Our trip to London to see Emil and the Detectives.

Top marks to the children detectives who exposed the Hannover Bank Thief - all in an afternoon at the National Theatre! 

This weekend, my husband (Nick), our two children, (Abigail and William) and I went into London to see Emil and the Detectives at the National Theatre.  I love going into London and over the last few years have consciously made the effort to visit our great capital more often.  Although originally a ‘southerner’, for a period of time I lived just north of Newcastle but eventually I was lured back to the south by friends, family and a warmer climate.  When I returned, I could be heard saying to fiends “It’s great being so close to London again” with the implication that I would indeed partake of all that London has to offer.  However, the busyness of life and family meant that trips into London seldom happened and so I’m glad to say this is no longer the case.  Particular thanks go to my in-laws who often generously pay for the cultural experiences that we have the benefit of enjoying and this weekend’s excursion was no exception. We arrived at the theatre in plenty of time for our 2pm matinee where we met up with 'Granny and Grandpa', spent a little time looking through the programme before entering the Olivier theatre.

My daughter Abigail has always loved shows and performance; this passion increasing day-by-day as she rehearses for her school’s forthcoming production of Grease (more of that another time).  I realise that we are immensely privileged to be able to see a play at the National Theatre as a family and I wanted my children to appreciate this too, particularly as I didn’t get as many opportunities at their age.  As a parent I try and strike that balance between not constantly comparing their childhood to mine by pointing out all the many things they receive that were either not invented or too expensive for my parents to give to me at their age and ensuring that they can simply relish fun times for what they are without a debt of gratitude hanging around their necks! 

Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed by their obvious pleasure in seeing a top performance in a renowned London Theatre.  It was great to watch them enthralled by the story and impressed at the illusion-like lighting and scenery which created an atmospheric setting for the young boy Emil, who, whilst travelling on a train to 1920’s Berlin, was robbed of his 140 marks (meant for his Grandma).   Emil is determined not to let his mother down and seeks to keep track of the thief in the whirling metropolis that is Berlin in order to reclaim his money.  The camaraderie of the many diverse children he meets in Berlin (the detectives) reflects the ability of human-kind to ignore their cultural differences and come together to act for the sake of what is right.  It’s an inspiring story in which the children are the example of honourable behaviour, juxtaposed to the poor judgment of the adult world.  The audience too are drawn into the action and are asked to “stand up for Emil”, which of course we do and so along with the detectives we feel part of the plot to enable Emil to not only catch the thief—the respectable looking Mr Snow—but expose his notorious identity as the Hannover bank thief.  Just occasionally it was hard to hear the dialogue of some of the children but apart from this, the array of twists and turns both in the storyline and the physical set (moving lampposts and bustling trams) the play was a huge success for the three generations that were represented by our family group and we would all definitely recommend it.

I have always enjoyed the buzz that is in the air when people leave the theatre following a good performance.  With the additional excitement of characters from the play running about the stalls during the final scenes of Emil and the Detectives; imparting a ripple of energy that continuing beyond the final bow, that post-show buzz was perhaps more tangible than ever.  As we pulled on our coats amongst the smiles and chatter of those around us re-living moments of the play, we made our way across the river Thames to seek out a pizza restaurant.  As we walked across Waterloo Bridge and looked at the view across the Thames, I thought again I do so love living close to my own, whirling, bustling and exciting metropolis that is London.