Gabi Goes! Adventures of a JMU Student Abroad, Vol. 6

Day Sixth and Seventh: No Doubt The Years Have Changed Me/ The Bloomsbury Group and the Chamber of Secrets

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd…
His skin was pale and his eye was odd…
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
Who never thereafter were heard of again
He trod a path that few have trod
Did Sweeney Todd
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Today as day the seventh marks the end of the first week in London and a day I had been looking forward to for a long time. The day began with a Thor and Loki comic book read-through and a trip to Saint Paul’s, that great grey bubble that towers tremendously above the London skyline. We lingered for a bit at the enterance as it cost 15 GBP to get in, but decided for it, and were happy we had. It is impossible to describe the interior of Saint Paul’s, but the great dome, caked in vermillion paint and gold leaf seems to stretch as if mimicing the heavens themselves. The guys decided that they wanted to climb the stairs up to the Whispering gallery, which we sat in, as a tour guide reminded us to “whisper below the line.” The acoustics are such in St. Paul’s that a message can be sent through whispers to the other side of the dome. The tour guide must have been bored, so after demonstrating the process of the whisper, he instructed half our group to head to the other side and for us to send messages like “Do jumping jacks,” and “Open the chamber of secrets” so that the sound seemed to be emanating from the walls themselves. Afterwards, I braved my fear of heights enough to climb a precarious metal winding staircase up to the top of the dome and stepped out to see an entire view of London stretching into the horizon, including the golden statue of Old Bailey’s Lady Justice with covered eyes gazing blindly into the distance.

After St. Paul’s and the gift shop we walked down Fleet Street, got a croissant, took photos beneath an actual Fleet Street barber shop, and then returned to Bloomsbury where we went out for a nice quiet Italian dinner and then rushed over to Adelphi’s production of Sweeney Todd in West End. When I was a teenager, I admittedly was besotted with this musical. I saw a touring production in 2008 from West End and I adored the music, and the sentiment, the motifs, the danger, the story, the counterpoint, everything. I would listen to it everywhere, and when I was in Shakespeare Miami, would stand on the docks overlooking the Miami skyline and sing “Barber and his Wife” and promise myself that I would make it to London. For that was the goal. Make it to London. See the shows. The bookstores. The mad bustle. Everything. No matter how difficult things seemed all I had to do was make it to London. I worked for two years at my university carrying things far too heavy for me to save up, and never spent a dime for the entire time. But I am here.

Was Adelphi’s production (with the woman with played Dolores Umbridge) worth all the struggle? Yes. Just that single performance was worth it all. Set in 1930s with the depression as its backdrop, on a factory floor, from the opening number I felt chills. Michael Ball as Sweeney played ever nuance of the character, from terrifying, to pitiable, to brave, to fearful, to darkly funny, and for the first time, even though it is a very sad play, my eyes teared up. Every song I know my heart, every note, every harmony. But it was as if I was hearing it anew. Not a single moment was passed up, every line was explored to all its potential and I clapped so hard my hands ached for a half-hour afterward. Going back on the Tube, still humming The Ballad of Sweeney Todd with the guys, I felt truly at home for what I think is the first time in my life. I like this city. I like the saxophone player on the corner, and the theatres, and the ridiculously expensive comic books. I like to tread in the muddy banks of the Thames, and to drink horrific coffee and chat with the locals. I love this place. I love this town. This is why I`m here. I won’t miss an instant of it.