I think it was Dr. Johnson who said that anyone who is fed up with London, has never been to the Windmill Theatre. One of my greatest pleasures is to wander (very often getting arrested) around Soho, the Art Galleries, and quite recently the Theatre Museum which, as you may not know, is in Covent Garden. I'd just come out of the National Gallery up the road, their lunch is very expensive, hence my going to Bert's Kafe, coffee and a wad seventy pence. Seeing as the Museum of Theatre is free, it is well worth a visit. They have a make-up department, various conducted tours, beautiful costumes, model theatre and puppets. Children have a delightful time. I was listening to one guide telling a group of Americans about being unlucky to whistle in the theatre (it is if BB hears you). I was always under the impression that it only applied to whistling in the green room or dressing rooms. But my guide assured me that in the olden days, when there were no electronic communications. Signals were carried out by hand movements, or whistles. For example. You whistled once for the stage hands to raise up a piece of scenery. Two whistles might mean lower a boom. Three could mean, get out the place is on fire, or, Henrique is about to go on. So, if you should start to walk across the stage whistling, a stage hand might think that it was a signal and lower a boom, or heavy flat, (I've known them fly a grand piano) and that hitting you on the head could be unlucky ... ruining the piano. The guide also mentioned that on some stages one could see star traps, and small metal plates. These metal plates carried a charge of electricity, and the performer engaged in a sword fight would have a metal plate up his legs, through his body, then his arm to the sword he was holding. His opponent would be wired the same. So, when they clashed swords, sparks would fly, sometimes from their swords other times when they touched the wrong place, from their eye sockets. He also mentioned that there was a statue of Sir Henry Irving who was a great performer, and wishing to add my two pennies worth, I mentioned that a very short distance away was a studio of magic belonging to Will Goldston. The guide was ever so grateful for this bit of information, even suggesting that Will and Irving might even have exchanged ideas about bringing these sparks from the swords, over a cup of coffee, I bet they didn't pay as much as I did in Soho. |
