The Accidental Premiere

In honor of all things Harry Potter: I thought I'd share one of my favorite Potter moments, which came as a big surprise was I was in London on July 8, 2009.


Things I didn't expect to do yesterday:

1) Get battered by torrential wind and rain

2) See Daniel Radcliffe and Helena Bonham Carter up close

3) Willingly get battered by torrential wind and rain so I could see Daniel Radcliffe and Helena Bonham Carter up close

I was headed for the Leicester Square tube when I walked right into the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince world premiere. No joke. The square had been refitted to look like a quidditch field and crowds of teens were being managed by London police.

I've never seen a movie premiere and I'm not much of a celebrity follower. But I love Harry Potter and I thought, "Hey, how many times am I going to see movie stars walking down a red carpet?" Answer: Probably never again.

So I found a good vantage point and stayed put. Through wrath-of-god wind and rain and lightning directly above our heads. And it was completely worth it, though unlike Daniel Radcliffe I did not have some nice chap to hold an umbrella over me. I did not have an umbrella at all.

But Helena Bonham Carter didn't either.

It's my last night in London and to bring this trip to a memorable conclusion I went to see War Horse at the New London theater. While I had high hopes for this production, I have to say it absolutely blew me away. It could well be the best play I've ever seen. The story follows a boy and his horse as they are caught up in World War I. It is astonishing, the horses are unbelievably real, the story compelling, and the score, a combination of classical compositions and folk tunes, deeply moving. I was particularly inspired as the play was adapted from a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo.

Next post will be from Minnesota, so for the last time pip, pip and cheerio!

Note from the future: War Horse is currently being transformed to film by Steven Spielberg.