For the Love of Theatre: From NYC to London
What would you do for your passion?
Would you fly from New York to London for 24 hours to see a show?
Because I would. And did.
TLDR: Packed a round trip flight to London, two West End shows and a helluva lot more in 24 hours.
Here’s how it went.
When I heard Prince of Egypt set a January 8 closing date for the West End run, I was crushed.
I had planned to see it, along with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella, in the spring. I had already put in vacation for two weeks and planned to spend it seeing friends in London, Bristol and Edinburgh (with maybe a day trip to Cardiff). But then this announcement came and I didn’t know what to do.
But I’m resourceful. And spontaneous. And thankfully financially secure. So I did what most any avid theatregoer would do. Well, maybe not any. And maybe not most.
I booked a trip to London for the beginning of December.
This was in early- to mid-November, and I knew traveling during COVID would not be easy, even though I am fully vaccinated and have no issues with wearing my mask.
Additionally, I hadn’t put in for vacation in advance so I only had a weekend to pull this off.
I booked my ticket for directly after work on Friday, with a return on Sunday. And then I started planning.
And then I started planning. First I contacted my friend’s parents and asked them if I could ship a parcel or two to them. There were these Doctor Who Tarco toys that have been sitting in my eBay basket for a couple of years but never bought because shipping to the States from the U.K. was astronomical. The toys purchased (I now have a complete set on my desk … you can follow their adventures on Instagram @adventureswiththedoctors and at #adventureswiththedoctors), I kind of put it out of my mind.
Queue the week before my trip, and a new variant of COVID was sending the world into a panic, with tighter restrictions coming down the line. I thought my trip would be cancelled, but I was determined to do what I could to go. I compulsively checked the news and was making minute to minute decisions.
Wednesday before my trip, I took a COVID test. It wasn’t necessary, but just in case. Thursday morning I got the negative results (and my super high antibody results) and then I took another COVID test. Friday brought another negative and I took a third test. You know, just in case.
By this time, I had filled out my locator form, purchased a super expensive 3-hour Fit to Fly COVID test and a second Day 2 COVID test so I could put the booking number on my locator form, since the Fit to Fly didn’t provide that. London required a COVID test on or before Day 2 and self-isolation prior to getting a negative result. I had also tried to change my flight, which had a layover in Amsterdam, to a direct, but that was a disaster and almost cost me $1,600. Thankfully I was able to restore my original flight.
Anyway, confident that I had taken all the precautions, I left work Friday and went to the airport, getting there four hours early, as the numerous vaguely threatening emails from the airline had advised. I wasn’t able to check in online (apparently with COVID restrictions, they no longer do an online check-in for international flights), but within 15 minutes of getting to the airport, I was checked in, through security and at my gate.
The flight was uneventful. I mostly slept. The layover in Amsterdam caused no issues and I was able to change planes with ease. I got to London and was through Customs within 10 minutes of deboarding the plane. Genuinely one of the smoothest experiences I’ve ever had.
My friend’s parents met me at the airport to deliver my parcels (because they are the absolute best) and they went with me to the other terminal where I had booked my 3-hour PCR COVID test. We chatted for a bit and they departed, I got my test and then I left the airport and headed into London proper.
I couldn’t check into my hostel without my COVID test results and it was almost time to see Prince of Egypt, so I headed toward the theatre. Or where I thought the theatre was. That’s when my maps decided to crash on me. So with no idea where to go and time rapidly running out, I panicked. My friends in New York tried to guide me using screenshots from their maps while three different people I asked sent me in wildly different directions. Finally, about 15 minutes late and with a ton of assistance, I found the theatre. At this point my negative COVID test results had come in and I went in, elated to see this show. I had missed the opening number and came in toward the beginning of the second song (which also happens to be my favourite) “Faster.” I was sitting in the aisle near the back, so they let me in during the song, which they normally don’t do.
The show was GORGEOUS! I was riveted and at one point, the entire cast walked right by me as they crossed the sea and out of the theatre. It was a lot of understudies performing, including the roles of Moses and Ramses and they were fantastic. After the show, I purchased a program and finally headed to the hostel (after popping into a charity shop and picking up a nice dress to change into), a little exhausted and a lot sweaty from my earlier jaunt. I checked in without issue, changed my clothing and headed out. I had a little time before my next show, so I popped into a pub for a pint of some good old fashioned hand pumped ale. I love the stuff and can’t find it in New York. It’s not carbonated and not cold and utterly delicious. Anyway, after my pint, I headed to the theatre for ALW’s Cinderella.
My seat was at the very edge, which was actually quite rubbish since so much of the show was blocked to me. Even so, I love the music and was enjoying the show, but at intermission I decided to move further up the row to an empty seat for the second half. Boy was I in for a treat. The beginning of the second act, the stage rotated, along with the entire front of the audience, landing the stage in the middle of the room and about 6 inches in front of me. Wowza. That was such a treat and the ballroom scene was awesome and Carrie Hope Fletcher is a goddess! Anyway, I digress.
So both shows seen, programs purchased, and ice cream eaten (apparently that’s an intermission thing on the West End), I decided to head back to the pubs. First one I went to, The Cross Keys, I met a lovely older bloke named Harry and we got on quite well. We decided to go to another pub, The Crown and Anchor, after the first one closed and then we went to the Irish pub since the Canadian one was also closed. Met a bunch of other lovely folk, had some great conversation and around 2 a.m., heading to my hostel for a quick sleep before the airport.
When I got back to Heathrow, I again quickly checked in and went through security, though maybe not quite as quickly as I had before. It was a direct flight home and again, I mostly slept. When I was awake, I had a great conversation with my seatmate Anne, who is a retired journalist from Connecticut. It was quite nice.
Finally I was home and my journey was complete. It was stressful and took a lot of prep (and it wasn’t cheap) but was it worth it?
ABSOLUTELY!
<3 Roxi
