#Michael London

[michael-sheens]

How I find out Good Omens has been renewed. 🥹🥹

Edit: courtesy of @bbbonejamin who deserves all the praise for this adorable gesture.

[aydracz]

Went to London to see Nye and to meet my favourite Welshman.

Told him I was a bit anxious to talk to him because I had a dream about meeting him a few days before, in which it all went horribly wrong. Because in that dream, when I asked him if he could sign my Good Omens book, he got angry, said 'I don't do that' and walked away.

The real Michael Sheen was quite amused by this and promised me not to do anything of that sort. And he didn't!

I am very happy to report that Michael Sheen really does sign Good Omens books and will not walk away if you ask him!

[donotbelasagne]

I can't believe my partner (soft, fluffy hair, light colours) and I (spiky, (dyed) red hair, dark colours) are seriously considering moving from London to the South Downs next year.

What in the Good Omens is my life

[theastrophysicistnextdoor]

A Good Omens trip to London

The opportunity to see Michael Sheen live in Nye at the National Theatre made me plan a trip to London. And having seen the tourist attractions already many years ago, I decided I would dive into the Good Omens experience – go crazy, nobody knows you there! 😀 Easy planning thanks to @fuckyeahgoodomens and the filming locations masterpost ❤️

After four fantastic days I can only say: what a lovely fandom! It was great to meet a few of you :)

In St. James's Park, at the bench, I met a fan from Romania.

At the bandstand in Battersea Park I met a fan from Scotland and found the lovely fan art by @aydracz.

In Tavistock Square (Berkeley Square in the series) I met two fans from the Netherlands. (If you read this by any chance, I hope you enjoyed Nye!)

And then it seems all the fans in London that day gather at the theatre. 😀 – greetings to @kittensceilidh and @brandiwein1982

And well, how exciting to see Nye! It was entertaining, beautiful and touching. And Michael Sheen really is a wonderful and kind person – I very much hope I will meet him again. 🤗

Be kind to each other and take care!

And if you are interested or need a bit of inspiration for your trip, here are some more impressions. I will have to go to London again and continue the experience :)

Shakespeare’s Globe

Duke of York Monument

The Ritz

Berwick Street in Soho

[moodnor]

AU where Michael constantly terrorises John into going to thrift shopping with him cuz he's bored.

I found these sketches in my sketchbook from 3 years ago so i thought i should post them

[fake-daily-watcher-tweets]

okay.. so if you were the tall bearded man who looked suspiciously like Neil Gaiman in downtown soho/London and heard me aggressively talking about Mike Faist bc he’s on the West End and also turned around and laughed when I loudly stated ‘YO THAT DUDE LOOKS LIKE NEIL”… I’m so sorry…😭💀

[Picture this]

Me and a friend walking, talking, maybe inebriated 👀🤏🧐

Me: “Its a little offensive that I’m not married to him. I’m single, he’s beautiful and talented, I don’t get it”

Friend: “Perfect Match😅👀”

Me: [Almost trips]

Me:

Me: [See’s a man with a beard and the aura of audacity - just enough to write soul crushing stories about demons and gods and scary roads]

Me: “YO THAT MAN LOOKS LIKE NEIL”

Friend:

Friend: “..who”

Me:

Friend: “OH”

Both: [look back to see the man laugh]

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Oi, UK ppl! link

[darquitectura]

Michael & Patty Hopskins; Hopkins House (Hampstead, Londres. 1976)

[doraminatook]

We're About To Get Playfully Blasphemous Here (or...The Metaphorical Death and Resurrection of Me)

2023 was the year I turned 33, and in case you didn’t know, many religious scholars cite that as the age Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead.  Now, within literature there’s a trope called the Christ-like figure in which a character sacrifices themself and from that death, something happens in order to advance the plot.  Usually that something is either the “dead” character rising from the ashes and obtaining new powers (think Gandalf the Grey battling the Balrog and then coming back as Gandalf the White) or the protagonist being so moved by the death of this secondary character that they are reborn in some way (think Red Badge of Courage’s Jim Conklin (JC…get it?) whose death changes Henry’s opinion on war.)

