Tripping down memory lane
November 2006
Cultural pie and
civilisational mash
Between the reel and
the surreal
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©2006 K. Diab |
Back to
(sur)reality
Our visit to my secondary school proved to be
less of a mind funk, since the gates were bolted for the summer, which
prevented my mental tripping. Emotionally drained, we returned to the present.
We spent the rest of our time in London chilling with our friends, going to the
Tate Modern, the Embankment, Camden Town and more. In Covent Garden, we came
across a stray opera singer letting rip from her lungs some passionate Italian
verse.
As we walked past the Royal Opera House, we saw
one of the bay doors was open. We stopped to watch the beehive of activity as a
team of builders worked on an intricate set. “If you can climb up, then come
inside and have a look round,” a man in the distance called out to us. “You are
taxpayers.” I pointed out that we didn’t pay taxes in the UK. “EU taxpayers are
also welcome– we are in a union, after all,” he dismissed. A technician gave
Katleen a helping hand up.
The flamboyant stage manager with greying hair
introduced himself as Steve and took us on an hour-long tour around the
backstage area. The sheer size, mechanics and elegance of the different
rotating stages, the scale of the sets, the multitude of performance and
rehearsal areas was impressive. It felt odd to be standing on the giant stage
looking out at the plush red auditorium before we had ever even sat in the
audience. Then again, we are all treading the boards of our own particular
opera – with or without the soap – drama, tragedy, comedy and farce.
ă2006 K. Diab. Unless otherwise stated, all the content on this website
is the copyright of Khaled Diab.