Smooth, steady, large, loose, and full of juice, Regent’s Park is amazing for all sporting activities, roller skating especially. Unless you’re a one-path wonder coming from the main entrance, it is rare that a crowd of people will become an issue. Each path breaks off into three more and then three more off that like a Cerberus of roads. There are hidden areas to be discovered and it’s a great place to picnic, read, or become a local on the side. Just as a bonus, there is a beautiful garden across the way. There are also large fields if one were to play a pick-up capture the flag game with their seventeen roommates. Who knows? Good job Regent’s Park!
Rating 10/10
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On the other side of Buckingham Palace is St. James’s Park with more a path for skating or cycling. However, the crowds make it difficult for anyone to get by. There are many surrounding structures and buildings that make the skate more interesting, not to mention everyone moves out of the way when they hear the wheels rumbling down the pathway. Extra points for the dogs that chase behind in hopes of making friends! What loses points is the small size of the park which bores easily, but not until a couple of laps.
Rating: 6/10 My wheels touched British land for the first time in Green Park, adjacent to Buckingham Palace. The Queen must dislike roller skaters because this was the worst. The park itself is beautiful, charming, and delightful. Sitting on the benches surrounded by hungry large ducks with a book or a journal and a coffee makes for a lovely afternoon. Wearing sneakers or boots, one would hardly notice the rocky dangerous paths that may catch a wheel or take over and steer my skates in an unwanted direction. The tough exterior became less of a problem and more of a challenge, yet it was still impossible to cruise, for I constantly had to push in order to be mobile. So please, take a walk in Green Park, just not in roller skates, unfortunately.
Rating: 4/10 After the Second World War, the Empire Windrush was the first of many vessels that brought men and women from Jamaica to the United Kingdom, encouraging Jamaican citizens to obtain paying job opportunities and help rebuild Britain.
In 2004, Andrea Levy published a historical fiction novel intertwining three stories told by individuals trying to live in this difficult time, in post-war Britain, regardless of their origin. In 2019, Helen Edmundson and Andrea Levy developed the narrative into a play currently showing at London’s National Theatre. First off, the National Theatre’s primary advert, the Mail on Sunday describes the show as; 'resonant, funny and moving.' This is very misleading. The adverting quote partially alludes to why the audience made me uncomfortable with their reactions. The “resonant” is a reasonable classification, and “moving” was certainly attempted, but describing the show as “funny” demolished its reputation. One of the main issues A Small Island tackles is racism. An example of this was when those who came from Jamaica were speaking with thick accents, yet very much understandable, and almost every Londoner they encountered scolded them saying, “I can not understand you,” or “speak English,” or hollered hurtful racial slurs. Of course, this was the unfortunate reality during this time. The actors portrayl of how difficult it was to keep their head down so as not to cause trouble and continue living their lives as peacefully was brilliant. There were heart quivering lines of dialogue and scenes that did make an impact. The problem, however, occurred when these scenes were not carried all the way through. It felt as if the show did not know how to follow through with a full meaningful scene and attempted a comedic scapegoat. Advertising the show as “funny” did not help with this matter and may have even worsened it. An example of this is when Gilbert, played by Leemore Marrett Jr, gave a moving speech about how the color of his skin should not denounce him of any societal rights and how he fought the same war, and on the same side as white British folk. It was a powerful moment of equality, a very important subject matter. After a stunning speech, it was all washed away when Bernard, played by Martin Hutson, delivered the recurring evilness of telling Gilbert that he could not understand him. I did not believe that line to be funny in any way, but rather hurtful and gut-wrenching as the racist ignorance caused a wave of anger within me. My peers and I appeared to be alone in this anger as the audience returned an uproar of laughter as if too washing away Gilbert’s words. Furthermore, while it is common and understandable to groan at the thought of a three-hour performance, the length can easily be forgiven if the time is used sufficiently to move the story forward and if it is clear that every detail is necessary. I did not feel that every aspect and scene was necessary to the development of the overall story of the play. The beginning of both acts was quite strong, the middle became a little messy, yet still controllable, yet the ending was completely rushed and scattered, and while a show definitely does not need to end on a high and happy note for it to be successful, it was left with unbelievable character choices of Bernard accepting the baby, only for he to come around to allowing Hortense and Gilbert to care for him. Gut-wrenching, yes, convincing for the character’s actions, not so much. There was a happier ending to an unhappy story and there was no conclusion for those who were once main characters and it left storylines loose and struggling. Now, I know I have spread a lot of negativity about A Small Island so allow me to express the watchable aspects to the show. The actors were lovely, and a special recognition