A Theatre Student Studying In A Great Place For Seeing A Ton of What He Loves

By Eli Foodman, ICLC Fall 2025 Student, November 3, 2025
Read a first-hand account of a current ICLC Theater Student after their first 3 weeks in London...
Eli and friends at the theatre

My name is Eli Foodman, I’ve been here for three weeks and I’m having a great time. Part of what makes this city so special is all the shows I can see through the theatre immersion class, my internship at AKA Marketing, or just on my own time spending a minimal amount of money on great seats.

On just night two of me being here in London, before giving myself the chance to get settled, I had to go see a staple here in London, The Mousetrap. A record breaking run now in its 73rd year, this whodunnit by Agatha Christie has stayed spoiler free as in the end, each audience is sworn to secrecy so the truth never comes out until you see the play. While I may not have enjoyed the play itself, it was a relief to get on the TodayTix app and see front row tickets for £30 ($40) while on Broadway if you grab that in advance, it would typically cost you at least triple that. Some other shows that I’ve seen or am seeing at a ‘rush’ or heavily discounted rate though that app include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (twice now)!, Operation Mincemeat, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and others.

Actors on stage

A great way to see more shows is through the Theatre Immersion class. Some are taking Shakespeare and get to see more on and off the west end, but through theatre immersion alone the first show we got to see was Evita starring Rachel Zegler directed by Jamie Lloyd. This commercial hit was selling at obscene prices if you could even find any seats left in its last week. But through that class it was all included in our tuition so I didn’t have to kick myself for not seeing it. I’ll say it… I don’t like Evita, but what Jamie Lloyd does with the shows he directs by making it something completely different while keeping the source material is genius. He makes shows like Sunset Boulevard which was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen and Evita, throwing the typical sets, costumes, and visions away and makes them much more enjoyable and fun to watch while adding in jaw dropping twists that could've seemed like they were written right in the original script. I’ve said this since I’ve started to see Lloyd’s productions,  revival shouldn’t be the same thing to look at or there’s no point in a revival. Other shows we’re seeing through Theatre Immersion include My Neighbor Totoro, The Producers, The Weir and many others.

Theatre Programme

Another way that I’m seeing theatre is through my work placement, or internship, AKA Marketing. A big marketing corporation that is the sole promoter for many shows on and off of the west end such as The Phantom of the Opera, Paddington, The Importance of Being Earnest and many more. So far I have already gotten offers to see shows for free such as My Neighbor Totoro, Starlight Express, Stereophonic, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Matilda and I know there’s more offers coming.

I saw Stereophonic on Broadway back in January and I really enjoyed it but as soon as it was offered through AKA, I jumped on it and would never expect the best seats in the fourth row of the stalls (orchestra) smack in the center would be available. And I loved it even better than the first time. I didn’t get to experience this the first time being up in the mezzanine (dress circle) when it was on Broadway, but you really have to be up close and personal with the actors for  that show. It gets deep and it gets personal and it has much more of an emotional depth to it when you feel like you are with them in the recording studio making their album. 

Truth be told I love live theatre. Can you tell? There’s no better feeling than being in the same room with the performers having that connection with them as a character is walking us through a story live. And London is a great area for seeing it. I’ve only been here for three weeks, have seen five different shows, going on eight and thrilled to be seeing more.