The Reduced Shakespeare Company and other shows-
I'd been told countless times that the only place to see shows or musicals that rival or exceed those on Broadway is London. We certainly couldn't walk through four days of dusty old artifacts and tales of beheadings without having a respite and taking in a show. Rather than opting for a musical, we chose the highly-recommended Reduced Shakespeare Company's rendition of the Bard's complete works.

That's right... all of Willie's comedies, dramas and historical plays, summed up in a couple of uproarious hours. The performance is hilarious, and is put on by (surprisingly) an all-American trio, who managed to keep the mostly-English audience laughing throughout. The play is a mix of physical comedy, musical numbers, and some crude (possibly offensive) humor. If you don't want to see sock puppets humping, or think Shakespeare done to rap is sacrilege, stay away.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company can be found performing in the Criterion Theatre, in the midst of the theatre district in Piccadilly(!). Our tickets were an affordable and worthwhile 10 quid. Though the theatre wasn't full, it wouldn't hurt to plan ahead and reserve tickets or buy them ahead of time at the box office.

Bars/Clubs-
We had some ideas about where we wanted to go before we arrived in London. After all, the world famous Ministry of Sound was right down the street from our hostel, and there was also the Gallery Turnmills, which has featured Paul van Dyk, among others.

Our preconceptions were dashed however, by the multitude of opinions we encountered among the locals and other more experienced punters. Some told us Ministry was overrated, some thought it was okay, some said Turnmills was lousy, others liked it... and of course the dodgy men had their own ideas about where we should go. We were a bit hampered by the fact that we were tired and/or sick on one of our designated clubbing nights, so we didn't fully immerse ourselves in the London clubbing experience as we had hoped. However, we did manage to make it to Fabric our last night (following a group from the hostel), and there's always Belushi's, the endearing joint that's connected to St. Christopher's Village hostel.

Fabric, the only true club that we made it to. It was unlike anything we had experienced in the U.S., for sure. This isn't necessarily a good thing, and I don't have enough experience to be able to tell if this is typical for London/European clubs. First, the cover charge. It was 15 pounds on a Saturday night. That's nearly $25, or more than we paid for any club in Vegas. Expect exorbitant weekend rates like that at any of London's bigger clubs. Thankfully, the coat check was only a pound.

When we arrived at the club it was at capacity, so we were forced to wait outside for half an hour or so. The club is kind enough to provide large umbrellas for its prospective patrons, which in this case protected us from a surprise snowfall. The bouncers also perform a very thorough search of all guests, presumably for alcohol/drugs, including digging through purses.

Fabric is huge. It's in an old warehouse/power plant/station. Hard to tell... all I know is that we had to walk up and down a lot of stairs, and the architecture varies tremendously, from giant, smoke-filled caverns, to cramped, smoke-filled tunnels with low overhanging ceilings. Don't be surprised if you get lost, and with all the smoke (piped in, or from the cigarettes? I couldn't tell), you might never see your companions again if you get separated.

In general, Fabric was too much for us. Too much smoke, too many people, too much blasé music, too many timid dancers. My orange shirt was the brightest article of clothing in the joint. For some reason I expected a little more flavor from the London club scene.

fabriclondon.com- not that this will be any use to you, but if you wanna see the interactive flash my 25 bones helped pay for, take a look.

Regardless, Fabric was a can't-miss experience, since it was our first time out to a London club. But there's bound to be something better in this city. Aside from the pricey cover, keep in mind that the tube stops running at 12:30am or so. This means that you're either stuck at whatever establishment until the tube opens at 6-7 in the morning, or you'll be forced to pay an ass-load for a cab ride back to your hotel/hostel (yes, the clubs are open that late). Or, you could always go to the Ministry, and then stumble back to St. Christopher's whenever you feel like it.

If you don't crave such an intense experience, you can always stick with Belushi's, as we did on a couple of occasions. This is the bar that is built into St. Christopher's Village. Surprisingly, it's a pretty popular local nightspot, attracting not only residents from the three St. Chris hostels nearby, but a few locals as well. Every night is usually pretty busy, and the place stays open until 2am. Occasionally, a DJ or local music group will be brought in. Don't expect a wide variety of music (we heard a few songs 3-4 times in one night), but it can only improve the atmosphere. The staff at Belushi's is a little crazy... seeing them dancing on the bar and pouring free champagne into the mouths of the patrons isn't unheard of. Belushi's specializes in 'uge frozen beverages served directly in pitchers you're supposed to drink out of. Despite the repetitive music and the fact that nobody that's actually English seems to be able to dance, Belushi's offers a lively atmosphere and good times. BTW- you can also order food there during the day.

belushis.com- czech out the czich on the right in the bottom pic. She was part of the house cover duo that entertained our first night at Belushi's... she's got quite a nice, um... voice.

The Slug & Lettuce is another popular hangout located near the Village. The food is decent, and it's filled with local youth most nights. Don't expect any sort of dancing though.

slugandlettuce.co.uk- there's nothing like being able to see how much your lemon myrtle seasoned chicken will cost you ahead of time!

Time Out-
This is a necessity if you plan on finding ways to entertain yourself during your London stay. Time Out is a weekly entertainment guide that gives you the lowdown on what's happening, when and where, and whether it's worth seeing. Contrary to what we were told, it's not free (I learned this the hard way when the clerk told me "this is London, everything costs money!" An understatement I'd say.)!

Time Out tells you what to expect during the week at all of the clubs worth mentioning, from the act (though I swear Groove Armada was not spinning at Fabric, as advertised) to the cover and even the nearest tube stop. A must buy.