for the two female leads, Hortense (Leonie Elliott), and Queenie (Mirren Mack). Their presence was so impactful yet in completely different ways. Both of them shared an equal amount of time narrating and inviting the audience into their background and ‘present’ lives. Hortense began sweet and welcoming, only to be disliked by her rudeness towards Gilbert, then redeem herself all within three hours which was amazing to see. Additionally, Elliott made it understandable why her character was behaving in such a plethora of ways and put on a lovely performance. Queenie, on the other hand, remained a well-liked character, easier to side with through the whole show as she was constantly helping those in need of affordable housing after the war, as well as standing up to her husband who was not always supportive of her choices. The actors, for the most part, were phenomenal. A Small Island’s handling of racism, not so much. William Shakespeare’s A Merchant in Venice is currently playing adjacent to Shakespeare’s Globe in London at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. This performance, directed by Abigail Graham, presents a modern take on the original script that takes place in 16th century Venice, Italy. “Modern” does not truly capture the performance because it seemed to consistently forget their attempted time period, throwing in random props and gags, such as a cellphone or megaphone, in what appeared like an effort to remind the director of the time period, rather than the audience. The show begins with Jessica, played by Eleanor Wyld, singing what was absorbed like a prayer hymn, but instead of a religious melody, sang a verse to the Black Eyed Peas, “I Got a Feeling.” Immediately following, the wonderful and soft tone of Wyld’s mediocre singing blended into a wild party, increasing the pace of the song and obnoxious dancing on stage. The characters were hectic and bothersome, (in a good way), and the theatre portrayed a mellow lit tone. Sitting in the theatre lit only by candlelight got a curious audience member such as myself excited for how such an important piece of the actual theatre would play a role in the show. They used this piece of the set more wisely than I could ever imagine. What I was unaware of is that this candlelit theatre playing into the illusion of the plays holds large importance to the uniqueness and charm of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. I am quite easy to impress with lighting, therefore, flickering beautiful and elegant chandeliers on and off as a means to illuminate, dim, or blackout the theatre would most likely suffice. However, it was not nearly as simple as that and I was more than pleased to find that out. Of course, when looking at the ultimate outline of the candle display for every scene, the brightness of the room did alter according to the intensity of the scene. The amazingness of the display came from the actors, playing their characters of course, as they all put out the necessary amount of flames but made it make sense to the scene. For example, Nerissa, played by Tripti Tripuraneni, puts out the candles one by one as Portia, Sophie Melville, stirred into her crisis of finding a husband. The most amazing display of the candles occurred in the final moments of the performance, but this will be discussed later. Let’s discuss the acting of A Merchant in Venice, for it was incredible for the most part. Specifically, the compelling, heartful, and chilling scenes that almost brought me to tears every time Shylock, played by Adrian Schiller, spoke. His daughter, Jessica (Eleanor Wyld), too interpreted a supposedly ruthless and unforgiving character into a person who does see how she hurt her father in her behavior and does hold regret and a “what have I done?” complex at the end. Wyld’s portrayal of Jessica, apart from the mediocre singing of the Black Eyed Peas of course, was breathtaking. The performance that could have been improved was none other than Launcelot Gobbo, played by Aaron Vodovoz, who could not seem to clearly depict the wants and desires of Launcelot. Normally, this internal conflict could make for an interesting and complex characterization but these were not traits Vodovoz could pull off. Luckily, however, he was not in a large portion of the play. A larger role in the performance was that of Portia and Nerissa. The balance of comedy, sadness and drama that joined together in their small scenes were quite brilliant and entertaining to a point where the boredom caused by some scenes would lead me to quietly beg for more dialogue between Melville and Tripuraneni characters, Portia and Nerissa. Every minute of the first act, from slow and exhausting to entertaining and energetic, to flat out confusing, is completely worth sitting on the Playhouse benches to reach the second act. If possible, I recommend arriving late to skip the first act and be mesmerized by the second. The arising tragedy that pours into the endings of most Shakespeare’s plays cumulated a majority of the cast in an unbelievable and heart-wrenching scene that showed the potential of every actor and made the entire performance worth it, especially if you’re in for a tear-jerker. The show ended with Wyld singing the Jewish prayer, the Kol Nidre, a prayer I was sitting there confused as to why the director incorporated this specific prayer. It is a song sung at the beginning of each Jewish New Year, and after Shylock’s gut-punching defeat from the Romans, this did not feel like the “New Year.” However, assuming a majority of the audience would be unaware of the meaning of this prayer, it was transformed into a beautiful and chilling melody that incorporated the candles into the darkness and sadness of the final scenes.
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