England People Very Nice

Today, I had my second experience at the National Theatre for the matinee of "England People Very Nice."  The show was just the right combination of laugh-out-loud comedy and serious social commentary...and I loved every minute of it.  For the first few minutes of the show, I actually felt consciously aware of the smile on my face, and it was not about to leave.  The script dealt with the topic of immigration to England over the last several centuries, specifically highlighting the French Protestants, Irish, Jews, and finally Pakistani/Bangladeshi immigrants.  The first act set the stage for the necessity to laugh at some of the circumstances and pulled quite well from stereotypes (ie an Irishwoman throwing her two fighting friends from the house out into the street because "I'm giving birth in here!"), while the second act eventually gave way to the conflicts between Muslim immigrants and their first-generation children in England (including reactions of the Muslim community to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Tube bombings, which were incredibly moving).  It was incredibly poignant at times, which made the comedy all the more delightful since it felt like a surprise (in the midst of anti-Islamic persecution, our hero still manages to invent Chicken Tikka Masala!).  From a technical standpoint, this show was my personal stage management dream.  The set consisted simply of a tall wall with doors built in, sections of which could be pushed downstage to change the space.  Furniture was used to differentiate locations, several of which were revisited during different scenes in different time periods, including a bar in which the barkeeper always starts with the phrase "Fecking (insert cultural title here)" and one of the regulars always has one living upstairs from him..my favorite one was "Fecking Americans...where are they?  They'll come in right at the end, I'll bet" during the WWII segment.  :)  Sight lines did not really apply, and all of the costumes were visible on racks upstage.  The reason why I would love to work on a show like this was the use of projections...it was incredible!  At times, there were Monty Python-esque animated segments, some of which included the specific characters onstage at the time.  However, the really incredible effect was the combination of animated effects with the live action: doors appearing as projections on the wall, then the actual door opening, or a man being hanged in the animation on the back walls, just before a dummy with a noose falls from a trap above the stage.  I loved it...the last time I saw projections really interacting with the story was in Spamalot (hence the Monty Python reference earlier), and I thought that this was such a clever way to deliver the messages.  Throughout the different time periods, an interracial couple (played by the same two actors) always formed, further emphasizing their overall message of the human race as the only race that matters.  I had a wonderful time because I had the chance to laugh out loud and truly feel entertained while still feeling moved by the message.  The only shame, I suppose, is that I would only really be able to work on this specific production here...many of the jokes mocked English culture as a whole, which would not translate to a US audience.

After the show, I had tea in one of the theatre's cafes and finished my book ("The Boleyn Inheritance"), so after Mass, I stopped by a bookshop to pick up more reading material.  I find it particularly interesting to read these  books about Tudor England while I'm here...when I read a passage from Katherine Howard's perspective as she was led through the Tower of London, I could visualize the route since I visited last week...that was certainly exciting!  And I'm recognizing several of the palaces (of course, Hampton Court appears frequently) as well, even specific rooms that are mentioned.  What I would give to have a library card right now!  As I have said before, I have to make time to read when school starts again...that is so much more important that many of the time-drains in my life, and I have a to-read list in the works right now...