Les Misérables

Last Wednesday was probably the worst day to attempt a visit to London with the 24 hour tube strike. But unfortunately when one (as their Social Sec) has booked for 20 members of concert band to go and see a theatre performance of ‘Les Misérables’ on this day, one must brace themselves. Luckily for us, however, Queen’s theatre is only a half an hour walk away from St Pancras station! So through the winding labyrinth of the London streets I led our merry band, fondly remembering the wise words of Obi Wan Kenobi “Tell me who is the more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?” It certainly felt like that! Nonetheless (despite being 20 minutes late for our table booking) we arrived at Pizza Express, which does as it says on the tin – 20 of us were eating our pizzas within 30 minutes of arriving! Needless to say I was highly impressed.

Thanks to the express service we arrived at the theatre on time to collect the tickets and enter, feeling mildly flustered. We were sat in the upper circles with slightly restricted view but when one is a student, one gets used to these sorts of things. The show was spectacular, no, more than spectacular! The voices were powerful and strong, fashioned by years of practise and experience. It gave me goosebumps, made me laugh, cry and wonder. I sat in awe of very talented people. My friend beside me was sobbing. When the final curtains fell and our applause had died down, I knew that our troubles were far from over.

We exited the theatre and regrouped outside plotting on how to return to the train station. Should we walk, run, get a taxi? So we tried to hail a taxi, but their lights were out and there was no taxi rank nearby. Our hearts sank. So we walked, or more like ran, back to the station, anxiously checking our watches as the minutes ticked ever closer to the departure of our train. 20 minutes to go, last stretch, 15 minutes to go, train station is in sight, 10 minutes to go, but how do we get in? 5 minutes to go…. safely on the train with heavy breath and tired feet. I sat back in my chair and exhaled, what a fantastic trip! Despite the stress of organisation and a small logistical nightmare it had been worth it. I also highly recommend Les Misérables to anyone who has not seen it.

TTFN!

Queen’s Theatre

The stage!