Today I went to the National Portait Gallery! But they don't allow pictures. So NO SOUP FOR YOU.

Then I went to meet up with one Mr. Gideon Defoe for coffee!

I (rather embarassingly) talked him into a photo to prove I haven't been shitting you guys all this time:

He's the one on the right. I know we look so much alike.

Don't let his not-smiling fool you. He is a very friendly and smiley sort of person. Except if you bring up the movie Space Chimps. Or Alpha and Omega. Or any mention of the Incredibles, in Russian. Then he tears up a little bit.

But you need to read his books. They are all listed on his Wikipedia page, including the new one (!!!!!) which hasn't quite come out yet but is getting very, very close.

Also, that movie that just came out? Pirates! Band of Misfits? (Or in some places: Pirates! in and Adventure With Scientists.)

Yeah, he wrote that. It's based off his first and second book. You should go see it. There's some quite contraversial bits about lepers and fat female dodo birds that parallel the oppression of women in today's society. I encourage you to go, get terribly offended (though you ought to choose your own bit to get offended by; there's more than enough for everybody), and write colourful letters to the editor that whip the public into a frenzy.

Go see it. It's funnier than Jesus. I promise you this.

After forcing my camera upon poor Mr. Defoe I went to see Matilda (which was written by Tim Minchin).

It's FABULOUS. Technically brilliant, very well cast, designed exceptionally well. And by exceptionally well, I REALLY mean it. The cast (which includes nine kids of probably about ten years old) was fantastic. I can't believe how talented those kids are. And NINE of them! Undoubtably it was double cast as well, because of child labour laws or whatever. I can't believe there are that many kids that are THAT talented singing and dancing.

Makes my brain spin.

Then Miriam caught me outside the theatre and we popped around to the New Zealand store (THEY ARE OUT OF MARMITE; THERE IS A MARMITE SHORTAGE IN THE WORLD BECAUSE THE NEW ZEALAND FACTORY GOT DAMAGED IN THE EARTHQUAKES EVERYBODY PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANIC!!!!) and then to a New Zealand restaurant, at which I ate more pig than I think any human has any right to.

It was very delicious, even if the pavlova was a bit odd.

Then Miriam and I saw The Duchess of Malfi, an early 17th century play where everybody hates each other, sleeps with each other, schemes against each other, and intentionally (or unintentionally) kills each other (that outta teach him for borrowing a cloak!).

I think it was meant to shock people but I found I was just bored. It was a pretty play, very atmospheric, but it just failed to move me. I didn't cry when one of the characters got strangled at length. When the little boy got hung, I only thought: "Gosh! That little boy actor is very well behaved! He's not even twitching! I hope that's a comfortable harness..." I was a bit sad when the nice fellow got murdered by accident, but considering almost his entire family had already been murdered and he didn't know it, I thought it might be for the best.

Yeah. Kinda boring. Pretty, though, even if most of the ladies were wearing the wrong undergarments.

I think I've seen too much theatre...

Oh well. Tomorrow I fly home, and then on to see Sweeney Todd with James, one of my favorites!