BY WHATEVER standard you might succeed at British afternoon tea, Maya Erskine and I seem to be failing. We're in a large whitewalled room at the Langham hotel in London, which claims to be the birthplace of this meal and feels like being inside a wedding cake, with elaborate silver place settings and cream-colored banquettes. The clientele consists of the quietly posh and, like us, the obviously tourist. The service itself is meticulous and overwhelming: You choose your tea and then get finger sandwiches and scones (savory), followed by a dessert course with a list of treats that reads like a menu from a Redwall book-one is a "walnut whip pastry with walnut marshmallow, walnut cream, walnut sablée, and a bit of dark chocolate," our waitress tells us in a whirl of wh sounds-as well as a selection of scones (sweet). It all requires more attentiveness than Erskine currently possesses. She has just flown in from L.A. and hardly slept the night before. She had a giant late breakfast that included blood sausage, which delighted her. "The meat here tastes very meaty," she raves, while apologizing for her current lack of appetite.
Erskine is in town for the U.K. premiere of her new TV series, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, in which she plays one-half of a couple that tends to bumble through its superspy assignments. The series is based on the high-gloss 2005 Doug Liman movie starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, but it spikes that concept with awkward, humanscale cringe comedy. Erskine's Jane Smith and her partner, John, played by the show's co-creator Donald Glover, are like C-minus students in an AP class, as director Hiro Murai and Francesca Sloane, the show's other co-creator, described them to Erskine.
Esta historia es de la edición February 12-25, 2024 de New York magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 12-25, 2024 de New York magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Trapped in Time
A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.
Polyphonic City
A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.
The Pluck of the Irish
Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"
Houston's on Houston
The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.
These Jeans Made Me Gay
The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
Deli Meat Is Rotten