War Horse

Thursday marked the birth of the most important woman in my life; my mother. Unfortunately, I don't get to spoil my mum as much as she deserves, so I do try to make a special effort on Mother's Day and her birthday. Rather than buying a piece of clothing or a piece of memorabilia, I try to spend time with her, doing something she doesn't usually have time for. This year, I decided to take her to the theatre to see War Horse.

Having a seen a few (but not nearly enough) plays, my experience has been limited to musicals, drama's and Shakespeare. I was therefore, slightly unsure how much I (and mum) would enjoy a production which involved puppetry (in spite of the endless positive reviews). Nevertheless, I figured it would be an experience and a first both for my mum and myself. It was also the only time I went to see a theatre production, where I have neither read the related literature, nor seen the relevant film beforehand.

Having rushed out of the office, a couple of minutes before the clock struck 5:30, I met mum at London Bridge, from where we went to Dim T. I've mentioned the Japanese restaurant before in a post, and having been impressed with it the first time, decided to introduce my mum to it and made sure I booked a table on the second floor which provided us with the lovely and quite damp view of Tower Bridge. I have to say, the staff were so friendly and polite. It is not something I noticed on my first visit, but when there with mum, the staff were really attentive, very helpful and friendly. The food was pretty great too. For starters, we shared some fish cakes which although quite standard, were made to stand out by the accompanying dipping sauce; it was a clear sauce which had the perfect combination of spice and sweetness. We both almost drowned our fish cakes in it! As for mains, we both had Thai Green Chicken Curry with coconut rice. It's not something I order often but this curry proved to be quite delicious (in addition to the chicken, there was aubergine and other veg which weren't overcooked and managed to stay crunchy yet warm and comforting too) although perhaps could have had a bit more of a kick in terms of spicy-ness. After our lovely dinner, we rushed off to the New London Theatre - n.b. whilst Dim T is a great place for dinner, with wonderful views, it may be a little too far from the theatre for a relaxed journey up to there!

Unfortunately we were 10 minutes late getting to the theatre but whilst we were led to our seats, we were given an explanation of what we missed which turned out not to be all that important. I don't want to give too much away about the play for those who haven't seen it but will say that the production was absolutely incredible! As I am sure most are aware, the horses are controlled by some men but after a minute or two of watching the horses, their life-like movement and far too realistic noises, you forget that the men are there at all and only pay attention to the horses themselves. The story was incredibly moving with a bits of comedy in the stark World War One setting. Aside from the impressive puppetry, what stood out for me was the balanced perspective of the war; the middle of the play was split, offering both German and English experiences of the war. Having read endless amounts of WW1 literature, this is seldom achieved and I felt it made the play even more poignant and moving. Both me and my mum absolutely loved the production and I may go as far as to say, it may be the best play I have yet seen!

Happy birthday Mum!

Muah,

Roo xx