Art,theatre and culture

Friday was an amazing day.It started with a key that worked!!!Yes after four days I have a key cut that works so we can all come and go as required.
The rest of the day that followed was far more interesting.
First I met up with friends Wendy and Rod at Piccadilly Circus for a trip to see the  Ai Weiwei Exhibition at the Royal Academy.

It was lovely to see them come off the tube and we spent some time catching up over a coffee at Pret a Manger nearby.This stop over is an important part of the ritual of coming into town for exhibitions Wendy explained, so Rod had porridge and sandwiches to get his day underway before we walked along to the exhibition.

This exhibition really excited me as Ai Weiwei is such a powerful visionary.I remember seeing a film about him at the film festival and this exhibition added to the sense of who he is.

The art he creates is rich in symbolism and has layers of meaning to those who are part of the expression of life, liberty and hope.He has been so badly treated by Chinese authorities because he is seen as a voice against China and many of his installations are witness to that imprisonment era.One room had big cubes which when you looked inside them you saw scenes of his incarceration and surveillance by two prison guards 24/7.
From the moment we walked into the courtyard and saw these huge ancient trees from China that had decayed and died in the mountains but which he had  recovered and reconstructed into new shapes,bolted them together and grouped as a grove, I knew we were in for a treat visually.
The rest of the exhibition did not disappoint and when my photos are downloaded I will be able to post them as evidence of the true scope of his work on display.

I was very taken with one called, 'Straight'.This took up an entire room and it was a response to the Sichuan earthquake.

He took truckloads of twisted metal rods which are used as reinforcing in concrete buildings and over years he and his workers straightened them and then they were fashioned into a sculpture to show the ground layers and how the earth formed new layers but the political message was around the rods because they were in memory of the children who died in schools poorly constructed from concrete and these rods.

So much to see and comment on in this exhibition.Well worth seeing if you get an opportunity.

Later that night I went to see the play, 'Jane Eyre' at the National Theatre.I was lucky to get a ticket.It was magical.Such a strong performance of a classic story yet bought to life in a modern production.I had to start rereading the novel, lucky Louise has a copy.

It was a late night by the time I travelled home by the tube,bus etc so slept soundly in anticipation of my curtain making assignation the following day.......