Because I’m a storyteller and have a dark sense of humor, I began to wonder if I would somehow have a Christ-like-figure-moment within my thirty-third year of life.  (Not long after my birthday, I told my mom that I just had to make it to 34 and then I would have “beaten” Jesus; being a good Lutheran woman, she did not appreciate this joke.)

Now, I may be reaching or forcing figurative imagery into the literal world (isn’t that what artists do?), but I think I did have a “death” and consequential “resurrection”.  

I’m at a strange place in my writing career in that I am not famous (by any means) but I’m also not considered emerging.  Recently, I was told by a theater that I should “sit this contest out” and give someone else a chance but at the same time my work has not been produced enough to catch an agent’s eye.  (It doesn’t help that theatre companies have an intense fixation on world premieres.  They want to be the first one to do the show, apparently assuming that as soon as a piece gets produced once, that means it’s finished.  But that’s a rant for another day.) 

Currently I live in Milwaukee and for a long time I thought (or at least hoped) that I could maybe just make it work here; it is technically a theater town.  Add to that the fact that my whole family lives in Wisconsin, my financial situation was not ideal, and my best friend (platonic soulmate) had made it fairly clear to me that she did not wish to move away from Milwaukee.  When I was honest with myself, I knew that I wanted to get out, but there were so many things holding me back from making the jump.  

As soon as the thought of moving away entered my head, Anxiety would perk up.  Always eager to be the backseat driver, it would shout things like, “Isn’t life here good enough for you?  You’ve got a roof over your head, a job that allows you to pursue your passion, and you’re perfectly healthy.  Be grateful for what you have and stop expecting something more!” 

I attended a workshop for other playwrights from the area and, at the risk of sounding arrogant, I didn’t have a lot in common with many of them.  Discussions and questions whirled around about how we find time to write, where we get inspiration, and how we format a script properly.  Some of the writers present had never even finished a full script.  I certainly am not bringing this up in order to shame anyone, but it was an eye-opening experience for me.  Was I a proverbial big fish in a little pond?

My anxiety had an opinion for that, too.  

“Wow!  Way to be egotistical, D!  You think you’re so much better than everyone here?  Get over yourself!  You’re not special.  You’re just another ‘artist’ who thinks they’ve got something special to say!”

A few weeks later I was at my cousin’s wedding and after the ceremony, he approached me to offer congratulations for all the success I’ve had…only to then immediately cut me off guard with the question, “So when are you moving to New York?”  As the groom, he was quickly called away for photographs and I never really got to answer his question.  

If this moment had been in a play, the spotlight would have hit me right then and there and I would have begun some contemplative soliloquy where I openly pondered, “New York, eh?  Maybe I should go to New York!”

Obviously, as a theatre person, the idea of moving to New York had crossed my mind; it’s the theatre capital of the US for obvious reasons.  But, at the same time, New York just didn’t feel like me.  (I have a lot of opinions on NYC, especially when it comes to the outrageous ticket prices.  When it costs a small fortune to see a Broadway show, art becomes a luxury rather than a necessity.  But that’s a rant for another day.)  It certainly seemed daunting, and every good dream should be at least a little daunting.  But New York was daunting without being exciting.  It felt like something I should do…something that was expected of me.

LA didn’t do it for me, either.  Nor Seattle.  I considered many locations, but nothing really made me sit up and take notice.  I wasn’t about to dive headfirst into debt and throw away a good thing unless it was something that truly excited me…something that was enticing enough to spark a change.  

Again, Anxiety spoke up, “Calm the fuck down, D!  New York?  Even if that is what you wanted, they’d eat you alive there!  You’re a soft midwestern girl who can’t take criticism and cries at the drop of a hat!  You really think you could handle New York or LA?  Also, the cost of living in any of those places is way more than you will ever hope to make!  Stick with Submission Helper.  Stick with the contests and the festivals.  Go back to dreaming only as big as The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.  Sit down and shut up!”

It may have gone on like this…if not for the summer of 2023.

