Support Village Theatre, Special Event
Village Theatre’s Donor Trip to London
By Danielle Franich, Director of Development
Forty donors. Five productions. Eight days in a city that has been staging great drama for more than four centuries. From September 27 to October 4, Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr, Managing Director Derek Watanabe, and I had the joy of hosting a group of donors in London for a week of theatre, history, high tea, and so many adventures.
Five Shows, Five Very Different Nights
Our theatre lineup included everything from a new production of an American drama to a world premiere, and every single night gave us something to talk about.
- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup went toe-to-toe as Martha and George in Marianne Elliott’s ferocious in-the-round revival of Edward Albee’s classic at Soho Place. With two intermissions and three hours of high-stakes drama, we couldn’t look away.
- Sinatra The Musical: Ol’ Blue Eyes got the West End treatment at the Aldwych Theatre, in a new musical packed with Sinatra standards and a piece of his life on stage.
- Jane Eyre: We caught the long-awaited UK premiere of John Caird and Paul Gordon’s musical adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s novel at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, in a fresh new staging co-directed by Caird, who also co-directed the original Les Misérables. Intimate and moving, this production sparked a lot of post-show discussion.
- Oliver!: Cameron Mackintosh’s reimagined production of Lionel Bart’s beloved musical. Yes, this had adorable pickpockets, gruel, and the numbers we all know, but we also happened to be there when comedian and former Great British Baking Show host Matt Lucas was playing Fagin for a limited run.
- Thelma & Louise: We saw this brand-new musical during its world-premiere run at the Young Vic, with Callie Khouri adapting her own Oscar-winning screenplay, songs by Neko Case, and Amy Lennox and Rachel Tucker as the iconic best friends on the run.
No matter what was on stage, one sweet surprise was at every theatre: ice cream. At each show, we could get a little individual cup during intermission, the classic London theatre treat, to enjoy from our seats during the second act.
Behind the Curtain
We sat down for a private conversation with Matt Wolf, the American theatre critic who has covered London’s stages for four decades. He gave us an insider’s view of the shows we saw and a little bit about London theatre from his perspective.
We also went behind the scenes on guided tours of two venues: the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, one of London’s oldest theatres, and the National Theatre on the South Bank.
And some of the best moments weren’t on the itinerary at all. Along the way, we had the surprise chance to meet performers after their shows (one even popping on the bus to say hello and thanks for coming!). We were thrilled to share congratulations and plenty of starstruck smiles.
Palaces, Abbeys, and Tea
By day, we were guaranteed to get our steps in. We wandered the grand halls and gardens of Hampton Court Palace, the riverside home of Henry VIII, and searched for monuments and final resting places of familiar names inside Westminster Abbey, where English monarchs have been crowned for nearly a thousand years. Then we did what any visitor to London has to do: we sat down for high tea, complete with sandwiches, scones, and sweets.
We were in the hands of truly incredible guides, who brought centuries of history to life and kept us informed and laughing along the way. They also taught us an essential London survival skill. Since traffic comes from the “wrong” direction for us Americans, our guides would look both ways and send us across the street together with a cheerful call to “surge!” By the end of the week, the whole group was surging like pros.
I also should mention the weather! London gave us sunshine. Blue-sky, sunglasses-and-short-sleeves sunshine, nearly every single day.
Curtain Calls and a Grand Finale
Some of the most memorable moments of the week happened after the shows. Each night, our group gathered in the hotel bar, where Adam led thoughtful conversations about the show we had just seen. We talked about production vs. play, compared moments and reactions, and shared different perspectives on what we all saw. It was like a theatre book club, and it brought everyone closer together.
For our farewell dinner, we headed to Sarastro, a theatrical restaurant where the décor is reminiscent of an opera house backstage. A performer swept many members of our group into the action. Before long, Village Theatre donors were singing and dancing along. It was a joyful finale to an extraordinary week.
Where Will We Go Next?
Every two years, Village Theatre takes a group of donors on a theatre adventure like this one, from New York to London and beyond. We haven’t chosen our next destination just yet, but we can’t wait to share it with you as soon as we do.
These trips are offered first to our donors as a thank-you for supporting Village. They’re a wonderful chance to deepen your knowledge of theatre and make new friends while spending real time with Village Theatre’s leadership. And because each trip price includes a donation, every traveler is also helping bring great theatre to our own stages back home.
To Adam, Derek, our fantastic guides, and every one of the 40 donors who joined us: thank you for an unforgettable week. If you’d like to be among the first to hear about our next trip, become a Village Theatre donor or renew your support.