The Roof, Fuel Theatre : LOCAL LOVES

On Friday I was lucky enough to attend the opening night of The Roof – the brand spanking new show from Fuel Theatre. Fuel make great shows by taking risks and this was a big one that totally paid off.

Sitting snugly behind the National Theatre it’s performed in a car park – yes, a car park! Who’d have thought it?? Bugger off cars, we’re going to make some theatre here. Now, what they’ve done is put free-running, contemporary dance and gaming into a big pot, mixed it together and thrown it out onto a ring of rooftops with an audience wearing headphones standing in the middle. True 360 degree theatre. Does it sound like anything you’ve seen before? Didn’t think so!

Because of my job I get to see a lot of theatre (jammy git) but I’ve never seen anything like this. There was such a buzz in the air as we crunched our way across the gravel of the car park and donned our headphones. Walking under an arch and into the ring of roofs we turned up the volume and got in the gaming mood as Nintendo songs were played into our ears.

After a couple of headphone-selfies, and some excellent posing from my sister and her pal...

 .....the lights dimmed and the game began.....

Out of a chimney-like box a player in a red jumpsuit appeared and Level 1 began. He ran and jumped and flipped and climbed over the roofs, killing monsters and winning prizes, buying energy and shooting guns. It was so damn exciting! The skill of the performers was incredible, every single movement was done in the style of a gaming character. Blank faces as they fought, stiff backs as they ran.

I won’t spoil it too much but I have to say the best bit for me was the sound (created using incredibly clever Binaural sound technology) and the way the entire show timed in with it. Absolutely everything you hear is pre-recorded but you’re forever looking over your shoulder and spinning on the spot to see who shouted out from the crowd or shot a gun, led by your ears. The performers had their timing spot on, it must have taken forever to perfect.

It’s on until Saturday 28^th June and you can buy tickets here - tickets for performances before 8^th June are £24.50, then it’s £29.50 thereafter, but if you’re unemployed, a full-time student or under 26 you can get the concession rate of £19.50.

Performances don’t start until 9.30pm as they have to wait for the sun to go down so its the perfect opportunity to explore the Southbank! I’d suggest having dinner or drinks at one of these fine establishments:

• The BFI has two awesome places under it's roof and is the closest place to the show – The Riverfront which is nice and casual or Benuga which is pretty snazzy. Go for burgers and pints.
• The Roof Garden bar at the Southbank Centre – stunning views of the city. Go for pimms.
• The Swan Bar at Shakespeare's Globe, lovely buzzy place – leave about 20mins for the walk back to the show. Go for a gin and tonic.
• The Oxo Tower – if you’re feeling flash! Check out the blog I wrote when I went for my birthday. Go for a cocktail.
• Gordon's Wine Bar – just across the river (so not strictly the Southbank, cheeky). Go for wine and cheese.

If you're going to The Roof or have been I'd love to hear what you think of it so leave a comment below! Has anyone ever seen anything like it?

xXx

Perks of getting older? Birthday times : LOCAL LOVES

It was my birthday at the weekend and celebrations started on Thursday with a gorgeous dinner with my dad at the Oxo Tower - what a treat. He has taken my mum and sister there already so he was saving the best 'til last, obviously.

We rolled up in our taxi, zipped up to the 8th floor in the lift and took in that cracking view...

London, you total babe. Just look at it! We were lucky enough to get a table by the window so I spent the entire night perving on St Pauls and oggling The Shard. If you ever go there I'd really recommend pushing for a window table - it really is breathtaking. And if you don't manage to get one you can always ask to be moved once you spy a table becoming available. A hilarious couple did just that when we were there and all I heard from him once they sat down was "Well, if I was going to propose you've ruined it now! Stop asking!" - brilliant stuff!

We swooped down on the cocktail menu as soon as our bums hit the seats. I went for a 'Brief Encounter' which was... Absolut Vanilia vodka & rhubarb liqueur shaken with fresh lemon juice & Harvey Nichols lavender honey. Topped with OXO Brut Champagne. Yum. Dad went for the one that was most like a pudding, he's such a chocoholic. It was called 'A Room with a View' and it was... A decadent mix of Sipsmith London Dry gin, Kirsch eau de vie, Chocolate bitters & cherry sugar syrup. Charged with OXO Brut Champagne. House brandied cherry. Both were absolutely gorgeous.

The food was equally brilliant - the portions are just right, making sure that you have room for pud perfectly! I went for a roasted artichoke bruschetta to start and Dad had venison ragu. Mine had these scrummy peppers that only one in twenty five of are spicy. Wellll guess who got a spicy one?! It blew my socks off.

On to mains, Pops had sea bass and I went for chicken with spinach gnocci that had goats cheese in the centre. Like a present on your plate! The sea bass had some of that fancy foam on it that is so popular in smart restaurants at the mo. I'm more off a gravy girl myself so I was chuffed when my chicken arrived swimming in the stuff.

Then came the best course of all - pud! Dad and I really struggled to pick this one, the options were so brilliant! After much deliberation I went for caramelised pear with a filo and mascarpone tower and Dad opted for a vanilla panna cotta with spiced pear and madeleines. Some how the lovely Oxo team found out that we were celebrating my birthday so my pudding was extra specially presented!

During the meal dad gave me one little early (expertly wrapped...) pressie - a Juice Cube! I found out about these from one of FleurdeForce's lovely videos - take a look here - skip to four minutes. It's basically a portable battery for your phone that you pop into your handbag and pull out whenever you're low on juice and miles from a plug socket. I'm a secret gadget geek at heart and really love this. They're £24.95 and you can get them here and yes, they do more manly colours than the bright pink that I have!

Sorry - enough pressie chat, we were talking about fancy food and this cracking restaurant weren't we? The atmosphere there is brilliant, just as incredible as The Harwood Arms of last week but so different. It's very funky and the ambiance is really jazzed up by the live music. This was provided by two gorgeous guys, one on an acoustic guitar and one on the bongos. My lovely friend Sophie was at the Oxo the night before and they had an electric guitar and a double bass! Everything is lit in cool blue and purple light which is kept nice and low so that you can really suck in that view.

I absolutely loved my dinner at the Oxo Tower and it should definitely go on your list of special places to visit - it's ready made for a celebration!

So what does this particularly well fed Londoner suggest this time?

- Get yourself along to the Oxo! The food is divine and the view is even better. It's a real London gem.

- Go to one of the other sky high restaurants in the city to get a proper peek at the big smoke in all it's glory. There is...
     - Oblix at The Shard - 32nd floor, blimey.
     - Duck and Waffle at The Heron Tower - a whopping forty floors up!
     - Sushisamba at The Heron Tower - sitting snugly one floor below.
     - Paramount at Centre Point - this bad boy offers a 360-degree view. Wow wee.