London again, #1

July 10, 2010

We’re spread out in a warren of apartments on Crawford Passage, in Clerkenwell, a part of London unfamiliar to me. We ended our stay in Cambridge with a loud, happy night at the Boathouse, where we were as nearly candid about ourselves as this group is going to be. The area was infested with spiders. I think our experience here was imperfect, but rich enough. Steve lifts it to another level for me, and perhaps others had the same, but did not speak of it to me. Crawford Passage’s isolation is exacerbated by the fact that the Circle Line is closed on weekends for repairs, making even the walk to a tube ruinous. I did gather myself to walk from here to the Trafalgar Studio to see Wolf Boy. Ate in the Lord Luna–very atmospheric– where I aided an American couple in their travels. They promised to come see The Loves of Mr. Lincoln when it opens in New York They seemed to count me as part of their tourist experience, as though I had been planted in the Lor Luna for them to discover–as, perhaps I had been. Wolf Boy, a musical, had a promising beginning, but settled for effect rather than exploring truth. I was glad I saw it, but my guess is that it will not have another production. There is too much wrong with it, and if the subject of redemptive lycanthropy is to be explored, it’s not by this work. Great crowds through Trafalgar and Covent Garden. I looked my fill, and was happy.