Each day is quite different here, mostly dependent on whether or not I have class, but I’ve attempted to consolidate my crazy London life into one 24-hour outline. Here we go!
8:30am: Wake up (note: I do not enjoy waking up at this time in the slightest, but you’ll see why I did so momentarily).
9:00am: Hop on the Tube at Mile End station. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a seat so I can comfortably read my book, but it’s rush hour so that’s highly unlikely (note: the Tube is completely, almost eerily silent at this time. Commuters don’t enjoy small talk in the morning).
9:30am: Arrive at one of London’s many theatres to attempt to purchase day tickets (This is why I got up so early, I told you it would make sense! Day seats are vastly cheaper than those you can buy online ahead of time, and available at most performances. I’ve only failed to get them once, but my track record is going to get significantly more terrible once I try for the mythical unicorn that is a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child day ticket).
10:00am: Spend the remainder of the morning wandering around London, most likely at an outdoor market for a bite to eat and explore the artists’ stalls (if it’s the weekend) or a museum (if it’s a weekday, as I’ve learned to never go to museums on weekends. Far too noisy, far too crowded).
1:00pm-ish: We’re going to operate under the assumption that this is a weekday, so I get back on the Tube (or the bus) to get back to campus for class. Let’s say that it’s a Monday, and I have my Adaptations class. The Tube is less crowded now, I’ll definitely get a seat. Hooray!
2:00-6:00pm: Adaptations class. I spend the time working with my group on our final performance, which is an adaptation of the Greek myth of the Minotaur. The QMUL Drama Department emphasizes experimental theatre and performance art, so our final reflects that. One girl is dragged by ropes and forced into a box, I’m wearing a toga and reciting a story out of order, the only lighting comes from headlamps the other two group members wear over their clean suits and face masks, and the audience’s chairs are covered in dustsheets. You’d have to see it to understand (and even then you might not understand. That’s part of the fun).
6:05pm: Mad dash back to my flat to make myself look somewhat presentable and inhale some dinner because I can’t afford to buy food twice in one day as I am a poor university student living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, so turkey and cheese sandwich it is.
6:30pm: Back on the Tube again (the TFL gets a truly obscene amount of my money on a daily basis) to the theatre! I’m most likely going to Central London, specifically Soho/The West End, which is absolute madness before the shows begin for the evening. I feel most like a real Londoner when I push past tourists queueing for Les Miserables and The Lion King.
7:15pm: I’m in the theatre, I’ve purchased my program (they aren’t free here), and I’m ready for the show to start. These are the plays and musicals I’ve seen thus far, so you can take your pick as for what I’m seeing on this imaginary day (this is the choose your own adventure portion of the blog post): Amadeus, In the Depths of Dead Love, Hedda Gabler, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Art, Buried Child, Saint Joan, Sex with Strangers, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Story #1, The Kite Runner, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Lizzie, Ugly Lies the Bone, Travesties, Grounded, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, The Glass Menagerie, a profoundly affectionate passionate devotion to someone (-noun), and The Wild Party.
10:00pm: The show’s over, so I head back to campus and my flat. This is a school night, so I’ll do some reading and/or journaling before bed (I try to journal every day. This does not always happen).
12:30am-ish: Sleep.
8:30am: Repeat!
Hope you enjoyed hearing about my day! Here are some highlights from my real-life days this week: performing in Medea, my first (and only) Queen Mary Theatre Society play, this past weekend with my killer cast, seeing two great plays (a profoundly affectionate passionate devotion to someone (-noun) by Debbie Tucker Green at the Royal Court and The Wild Party at The Other Palace), having a lovely museum day at the National Portrait Gallery and the Natural History Museum, and going to a bar in which there was a glowing ball pit (yes, this is real. See pictures for proof).
