Metamorphosis

Tonight I saw a play in Manchester at the Lowry based on The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. This is a story that I loved reading, like many of Kafka's strange short stories. Megan was meant to go along but alas our daughter fell ill and she stayed behind to look after her. I'll be repaying the favor tomorrow by watching the wee ones while she dances all day at a work shop with her friends.

The stage was split on two levels, the dining room and Gregor's bedroom straight above. His bedroom is oriented so you are looking straight down (e.g. bed is bolted to the back wall for optical illusion). The actor playing Gregor did some really cool athletic things to make it look like he was defying gravity, well, he was actually defying gravity with most of what he was doing!

The performance was amazing and I'm really glad I didn't just give up the tickets.

weekend log

Saturday we went over to a colleague's house and watched the wedding videos of another colleague's brother. The interesting bit is that it was an all out Indian wedding of a well to-do family, so the multi-day party was quite impressive (by my standards). We also feasted on traditional northern vegetarian food, all very nice.

Sunday I took the girl for a little journey, just the two of us. We visited Rhos-on-Sea for the Harlequin Puppet Theatre's production of Alice in Wonderland. What a wonderful little show and venue, I recommend it to kids or adults.

A night at the Liverpool Empire Theatre

We took the train into Liverpool tonight to see the Disney theater production of Beauty and the Beast. The girl claims this was one of her favorite things EVER. I have to admit it was nice with some songs you don't hear in the movie. However, I'd say the acoustics aren't terrific at this theatre even though the old restored decor is very ornate.

An evening at the Prince Edward Theatre

Tonight after a trip to the Tate Modern I took Megan, Carol, and the kids to see Mary Poppins. One of the most amazing productions I've ever seen, incredible cast, set, and nice venue. Megan's mom said it made her whole trip so anything extra from that point would just be bonus.

The girl was pleased to finally see a Jackson Pollock up close, but I think later in our trip while visiting the Musee de Orsay the boy and I convinced her that impressionism like that of Van Gogh and Seurat is worthwhile too.

Pied Piper Opera

Tonight after work I packed up the family and we went to the Lowry theatre in Manchester to see the Pied Piper. The venue was small, had a great little orchestra, the singers were amazing, and acting full of emotion and movement. Even though it was billed as family friendly, I wasn't sure how the kids would take to it. But from the moment we walked in they were interested what was happening on stage; I think they got a lot out of it.


The Lowry is a really cool piece of building right down at the quays in city centre. Out across the water you can see Old Trafford and the Imperial War museum.