Close your eyes and picture it: WGA strike, Barbenheimer, The Eras Tour, OceanGate, the Grimace Birthday shake…and in the midst of it all, I was having an epiphany.  

A favorite television show of mine dropped its latest season and I eagerly pulled out the Chardonnay and the popcorn to binge it all.  The vast majority of the show takes place in London and features several actors whom I admire greatly.  Between the giggles, sobs, and various twists and turns of the emotional rollercoaster that was Season 2, something all at once occurred to me.

This is what I want.  

That’s where I want to be.  

I want to move to the United Kingdom.

Was it daunting?  Hell yeah, it was daunting.  

And it was exciting.  

It was a dream that excited me.  

It burned inside me.  

It raged.

It burned so hot that I didn’t know what to do with it.  I paced around my tiny apartment, simply stunned by the prospect of it all.  

Anxiety was in the process of drinking a quad shot espresso con panna and promptly did a spit take upon hearing this new idea.  In a frenzied panic, it bellowed, “Are you nuts?  What the hell do you think you’re doing?  YOU can’t move to the UK!  It would be so difficult!  You’d need to apply for a Visa…or something like that!  Do you even know how to apply for a Visa!”  

“No,” I metaphorically replied, “but I could learn.”

“I bet it’s super difficult!” Anxiety shot back, trembling in fear, “I bet it’s expensive and complicated and you’ll never figure it out!  I bet your sense of humor wouldn’t translate!  I bet you’d end up broke and living under a bridge and crying because you threw away this good thing you had!”

For a split second, Anxiety almost won…but somehow, prompted by the promise of this new dream, I dared to ask, “But what if it worked out?  What if I could figure it out?  What if I somehow scraped up the money and did the research and filed the paperwork and just made it work?”

If it were a play, I would have been standing center stage, staring out into the audience like some kind of dramatic hero and whispering hopefully, “Yes…what if…?”  

It has been a long road to get here, but, despite what Anxiety likes to tell me, I did figure it out.  The process has been stressful enough to induce atypical Shingles and a few anxiety attacks, but it’s happening.  It’s actually happening!

This October I’m going to grad school at the University of Essex where I’ll pursue my masters degree in Scriptwriting.  I’ll hone my skills as a playwright while learning the ins and out of writing for film, television, and radio.  I’ll take the train into London on the weekends and see every show I can at the National Theatre.  I’ll get new life experiences.  I’ll do my best to explore every inch of that beautiful island.  I’m going to do something new because it’s scary and, most importantly, it’s exciting.  

(To add to the awesomeness of this new adventure, my best friend (platonic soul mate) is moving with me and pursuing her own dreams of studying acting…also at the University of Essex.)

My “death” was not as dramatic or world-changing as Jesus’s, but it gave way to a new life for me.  The power of storytelling combined with a newfound confidence was enough to catapult me into something new, something different.    

And I know you’re wondering what show I was watching that prompted this sudden change; if you know anything about me, you’ve probably guessed it already.  

Along with seeing as much theatre as I can on my visits to London, I also plan to have surreptitious meetings at The Bandstand, feed ducks some frozen peas at St. James’s Park, and maybe help avert an apocalypse (or two).  My birthday is in January and it just so happens that Season 3 is scheduled to begin filming around that time; perhaps on my winter holiday, I’ll put myself onto a train and take myself up to Edinburgh.  I have so many thoughts on what could possibly happen next to my favorite angel and demon…but that’s a rant for another day.

(Fun fact: I say this line at least once a week...if only to myself.)

[ingravinoveritas]

I've been asked to write a post about Georgia's newest Insta stories, all of which (including the text title cards) are in the video above. I'm between events here at the conference, so I will try to get my thoughts down as succinctly as possible.

What seems to have happened is that Georgia dared David to climb a tree, and what we see in the video then ensued. I think what stood out to me most about this is the way David and Georgia are speaking to each other, which seems very different to how we've seen them speak to each other before. In this video, David seemed to really push back in response to Georgia, particularly when she was using her "mom" voice and talking to him like a child as she entreated him to get down from the tree:

"Get down." "You started it, Georgia." "I'm stopping it. Get down." "Oh no you're not. You don't get to do that to me."

