30/07/2019

Mobile Mind #7

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whattup future anna! I haven't done one of these blog posts in a while where I talk about how I'm feeling. So long in fact that it's nearly been a year haha! The last one looked at my first few months in London, and the fact I've nearly been here for a year is CRAZY! I just cannot believe it, at all!!

Overall, I've been good. Really good. Obviously I've had moments where I just want a hug and a cry and to be home, but that is overweighed by all the good that has happened. Even though I can focus on it and that makes me worry, I just have to remind myself of how lucky I am!

So, instead of looking at moments where I've felt anxious like I normally do for these posts, I'm going to be looking at how I've been dealing with the upside-down moments!

NOT BE ALONE

I love being on my own. I don't mind it at all. If I wanna go somewhere, I don't feel like I need to find someone to go with, I just go on my own! But when I'm on my own in a house and it's night and there are noises, it can be FREAKY. I'm a lot better than I was and can stay on my own, but if I can, I will ask a friend to stay over so I feel all good! It's much better than when I first moved but still not 100%

I feel happy on my own, but often having a friend just makes me feel a whole lot securer.

EAT GOOD

We all have moments when we binge and feel like chocolate and all that bad stuff will make us feel better but after, I don't know about you but I always feel worse. It's a nice time to start with but then I highly regret it all. As much as I can, even when I'm out, I try and eat well for my body. I can have pudding and all the good stuff, but I just have to make sure that I have at least my 5 a day and drink plenty of water. It makes my body and face feel better too which fills me with so much confidence. When I have confidence, I feel a lot less anxious in crazy situations.

TREAT MYSELF TO EXPERIENCES

I love going to the theatre, seeing films, experiencing all the world around me has to offer, and it's something that used to fill me with a lot of fear, but now, I feel so so happy doing them and just wanna be out all the time doing them! I enjoy them, they distract me from my anxiety and make me feel a lot better, so I treat myself to doing them! If there's something that you love doing and lifts you away from worry, do it!

HAVE TIME TO DO NOTHING

When I'm in London, I feel like I need to be doing something at all times to make the most of my time here. I will literally fill every hour of my weekends, so when I'm back at 7pm, I'm just so tired and wanna watch TV. I need to do it more, but right now, every now and then I treat myself to a slow morning where I can lie in and just take my time. Or do something, then after lunch, relax and watch a film! I need to do nothing more often but right now, I seem to be sorting my time a lot better which makes me feel a lot better.

I feel a lot happier now I have some things I can do to make myself happy and not worry. Obviously things don't always go to plan, but I'm learning to cope and not stress myself out with it. It'll all be alright future anna.

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13/07/2019

THEATRE REVIEW: Peter Gynt

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good morning future anna! how are things? good? good. ok cool!

Last night I went to the National Theatre to see Peter Gynt. I had a few afternoon/evening so I explored a bit of London I hadn't been to before and booked to see a play. I know the National, I love the National, and entry pass exists so I looked on the website! I wanted to see Jellyfish but it was sold out which is amazing but hopefully I can catch it whilst it's on! I then remembered that a friend had posted about seeing Peter Gynt (https://liamodell.com/2019/07/10/peter-gynt-review-james-mcardle-national-theatre-henrik-ibsen-david-hare-young-chekhov-london-olivier-theatre-the-lion-king-killing-eve/ ) so I decided to book that one!

After an afternoon of exploring London, I was pretty tired so a little nervous to be going to see a play which lasted over 3 hours, but I was excited also as one of the best things my eyes have ever seen was The Lehman Trilogy at the National and that was 3 hours and in 3 acts like this one.

The 5-act play (fashioned into 3 acts) felt long, but as it finished, I felt glad that I’d stayed to enjoy the production. It was modern and fresh, with jokes regarding Nandos and political topics. For me, the story felt like a cross between Alice in Wonderland and Scrooge. Each act took the form of one of the ghosts of Christmas, looking at Gynt’s past, present and future, alongside a crazy fantasy with trolls, cowgirls, and sudden billionaire status which made the whole audience feel that they had fallen down the rabbit hole with Gynt. It was all very random, but all worked well to tell the story which you could see had used influence from its original folk story as well as others. 

As always, the set was fantastic, the National always do a good job, and for me, the use of projections and the lighting was great. It represented heaven, the good and the bad, and helped the stage become a place of wonder and not just a grassy hill. Also, the costume and makeup, wow!!

Overall though, my biggest shoutout goes to the cast, especially James McArdle who played Peter Gynt. For nearly 3 and a half hours, he was on stage, sharing through monologues or climbing from hyenas. He was phenomenal, to be able to do that once in a day, but on days with a matinee too, he must be very very good. I occasionally felt a little lost with the story and didn’t know if we were seeing reality or a crazy fantasy, but Gynt stayed true to character the whole way through, never stopping for breath. He was constantly alert, even when noses were blown, or a phone rang from the audience. It must be so hard to do the same show over and over again, but I can imagine that McArdle gives the biggest amount of energy to each.


