The Half

For 25 years, theatre photographer Simon Annand have been allowed by stage actors into their inner sanctum before they go onstage. He has captured these sacred moments taken during final half hour before curtain time called "the half". His photos are now on exhibit at the Idea Generation Gallery in Shoreditch, London until August 2012.

Above left is a photo of Cate Blanchett in Plenty at the Albery Theatre in 2000 and on the right, a very young Colin Firth in The Lonely Road at The Old Vic in 1995. To view a slideshow of other actors like Tilda Swinton, Daniel Radcliffe and David Tennant, please click here.

A Legacy in One Word

It's perfect timing that the Princess Grace Exhibit is currently showing at the TIFF Lightbox here in Toronto until Jan. 22, 2012. My mom and I went to see it yesterday.

The exhibit presented a lot of her gowns and outfits particularly her famous Wedding dress, Engagement dress and the 1965 YSL mondrian dress. With everything she did, she simply exudes grace and elegance.

Photos are not allowed in the exhibit area but at least permitted in the TIFF lobby.

Other things shown in the exhibit were the posters of her movies as well as her scripts from films such as High Society and Rear Window. There were also letters from Alfred Hitchcock and Bing Crosby. The exhibit also contained theatre related articles including playbills from her shows. I recall seeing Damn Yankees and Gigi. But the most exciting thing for me was a letter from the Bucks County Playhouse confirming her contract with them in the play Torch Bearers where she was paid $50/week! Imagine that!

They also had her telegrams from friends and family congratulating her for her Oscar nomination as well as her Academy and SAG ID

Another highlight is her Oscar dress (as shown above) where she won for Country Girl as well as her Oscar statue. Also featured is her now famous Hermes Kelly bag, which started the trend that is still revered until now by fashionistas. Also very interesting to see is the dress she wore for a photo shoot in Monaco when she first met Prince Rainier. Indeed a pivotal moment in her life.

I wasn't aware that she was an avid artist and ventured in photography as well as press flower collage. There were numerous photos taken by her at the set of her movies as well as home movies of her kids and some of her friends. In fact, there was even one with Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas. It's an interesting look at the inner soul of an iconic woman.

The Grace Kelly merch at the gift shop

The TIFF lobby

Pompeii

Come visit ancient Pompeii in Discovery Times Square's exhibit, Life and Death in the Shadow of Vesuvius. They even have a special rate if you also want to see Harry Potter: The Exhibition on the same day.
The body casts were very eerie yet moving and devastating. I found myself saying a prayer for the victims.
Give yourself an hour to finish the whole exhibit because of the sheer number of artifacts on display. There's a wonderful time lapse movie where you can literally see and feel the destruction from the moment the volcano erupts until the following day.

Return of the King

If you love ancient Egypt like I do, the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit would send you into a tizzy.
It is at the Discovery Times Square Exposition until 02 January 2011.
While King Tut's mummy is never allowed to leave Egypt and his famous funerary mask has been deemed too fragile to travel since the 1980s, there is a nice ending to the exhibit that you'll feel like you've seen the Boy King.
Even more exciting, recent testing may have uncovered the cause of his untimely death. You'll have to see it for yourself to find out.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition

Muggles rejoice! Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry will premiere the opening of Harry Potter: The Exhibition here in the US. The exhibit consists of costumes, sets and other artifacts from the Harry Potter movies. It includes Quiddich costumes, sets of the Griffindor Common Room, Hagrid's Hut, The Great Hall, magical creatures such as Buckbeak and Hungarian Horntail Dragon to name a few. It runs today April 30 to Sept. 27. 2009. Check out the exhibit pictures and get your tickets at the link above!

Lani, will that now entice you to come visit in July?

(photo from msichicago.org)