I couldn't help but contrast this in my mind with the video Georgia filmed of David at Morrison's last year. How visibly uncomfortable he looked throughout, but despite that, kept on going and didn't say anything or ask her to stop. To go from that to, "You don't get to do that to me" seems like a major leap, and possibly another indication that the dynamic between them has shifted.

It was also interesting to see the difference as she continually pleaded for him to get down, and him seemingly...not believing her? The "Is this not a ploy?" was an interesting comment, as if he's become so used to being a gimmick, to being content for her, that he is now doubting her sincerity. It was hard not to get the feeling that Georgia was panicking less about him possibly falling out of the tree, and more about David not immediately doing exactly what she told him to.

This is not me saying that she wasn't truly worried about him getting hurt, of course, but when you take David's comment into consideration along with the second title card, it just seems disconcerting:

...I had to read this twice to really make sure I read it correctly. And again, this feels like it reinforces what we saw above, with Georgia not being able to handle David pushing back: The idea that she would be (and is) more concerned about her own image and her coming across as unappealing than anything else.

Which we again saw with the last title card and the ending of the story being that "the wife was listened to. All was right with the world." That was apparently the victory here more than anything else, at least for Georgia. And she is very good at not making this the most visible thing on the surface, but once you really think about what she is saying (he's 53 years old and embarrassing and has delusions of grandure grandeur), it starts to become a lot more apparent.

So those are my thoughts on the video. I could be wrong about all of the above, but this was what I took from it. I'm glad it all turned out well, though, and to see how proud David seemed of himself once he did get down from the tree (and him wearing that adorable stripey sweater again). Happy to hear from folks in the comments as well with your thoughts...

[greeneyed-thestral]

I MET MICHAEL SHEEN. 16/03/24, National Theatre

So, if you've read my post about booking tickets to see Michael, you know all about my what-ifs. But the day was finally here.

I arrived at the National Theatre, followed all the Nye signs and here's the Olivier Theatre. I made my sister buy me the show's programme, hoping I would be able to get it signed.

I find my seat, I'm not in the centre but the stage still feels very close and you can see everything (amphitheatres are always the best).

Lights out. The audience is in religious silence. Can't believe I'm actually here, this is happening.

[skip this part in smaller font, if you want to avoid spoilers] In the words of Staged, he really loses himself in his roles. First of all, it's great to hear him speak in a Welsh accent.

But then we also see him turning back into a child, and you can totally believe he's young and innocent again. His stutter feels so real, his struggle and sadness too. The entire ensamble is great during the classroom scene, where they all help Nye against their bullying teacher (using those big canes to make him look scary really works). Hearing young Nye confessing that at times he thinks he 'shouldn't exist' because of who he is was a gut punch; Michael's delivery of that whole part is incredible, in that moment he really becomes a little boy that allows himself to feel vulnerable and says something dark to a friend. The way he jumps while saying "I can visualise and enunciate!" made me wanna jump too, he was ready to give up and then he found the solution through books, it's the joy and relief you feel when you realise that there is another way and your life is not over.

Now, I've watched musicals all my life and let me tell you that man is meant to be in one. He opened his mouth and all I could see was someone that had been waiting a long time for the occasion to show his talent, truly showstopping. He was so free and happy and confident, singing and dancing spectacularly. I couldn't stop smiling and giggling, we all clapped.

It's clear he means every word he says, and when he points and shouts his political arguments at the audience, those who feel called out must be shaking; I thought 'This is how people in Ancient Greece must have felt everytime they went to the theatre'. His Nye is inspiring, passionate, someone you'd want to follow, he stands up for what he believes in and lets nothing get in his way.

We get to watch him flirt, on all fours, waggling his 'tail'; everytime we think we've seen all he's capable of, he does something like this and surprises us.

But most of all, we see him being scared, first of having to do something, and then of not being able to do enough for all of us. At one point everyone has requests for Nye and I was expecting him to shout "Heal yourselves!" like Jesus in JCS, it totally conveyed what it must have been like to be in his role at the time, overwhelmed with daunting responsibilities.

