My essentials: Eliza Aquilina’s cultural picks

1. Book

Unfortunately, under normal circumstances, I don’t read many books however, being in lockdown for long months, I started reading more often. I remember spotting Tracey Chevalier’s ‘The Virgin Blue’, at a charity shop in London, and it immediately caught my eye. The minute I finished the book, I knew I wanted to buy the rest of the books in her collection. Chevalier writes period dramas (my favourite) and it fascinates me how society still faces the same problems it did years ago. Nothing has changed!

2. Film/TV

I am a horror fan. I love it. And, if you are a horror fan, you must love Stephen King’s work. I decided to watch ‘Green Mile’ recently and, being a film based on King’s work I assumed it’s horror, I spent the entire film crying my eyes out. Starring the brilliant Tom Hanks and the late Michael Clarke Duncan, it’s a powerful story of a black man wrongly convicted of murder. I’d highly recommend it.

3. Internet

I do not follow any influencers or blogs on social media. Usually, I just watch random cooking videos but I don’t particularly search for them. On the other hand, I watch Netflix shows constantly and my favourite would be true-crime series. I find it fascinating and, at the same time, so difficult to understand how people manage to change drastically, and psychologically, that they end up committing horrible crimes. This sounds silly but sometimes I feel as if I’m solving the case myself.

4. Music

I love musical theatre and the last musical I’ve seen was ‘& Juliet’ by David West Read and Max Martin. The album is on repeat, every day, with me singing along at the top of my voice. A particular song I like is ‘It’s My Life’ by Bon Jovi. I love Bon Jovi’s songs so, when they played it during the show, it was the cherry on an already beautifully decorated cake.

5. Place

I’ve always dreamed of going to Hawaii and I will one day. In 2016, I produced a musical on the West End called ‘The Last Queen of Paradise’. The show told the story of the last Hawaiian monarch and how the country became one of the states of America. I have done a lot of research about the royal family, their palaces, their history, their politics etc and the only thing that’s missing is a personal visit.