I’d also quickly like to talk about Ann Louise Ross, who played Agatha, Peter Gynt’s mother. She was fiery and quick; you could truly see that a mother/son relationship had been created between them. Ross was funny, and so strong, thanks to how the mother had been written in the script but also with what she bought to the role.

This definitely isn’t a show for everyone. It was long, it was weird, but if you have a few hours free and want to let your mind wonder to distant places, you leave the theatre feeling connected somehow to Gynt. Whatever we do can be forgiven, if we want it. We can find ourselves if we try. 

Let me know what you think if you choose to see it! And future anna, I hope you don’t fall down any rabbit holes because I don’t quite fancy an adventure like that! Haha!

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11/07/2019

FILM REVIEW: Blinded By The Light

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Good morning world and future anna. A film called Blinded By The Light comes out in a few weeks’ time but lucky me was able to see it 2 days ago, on the 9thJuly.

For those of you who aren’t aware, I spend most of my life in the cinema because what is better than seeing amazing films on the big screen? NOTHING! I’ll tell you that for free! As that hobby is quite expensive, I chose to get an unlimited card to my closest cinema, a Cineworld! To be honest, it is downright the BEST thing I have ever bought in my whole entire life and I am so grateful every time I use it for my friend Katt (hey katt!!!!) who persuaded me to buy it/gave me a lil cheeky discount! At the end of the contract you get an email saying how much you saved by having the card and I am so hyped to see that!

Anyway… Cineworld run secret showings of films that haven’t come out yet, open to their unlimited members. They don’t happen very often (even though 2 are taking place this month haha!) and as I was free, I decided to go along.

I was talking about it with James on the podcast (I’m a host on a podcast btw, go and listen: https://closeupculture.com/2019/07/08/spider-man-far-from-home-close-up-culture-podcast-10/) and I suspected that it might be Blinded By The Light, so as I sat in the cinema with my mint choc chip ice cream and saw the BBFC age rating screen tell me I was right, I was feeling over the moon.


Insert the kinda review/me just spilling my thoughts on Blinded by The Light:

After seeing the trailer a few times in the cinema, I knew this film was going to be one I saw, whether it was the secret showing or not. It looked fun, fresh and focused on Bruce Springsteen who I feel I’ve been connected to since birth due to my dad’s music loves. Whether sitting in the car or cleaning the house on a Saturday, my dad loves his music and it’s always a great day when Bruce is blasted through the speakers and my awful singing is disguised by The Boss and the E Street band. I’ve never really listened to the lyrics (although my favourites to scream is the first few lines of Hungry Heart) but the music feels so safe to me, so when I saw the trailer, it went on my watchlist straight away.

Based on the life of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor, we meet Javed, a writer from the start, and then quickly see how he has grown up in Luton in Thatcherie Britain. At college, he discovers Bruce, and the British-Pakistani Muslim teen begins to live his life with Springsteen as the soundtrack. Times are tough, families are difficult, but Javed pushes forward with his dreams and with his loves.

I adored it. It was cringey at times but utterly fantastic and something I feel everybody can relate to. Whether experiencing politics, having to deal with family and culture, or growing up with a music idol who adorns your bedroom walls and CD collection, this film is the feel-good movie of the summer for me. It made the whole cinema laugh out loud as well as stop and think about the world we live in and how people can be awfully affected for no reason whatsoever.

It was disgusting to see how people were attacked for their background and culture, rather than accepted into the country, and it’s such a shame that things like this still take place. It made me angry but more aware than ever of how things still are and that more needs to be put into place. I was also shocked by the politics of the film. I didn’t grow up with Thatcher in charge, I wasn’t even born, but I think every person born gets fed with the fact that she wasn’t a good lady and even though this film isn’t a direct HATE production, it has moments and lines where we can see the truths behind the people at the time and how politics played a massive part in the lives of these people. Whether a billboard behind the main character or Miss Clay (played by Hayley Atwell) saying how there aren’t many jobs thanks to Mrs Thatcher, it really made me realise how times haven’t really changed and that is a crazy big shame.

Viveik Kalra was a fantastic Javed. He was emotional, strong and really made the whole audience feel for him. He was likeable and someone we could all relate to, through either who he was or what he liked. The actors who played Javed’s parents and sisters were brilliant as they were all so connected and real. I believed the dad, I believed the mum, I believed the sisters. I felt so connected to the family and their lives that I just wanted to give each of them a hug and tell them that it would all be ok. I think it can be so difficult to get families right in films and TV shows, but these guys were amazing.

