Flutter By, Butterfly~

The Natural History Museum: Sensational Butterflies Exhibit

Whilst location scouting for the last film, my friend and I went to the Natural History Museum, as that is where one of the scenes is filmed. However, I quickly got distracted by the Sensational Butterflies Exhibit after having seen the posters plastered all over the tube lines!

A wonderful exhibit, you walk into the tent and there are just... butterflies EVERYWHERE! With the warmth and sunshine streaming through the tent, it is a lovely experience. I spent the entire time with my friend, dancing around like a child, gasping every few seconds when I spotted a new type of butterfly (some of which were HUGE!!!) before spending a good half hour standing very still to try and encourage one to land on my arm. Needless to say that didn't quite work... (so next time I will wear my flower garland ;) )

I don't really know what it is about butterflies that I have always loved.... Obviously they are very pretty and very delicate... But I really could watch them fluttering around for hours. It's just a happy thing to do, I suppose. If that makes sense? Maybe relaxing is the better term.

Not to mention the fact that there are not only a huge array of different breeds flying around you, but also you get to learn about the different types of butterfly, the stages of growth (they even have a section to see the different stages of the cocoon-ing process! And yes, I realise cocoon-ing is not a word...)

So yes. If you have a free afternoon or even just an hour or so, do go wonder around the Sensational Butterflies exhibit. It is really interesting and enlightening, but also relaxing. A chance to let out your inner child and just take some time to appreciate nature's wonders - something a lot of people believe to be difficult in the built-up capital city that is London. 

For more information about this exhibit, just click HERE.

And that's all folks~ 

Until next time :)
xxx

Punchdrunk: The Drowned Man

The Best Theatrical Experience.

The Drowned Man, by Punchdrunk has become somewhat of a legend among aspiring theater students as it is not only entirely unconventional, but is also an entirely interactive and immersive experience. 

From before you even enter the studios where the piece is set, you feel the buzz and excitement all around you from the other audience members, all apprehensive, nervous and yet strangely excited. You have to queue to get in and they require you to leave all bags in their bag storage area, for reasons which become obvious once you enter the main stage performance space.

The studio is built up of four different floors. You enter the performance via the elevator after being given a mask which you are to wear for the duration of the performance. The Gatekeeper gives you a bit of an idea of what you are about to experience whilst encouraging you to stay away from friends and experience this performance by yourself. This may seem daunting, given the creepy music and dark hallways, however I found it to be highly beneficial to split up from my friends as this helped add to the realistic feel of the performance. 

The first floor, from what I could see was only props which you were allowed to touch and examine as you liked. The belonged to the characters of the play and every detail was absolute perfection. You could spend hours trawling through the different rooms, exploring the lives of the characters through their possessions.

However the main action happened on the upper floors. Characters were scattered around the building in different rooms and each of them had their own, highly detailed story. There were two 'main' storylines, the William and Mary story, and the Marshal and Wendy story, one of which was an inversion of the other. 

The characters all interacted with each other at one point or another, using a mixture of dialogue and contemporary dance to convey the emotions and aims of each scene before they would split off. The wonderful thing about this was that you could follow any characters you liked!

After examining the first floor for a length of time, I then found William and Mary and decided to follow their story line for a while, swapping between following William and Mary and some other of the main characters until that storyline was finished (each story looped 3 times). After that, I followed random characters, which turned out to be highly confusing at first, as I had no idea who they were in relation to anyone else, but somehow found Marshal, entirely by accident, and managed to catch the end of his story with Wendy before everyone was gathered together for a truly haunting ending.

The experience was entirely amazing. Props, set, costume, performance... everything was done in so much detail that the world and stories truly came alive in that space. I would say that it is not only one of the best performances, but also one of the best experiences I have ever had and has also given me an idea for a new project I would like to do! (When I eventually get money that is...)

Anyway, The Drowned Man is only on for another few performances, so if I were you, I'd get down there straight away!

Tickets can be found HERE.

Other than that, that's all from me for today. Catch you soon :)

xxx

Zoo Lates!

Animals! 

London, one of the huge cultural capitals of the world, have recently opened up their museums and exhibitions on certain nights of the week. This is a really great idea as, during the day, museums tend to be overrun with millions of people, all trying to see everything before closing time. Therefore, by opening up on certain nights, I feel that it is the perfect way to experience the wonderful exhibits in a slightly quieter, less crowded environment. 

So, with that in mind, I decided to drag round my wonderfully tolerant Boyf to see the London Zoo at night! Animals and alcohol! What better way is there to spend ones Friday evening? 

As I had been giving some friends a tour of London, I decided to get there via the Baker Street entrance, which gave me the opportunity to walk through Regent's Park. Having visited Regent's Park last year whilst watching 'Pride and Prejudice' at the Open Air Theater, I knew the walk through the peaceful greenery would be a nice way to start off my evening. As a side note, Regent's Park is truly beautiful, especially towards the evening time in summer - a definite 'must-visit' for all those looking for the perfect summer picnic spot!

So given what I had said earlier about the exhibitions being somewhat quieter... Yeah scrap that. The Zoo was absolutely buzzing with people all enjoying the summer sun. 

Firstly we were greeted by these two lovely gentlemen in Safari attire (one of whom started commentating on my picture taking shortly after this...) before we ventured into the....

Reptile House! Unfortunately I did not see the snake which Harry managed to let free in 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', however we did see some very cute snakes, like the one above, as well as a lungfish and some adorable turtles!

After that, we toured the Zoo, seeing gorillas, penguins and, my favourite, the Big Cats. We also got the opportunity to sit for a bit and listen to some free music, just enjoying the summer! All in all, it was a wonderful little expedition and, although I didn't get to see as many animals as I would have liked, I really enjoyed the Zoo Lates and highly recommend it to any animal lovers out there who happen to be in London! 

Well that's it from me today! Until next time!
xxx

Painting London Underground~

[Close up]

Woo! New update! :D

As you may, or may not know, I am from the lovely city of London and, being an avid Londoner, I am very much a fan of the Underground (apart from at rush hour/when there are delays/strikes/repairs.... which happens... pretty much all the time.... it's actually rather inefficient...) 

So whilst showing my London hating boyfriend around the beautiful city, I was very much excited to find out about a free exhibition going on at the 'Bankside Gallery', Southbank.

Entitled 'Painting London Underground' makes it pretty self explanatory, however going inside was even more than I expected. All around, there were large, detailed paintings of individuals simply sitting on the tube and going about their journey. A very simple concept, however totally mesmerising to see, and surprising too, for although I've been on more tube journeys than I can even possibly begin to count, I found that I had never once stopped to really appreciate the other travellers beside me. Hopefully that will now change! Done for the 150th anniversary of the London Undergound, the exhibition really captured a sense of what London is like, somehow imitating the atmosphere and allowing the viewers to really engulf themselves in the work. It was also fun, as I managed to meet the artist, Ewing Paddock! :D

It was very exciting to discover this exhibition, entirely by chance, however I felt that it was a really great set of paintings and I am very eager to revisit the 'Bankside Gallery' someday, hopefully to discover new and exciting things!

That's all for now, but if you'd like more information on this exhibition and to the 'Bankside Gallery', here is a link! http://www.banksidegallery.com/viewexhibition.aspx?exhibitionid=75

xxx