New York
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Matthew
Stibbe's Homepage
New York
New York |
Summary:
I went on tour with the Royal Shakespeare Company to New York.
"You can trust us - WE'RE FROM BROOKLYN."
I saw a fantastic street performance at the corner of Central Park by Columbus Circle. Five hip-hop performers were showing off their moves accompanied by an enormous portable stereo. They had a fantastic line of patter that they kept up throughout the ten minute show with one of them setting up the gag and all five shouting out the punchline . "If you see something you like, clap. If you see something you can't do, GIVE US MONEY." We want you to take out $5 or $10 from your wallet, AND GIVE US THE REST." Taking a handbag from a member of the audience who had agreed to participate: "you can trust us, WE'RE FROM BROOKLYN." They lined up four cute women with the promise of doing a forward somersault over their backs, asking "do you speak English? DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?" After a meek reply from the girls, they delivered the punchline "DON'T FUCKING MOVE!" Before they would actually do the jump they passed round shopping bags for donations. "If you give us $10 we can go to college. If you give us $20, WE DON'T HAVE TO!" Where are the people in England with the balls to do a show like this? We get lame-ass buskers, so-called Speaker's Corner and that's it.
Aileen, Paul and Sunila
I went to the Natural History Museum. A former colleague of mine works there and I guess I hoped to run into him, but didn't. I'm glad I went though. There are some amazing sights: the Star of India, the new planetarium, the Full Moon Apollo prints and an IMAX film called "Stomp Odyssey." Going into an audio-visual exhibition about the big bang I overheard one young, female usher tell another, in an arch, loud noo-yowk accent, "I don't like the big bang, gives me a head...ache." I also overhead a little girl going in with her father ask nervously 'will the big bang be loud?'
They're smiling because I spilled a martini
down my jacket.
The Leonard Rossiter memorial moment with acrobats and high kicking
After the museum I went up to the Apollo Theatre to wait for Aileen's matinee to finish. Despite my back stage pass I was stopped three times by security, which was very tight because of Salman and the war. I sat in the green room for an hour talking to the passing actors as they went on stage and came off. As usual, I felt like a complete imposter but it was really interesting to see how the whole thing worked - I haven't been backstage during a show since I was at school.
After the show we went to a big reception at Columbia University which had sponsored the production. It was in the grand rotunda with a lavish bar and elaborate place settings. As the only visible non-white faces, I suspect that the cast were invited to provide some colour (pun intended) to the proceedings. The audiences too were, apparently, not drawn from the local Harlem community and little effort had been made to involve the community in the production. Several post-show talks and other community events were cancelled and others were thinly attended, mostly by emotionally-crippled, loud-mouthed opera ladies. Credit to the RSC for putting on the production and, in England at least, reaching out to non-traditional audiences and the wider community; but I don't think Columbia covered itself in glory. The martinis, however, were excellent.