The overall edit and style was very romantic and a homage to when it was set, opening with a cool montage setting the scene. But even though the colours were bright and light, it was gritty and harsh at times which made everyone in the cinema feel uncomfortable and helpless. It was so well done that I wanted to live a day with Javed and his friends, but at the same time I’m glad I don’t have to experience it.

The only thing that wasn’t really right for me was that it didn’t really have a story. Like, it had a story, you just didn’t know where it was going which can be dangerous for films like this. I knew it wouldn’t be a super late night but near the end I kept checking my watch as I have to be up early for work. Because of the story, I didn’t know when it would end or if the big speech would be the final moment of acceptance or the beginning of another strand. I loved it, but that was the only thing that stressed me out a little bit! Haha!

To finish, I loved this film and I’m so glad I’ve been able to see it early. I was so looking forward to seeing it and hopefully I can go again when it’s out. If you listen to the podcast, you’ll know my thoughts on the film Yesterday, but more me, Blinded by The Light is my film of the summer and the one I will be recommending.

So that’s it from me, let me know your thoughts when you see it!

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06/07/2019

THEATRE REVIEW: Everybody's Talking About Jamie !!

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omg future anna, you've finally seen the musical you've wanted to see for ages! I haven't seen much on the west end, but the 2 shows I currently want to see are Waitress (hoping to see in a few weeks so stay tuned!) and ETAJ which I was able to see today!

The musical has been at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftsbury Avenue since late 2017 after originally showing in Sheffield! There have been a range of Jamie's and I was lucky enough to see Layton Williams play the part today (he also walked past me when he'd finished his set at the Trafalgar Square pride stage and I was entering, how cool!). The whole cast were incredible, with special shoutouts to Sabrina Sandhu and Bill Ward who were strong characters with incredible voices!

The musical was inspired by a BBC Three documentary that showed in 2011, and I really wanna watch it and learn more about the real Jamie and his life as a drag queen. The story of the musical was so powerful, heartfelt, emotional, and fun! We meet Jamie in year 11, wanting to become a drag queen even though his teacher and a few classmates are unsure. With support from his family and friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, troubles and truly steps into the spotlight.


To be honest, I didn't know anything about the story before entering the theatre! I'd seen drag queens on the posters, but didn't realise that the story focused on that, so I was so happy to be surprised by how the story moved and evolved! I love doing that, not knowing what I'm getting myself into!

I loved the script, so much that I bought a copy! It's great when you can relate to performances but when the words you hear are so perfect, you just wanna flick through and not stop reading it! With it being such a modern story, the language choices are utterly fantastic, and I wonder if they will rewrite parts as the musical continues it's run to keep it up to date!

The acting was next level. Every single person on stage was filled with so much power and electricity that I felt alive and loved every move. I've already mentioned my 3 standout performances, but the whole cast were so talented and you could feel each emotion they went through. Whether love, anger, sadness, each feeling really had so much work put intoit that you could hear the whole audience react together and really feel so moved by what was happening on stage. And those drag queens MMMM YES!!! SO SO GOOD!

THE SONGS! What a musical is known for! I'm not really down with all the musicals and all the songs, so like the story, I didn't know any of the tunes beforehand so I was really intrigued to see what we'd be greeted with! I LOVE THE SOUNDTRACK! Few songs were stronger than others, but that's just personal music opinion, but I'll definitely be adding my favourites to my playlist. Each voice was note perfect and so powerful that I just wanted to get up and sing with them even though I didn't know the words haha!

A friend had gone to see the show a few months ago and I remember her talking about the lighting. I was intrigued. I sat on the dress circle and it was a great place to see how light was used as part of the set to mark certain places and spaces. I'd love to see the show unclose in the stalls up close, but I might not see the lighting so I'm glad I've seen it from this view first! One of my favourite shows is The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime (https://annasnothere.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-curious-call.html ) and one of my fave aspects of it is the lighting so it was amazing to see how the lighting was used for this. The stage was simple yet used so cleverly, including the placement of the orchestra! I loved the house set as it was homey and so different to the rest of the show, making it feel safe, like that was the only solid place in Jamie's life. The use of everything (desks, seats, etc) was just fantastic and big shoutout to the cast who had to remember lines, choreography and also where set needed to be moved to!

To finish, let's talk about costume! It was plain and simple until Jamie began to discover how he could make his dreams come true which I loved. I'm such a sucker for costumes and things so I was excited to see what magic would happen on stage after learning about the story and how it would go! Again, it was the drag queens who were just so so good, their costumes were so perfect and over the top! It was fantastic!

I really really loved the show, and like I said, I'd love to see it again up close! Especially after going through the script! Its just fantastic and perfect for now, especially as today was the pride parade in London! Go and see it if you can, and if you can't, make time!! It's so worth it!!

Hopefully you can see Waitress next future anna!

Let me know your theatre/play/musical suggestions!

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