In general, I appreciated the fact that it wasn't a linear biography, they chose life moments that have universal situations everyone can relate too, like they do in bio-musicals. I loved the staging. The colour palette is so recognisable; the curtains and the beds are used in many different ways so everything is explored at its full potential.

He is on stage basically all the time for more than two hours (sometimes twice a day, can you imagine?). Also barefoot and in his pajamas from start to finish, he looks like a teddy bear you just want to hug and protect.

He bows, looks at Nye's achievements, then leaves the stage.

Standing ovation, applause. I go back to the theatre lobby, I was supposed to wait for my sister, but she's late. Meanwhile, a fan asks me how to get to the Stage Door. I start too fear that I'm going to miss my chance if I keep waiting inside, so I decide to go on my own. After no more than 5 minutes, he's outside with us. Forget Nye, I am living my fever dream. He has just finished his second show of the day and yet he's smiling and listening to each and every one, signing and taking pictures. I know many have said this, but he really is an angel.

My sister arrives, and as soon as I'm sure she has the camera ready, I make my way to him. The two girls next to me who were speaking to him needed a pen and I lent them my sharpie, so I got my chance to look generous in front of him.

And suddently it was my turn. This is as much as my scrambled mind allows me to remember: I tell him I'm Francesca and I'm from Italy, he asks me how long I am going to stay, I confess that I had arrived that morning and just to see him, that I would be leaving already the following morning. I can't even focus while he's signing my programme, I just want to find the right words. I manage to say how I enjoyed seeing his passion, all these different sides of him and how watching him sing and dance has been the highlight of my evening. We take a picture together, I feel his hand on my shoulder and I realise my arm is around the waist of this person I love. I had to thank him again, telling him that he only deserves good things and that we are so lucky to have him. He wishes me a safe trip home, and I melt. I leave and I can't stop trembling. On my way back to the hotel I hold on tight to my signed programme and the sharpie that was in his hands just moments earlier. Only later I will realise that he's also written 'Ciao!', 'love' and 'X', without me asking for it or anything! Seeing him act live was a big gift already, but what followed outside was beyond my dreams. I can't look at the photos without blushing, the way he looks at me in the video and then also strokes my arm for a moment, I mean pinch me now.

The more I think about it, the more I can't believe it happened.

I want to thank everyone that under my first post pushed me and encouraged me to see the pros of doing this, I share this beautiful moment of my life with all of you. <3

[shiscarvalho]

Olha a carinha mais linda

[aydracz]

Good Omens Scavenger Hunt in London

Something's up again! Shax visited the Bandstand today to deliver Crowley's mail.

But Crowley was nowhere to be found and so she left the mail behind one of the benches around the Bandstand - together with some amazing art from @drimmsydra and @fuzzywhispersbear !

To find all the treasures, look for an angel among the bench plaques.

Please reblog this post so that it reaches as many fans as possible ❤️

Love you all!

[londonspirit]

So yeah, this happened Saturday...

... i'll do my usual London post later but I wanted to share these already!

We had planned on 'stalking' stage door as the play was sold out weeks ago. We managed to get tickets after all (it's a crazy story for later) - that man's a force of nature on stage - if you can, go and see NYE at the National; you're in for a treat too!!! *mumbles '[spoilers] and [redacted]' under breath*

And OF COURSE he was an absolute sweetheart afterwards!!! Even though Anna was waiting for him, he really took his time, made sure to talk to everyone, gave autographs and took pictures although he was tired!!! (And no, I have NO idea what's going on in the middle picture, I just noticed that he's staring RIGHT INTO MY SOUL!)

I LOVE London - city of all the opportunities!!

[tswiftupdatess]

Michael Trevino, Julie Plec and Candice King were at The Eras Tour tonight!

(August 17, 2024)

[twixnmix]

Wham! onstage during the Club Fantastic Tour at the Lyceum Theatre in London, November 1983.

Photos by Phil Dent