at a London company. All we had to do was submit a CV (England's version of a resume) and a cover letter and they would find us a placement. Even though I knew I was guaranteed placement, I was initially nervous that I wouldn't be placed in film, which was my first choice. However, when I got my email last week and found out I was going to be working at a place called Lucky Cat Post Production, I was over the moon. Not only was it a post production company, which is the area of film I'm interested, it is named after cats! What could be better for me?

Today was the final step in my official placement, the interview. Since they'd already decided they wanted me, the interview wasn't competitive, they mostly needed to make sure my personality fit and that I'm not totally insane or something. But I still went in there a bit nervous because I'm not always comfortable talking to people, but as soon as I got inside, I felt much better. The office had a very friendly vibe and most everyone in there seemed very young and hip and smiled at me. In addition, a tiny fluffy dog came up to say hi to me almost as soon as I walked in. I soon learned that his name was  Benji. He was so adorable and well behaved and followed his person around in such an adorable way.

After a short wait, my supervisor Rachel was ready to talk to me. I was surprised to find that they were more interested in making sure I would be okay with the tasks they had in mind for me which would be a lot of running around and making sure things were going smoothly. Between errands and in downtime and such, I will have a chance to learn more about editing and the different programs they use and they're eager to help me advance, so I'm really excited about every aspect of this. I even get to walk Benji in my free time and explore Soho a bit. I just need to remember to wear comfy shoes so that I will be able to do the running around and fetching lunch part.

I start next Thursday at 9:30 and can't wait to let you know how it goes!

Museums and Pubs and Plays, Oh My!

The last two days have certainly been cultural ones! Yesterday, I went with Chanel and Olivia to the Victoria and Albert Museum down the road. One of my favorite parts of London is that most of the museums are free! Though we were there about two hours before succumbing to hunger, we only got about halfway through the museum! And if we'd read absolutely everything, we probably wouldn't have made it past the first floor! That place is huge and full of absolutely everything you can think of. Well maybe not everything, but the collection is very well ranged. I particularly enjoyed the medieval sections. It never ceases to amaze me how intricate and beautiful their art was. I can't even imagine creating most of it with modern tools!

We thought we'd join the collection

Don't I look fabulous in Victorian dress? 

I also really enjoyed just how many tea pots from around the world were featured. I wanted to take about half of them home and now really want to learn how to properly brew tea, and not just with tea bags! I'll get on that. It's a good excuse to buy some of the pretty tea pots I've seen online. 

After a relaxing late afternoon, I decided I had enough energy to go out with some of the others in my group and braved a club/bar called O'Neil's for a few hours. Though I still find clubs too loud and crowded, I managed to have a good time! 

Despite being exhausted the next day, I managed to be on time for my lunch date today! I found my way through the tube by myself for the first time to meet an old friend from the US for lunch. We met at a place that had caught my eye on our bus tour - the Hung Drawn and Quartered! The conversation was excellent and the food as good! I had my first traditional meat pie in a pub and look forward to eating it again! 

Suri and her guinea fowl pie!

I am very pleased that restaurants here provide vinegar for your chips (we'd know them as french fries) because I adore them served like that but you don't often find it in the US!

Tonight climaxed with a trip to West End! Everyone in our British Life and Cultures class attended a performance either last week or tonight of 39 Steps. Going into it, I didn't really know much of anything about the play, so I had no idea what to expect. Our group was scattered throughout the rather small theater, and I wound up in row C, fairly near the center so I was very excited about my seat. Since I didn't know anything about the play, I made friends with the two people sitting behind me to ask them. They were a mother and daughter all the way from Australia. The daughter had just finished a high school exchange program in Germany and they were traveling briefly on their way home. 

My conversation with the daughter reveled that she was familiar with some of the places I'd seen in Sydney when I was there with People to People and we had a lovely conversation about Australia in general. Apparently it's REALLY hot there right now, approximately 40 degrees Celsius (she wanted to know why Americans wouldn't use Metric and I sadly didn't have an answer). Also, it is, in fact, true that everything in Australia wants to kill you. Everything is poisonous. I also picked up the tidbit that when they rate the risk of fire danger, the lowest possible score is medium! Also, after some severe fires a few years ago, they needed something worse than "high risk" and invented CATASTROPHIC! Only in Australia, right? 

Anyway, after chatting, I had also learned that I was expecting a comedy based on a 1915 spy novel and an Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name. It was a 4 actor show, with these 4 actors playing every role. So when the lights dimmed, I was already excited. 

The show turned out to follow a 37 year old man named Richard who runs into a lovely mysterious woman named Annabella at a rather strange play. She fires a gun in the theater and gets him to take her back to his apartment where she reveals that she is a secret agent and that important knowledge is about to leave the country. Shortly after, she is killed, leaving Richard a murder suspect. I don't want to give any spoilers, so instead we're going to move onto the unique elements of the play. 

Because there were only four actors in the play and one of them constantly playing Richard, the others were left playing every other character! This required fantastic comedic timing and physical acting on their parts. I was insanely impressed with all of them being able to transform into an entirely different characters with entirely different mannerisms instantly. In addition, they pulled off some of the most impressive quick changes ever - often in only a few seconds. I'm sure there was layering involved but that doesn't make it any less impressive. I know I couldn't even begin to do it! One of my favorite bits was when the two male character actors were each playing several characters in the same scene and portrayed it by switching between two or three hats in rapid succession. It worked very well and was also absolutely hilarious! 

In addition, I was very impressed by the minimalistic sets used throughout the play. With a few basic props, sound effects, lights, a fog machine, and fantastic acting, the production managed to convey everything from a living room to a moving train. Despite the minimal sets, you totally believed it in the moment! As a former techie, I am insanely impressed by the timing and complexity of each of their cues! 

Overall, the play was very dry, British humor that reminded me very much of Monty Python. Between that and the Hitchcock references they kept slipping in, I couldn't stop laughing! They put a fantastic spin on the tropes of the thriller genre and turned them into fantastic comedy. The only disappointment I had was at the end, they had a perfect opportunity to say "it's just a flesh wound" and didn't take it!