Latest Loves 27/02

I have a very London-centric latest loves this week, starting with Ripley's Believe It or Not! Ripley was quite an amazing man and spent most of his life travelling the world and reporting back his extraordinary finds in his cartoon series, journals and, later on, via radio. There are curiosities galore at his London Emporium and whereas it's not the most serious thing you'll ever see in London, you can pass an enjoyable afternoon there looking at his collections and get a wee bit disorientated in the Mirror Maze!

Taking a break from West End musicals, I've seen two plays this weekend, which were both enjoyable, even if the respective casts didn't break into song and dance! The 39 Steps is most often associated with the Hitchcock film and, indeed, this version is based on that script. With only a cast of four who play 139 characters between them(!), this was utterly delightful. The small cast means you have to really use your imagination and the switch between characters is wonderfully (and often funnily) executed, as is the use of "props" - definitely worth seeing!

The other play I saw had an even smaller cast, a mere two actors(!); it should be three but they don't credit The Woman in Black in the programme. And yes, she's technically a figment and not really there, but still! I'd been told that this is absolutely terrifying, but I didn't find it *that* bad, to be honest. Potential terror aside though this, again, is brilliant and worth seeing. It's on at The Fortune Theatre - which is possibly one of the smallest theatres I've been to in London - where it's run since 1989, so you probably don't have to rush to see it immediately!

Finally, the Science Museum is one museum I've never been to, possibly because it's tucked away behind the National History Museum, but that was rectified last Friday! It's free to get in - I love this about London; there's so much free culture you can take in, which means there's no excuse! - but it's worth paying to watch one of the IMAX films. We watched Wild Ocean 3D (despite me hating sea creatures and the ocean, in general), but it was brilliant, and I'll definitely be heading back soon to catch another IMAX film and check out the exhibitions that I missed.

What are your latest loves? And what is your favourite play or tourist place to visit in London? x