This post was meant to be dedicated exclusively to Tough Mudder, but it’s never that simple. I’ve since fallen down a rabbit hole of Childish Gambino songs, intermittently interwoven with Sergei Polunin dancing to Hozier. And I’m having flashbacks of a fascinating discussion I had yesterday in which I was arguing that books are a more appropriate metaphor for relationships than crossover episodes. The point being that it will take us a while to get to the topic at hand.
A lot has happened this week. Let’s begin with Open House London – London’s take on the European tradition of offering free entrance to museums and historic sites once a year. Interestingly, the London version goes a step further, offering access to exclusive buildings – even Downing Street is open, though it does require participating in a ballot long before the Open House weekend.
I ventured down to the Dulwich Picture Gallery for the Rembrandt’s Light exhibition. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there were only two Rembrandt paintings exhibited, though one of them was genuinely stunning: Girl at a Window. Apparently, when he first painted it in 1645, Rembrandt put it behind the windows of this house and passersby mistook the girl for a real person.
That’s it for Open House London, though I now know to plan ahead for next year, so we’re moving on to the second item in my pre-Tough Mudder agenda: David Hare’s Peter Gynt, a modern reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. It’s hard to remake a classic – things always get lost along the way. In this case, relationships between the characters were undeveloped and a few scenes came out of nowhere, but overall the effect was striking – and, importantly for a modern interpretation, relevant.
It’s never quite clear whether what’s happening is in the main character’s mind or in reality, but that lack of realism was central to the plot. Certain scenes, such as when Peter meets the keeper of the local asylum, were phenomenally staged, but others were unnecessary: what was with the singing? It felt as though the performance temporarily became a musical, only to give up and return to normal. Perhaps because it was so long, Peter Gynt felt chaotic at times. In summary, though it’s still not the “next play to blow my mind”, it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Finally, we’ve arrived at Tough Mudder London South, which was actually held over in Horsham. I didn’t find the challenge itself particularly difficult, but I did enjoy the positive environment, with complete strangers more than happy to help each other out. The hardest moment was probably more psychological: breaking the mud barrier. We’re so used to being clean at all times that the first leap into mud felt unnatural. From thereon in, however, it was almost second nature. And, well, the photos are great.
Swordfoosh 