It’s always nice to go back to London every now and then and fill up my theatrical well and last weekend was no exception. This time it was with my mum and sister and we had a great time hanging out.

First off we went to the Royal Albert Hall to see English National Ballet’s Swan Lake. It’s about damn time I saw something at RAH and it’s about time I actually saw a classic version of Swan Lake (fairly surprising considering I worked at a ballet company, but I’ve only seen contemporary adaptations til now). What a spectacle it was, particularly watching the formations of 60 swans in the round – their perfection really tickled my brain.
On the Friday night we decided to spin the wheel of fate and see which shows we could get on the TodayTix lottery/rush. Claire headed off to Book of Mormon, mum saw Boys from the Blackstuff and I got a ticket for People, Places & Things however, the performance ended up being cancelled 1.5h before curtain so I scrambled last minute and got a lovely wee seat for Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York. It was my first time in the Criterion Theatre and I thought it was a gorgeous little maze. The show was completely new to me but I loved it – it genuinely made me laugh and the two performers were great.

Another new musical to me was Standing at the Sky’s Edge which was so emotional and had me crying a good few times. Then came time for the most exciting show and the purpose of the trip: Hadestown. This is my sister and I’s favourite musical and it definitely did not disappoint. I really loved hearing the show in various different accents, it really changed it up for me in a way for the better. It gave me goosebumps and tears.
Finally, on the Sunday we hoofed it up to Woolwich to give Punchdrunk’s new production Viola’s Room a go which conceptually sounded very exciting, walking through a house and a maze barefoot with headphones on. Unfortunately, my mum’s headphones broke during the experience and trying to get her sorted distracted us all and took us out of the immersion so I can’t give it a fair review.

Outwith theatre, we visited Somerset House and caught the Charles Jeffrey Loverboy exhibition, checked out the Wellcome Collection (where I spotted my friend’s book in the shop!) and visited my fave Daunt Books where I splashed out on a few new books.

We also went to the Taste food festival at Regent’s Park where we were absolutely drenched in pouring rain. Thankfully the sun did come out and we were able to enjoy the various stalls, tasters and food trucks and both filled our tummies and our bags with free soft drinks. Other highlights included a sushi afternoon tea at Akira restaurant in Japan House and Michelin-approved pasta spot Bancone which was totally delicious and affordable (for London anyway).

It was a fun weekend and probably won’t be too long til next time.