To Sleep or Not To Sleep...

My friends Lisa, Crystal, and I waited in line from 3:30-10:30am for tickets to Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch. I typically don't function well with minimal sleep so this was a pretty big sacrifice and it was absolutely worth it! Here is Crystal and Lisa (inside the sleeping bag) at our street setup where we sat until they opened the Barbican Theatre and we were able to sit on the floor inside. 

The performance was amazing and I was especially impressed by the sets. The stage was quite big so they were able to make the palace look very large and grand. I also loved how they opened with a scene of Hamlet looking through his father's things and listening to Nature Boy by Nat King Cole on his record player. 

Crystal, me, Lisa, and Kiri inside the theatre

 This isn't a great photo of the stage, but you can see how large it was (and how far back our seats were). At the end of the curtain call, Benedict Cumberbatch made a request for donations for Syrian refugees. He recited a poem by Warsan Shire that starts "No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark...no one puts their children in a boat unless water is safer than the land." The poem was really touching and you could tell that he was really passionate about the cause. 

After the play, we waited by the stage door and saw the actors come out. My friend Kiri got this great photo of Benedict Cumberbatch. Someone walked past and said, "Hey Cumberbatch!" and he said, "Hi!" then said more quietly "I have no idea who that was." This photo was taken during that exchange. I love the super fan that is leaning over really far to take a selfie with him. 

Overall it was a great time, both waiting in line with my friends and seeing the performance. It was so good I might mess up my sleep schedule to do it again!