Tea & final thoughts

It turns out that London totally lives up to the "obsessed with tea" stereotype. Tea is to London what coffee is to America, basically. I think I'm gonna stick with coffee. I tried to like tea, I really did. I went through a tea drinking phase in high school but I was just lying to myself. I really, really don't like tea. It pretty much tastes like hot leaf water, and milk and sugar don't do much to help that. But, for the assignment's sake, Camila and I went to a small cafe called Fleet Street Press and ordered a cup of tea. I was hoping that maybe, somehow, tea is magically better over here than in America, but, alas, I was underwhelmed. Sorry, Brits. We're pretty broke, so we didn't get scones or clotted cream or any sort of snack, so unfortunately we didn't get the real authentic British tea experience. That's alright, though, I had plenty of other authentic British experiences.

I hate a lot of things, but I think I had goodbyes most. This has basically been the month of my dreams. Being able to see 22 professional productions in one month is absolutely insane, and it just confirmed that this is what I want to do with my life. I've always heard that, regarding theatre, if you can imagine yourself doing anything else in the world, do that instead. There is not a single thing I would rather do in life, not a single other thing I can imagine myself doing, than creating theatre and being apart of this world. I love it beyond words, and I'm so thankful I got this chance to experience so much theatre in such an awesome way. I don't consider myself a very emotional or sentimental person, but this is one thing I can get real sappy about real quick. I knew I was passionate about theatre before this trip, but this has motivated me to do everything I can to become a working actor in a major city. And for that, I am grateful. 

Thanks, London.

scavenger hunt

"This cocktail was created by a bartender at a famous London gentleman’s club to commemorate the death of Prince Albert in 1861. Order one in the historic pub near Paddington Station named after the late Albert’s wife."

This bartender at the Victoria Pub had no earthly idea what we were talking about when we ordered the "Black Velvet". Luckily, a patron near us told her what it was (kind of), and she gave us a half pint of Guiness with a small bottle of champagne and let us make it ourselves. I didn't order one (I'm super broke) but I had a few drinks of Camila's and you know what, it was actually really good.

"This ancient bust is said to have inspired Percy Bysshe Shelley to write his famous sonnet about the “King of Kings.” The sculpture weighs 7.25 tons and dates from 1250 BC."

The Ozymandias at the British Museum. (Camila's picture, but we were together!)

"Find one of the hats made famous by Sherlock Holmes and snap a picture of yourself wearing it. While Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never refers to the hat by name, illustrators made the style synonymous with the fictional detective."

We couldn't find any actual hats, but we did find this one! At the Baker Street stop on the Bakerloo line.

"This masterpiece of nineteenth-century art was painted by a Dutchman for the artist Paul Gaugin’s bedroom; the dominant color of the painting is said to symbolize happiness."

Unfortunately, this room was closed yesterday! At the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.

However we did find this gem in the gift store! This counts, right?

"Ask a citizen of the United Kingdom to explain the game of cricket to you. (Credit only if they comply.) Document with a photograph;double points for video. List the rules of the game in your blog post."

We got our friend Chris to explain it to us. We still don't understand, though.

"Find the only portrait (oil on canvas) of Shakespeare that was likely painted from life."

At the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square

Visit London’s oldest bookshop. Ask the clerk for a voting form for the shop’s “Favourite Novels of the Past 200 Years” poll. Make your selections and submit your vote.

Do we get double points for seeing Bill Nighy at Hatchard's?

These twentieth-century paintings were originally intended as murals for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City, but they are now displayed in a dimly-lit room of a London art museum. Find them.

By Mark Rothko in the Tate Museum of Modern Art

This sixteenth-century painting by an Italian artist depicts a woman chained to a rock, threatened by a sea monster. Fortunately for her, a hero is on hand to save the day. The mythological scene is taken from Ovid.

Unfortunately, Andromeda and Perseus is in storage in the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square.

And finally, Order a bowl of this gelatinous cockney delicacy, made popular by workers looking for cheap, nutritious eats. Douse with chili vinegar and plenty of pepper. (It’ll help with the fishy taste.) In true Harry Potter fashion, you will automatically win the scavenger hunt if you eat the entire bowl. (Video proof required.)

No.

fringe theatre

In 2012, my high school's theatre department was invited to perform in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. The festival consisted of massive amounts of theatre, some pretty well known works and some brand new. I think the best (and maybe worst) part of fringe theatre is that you never really know what you're going to get. We saw a pretty terrible production of one of my favorite shows, The Last 5 Years, and an absolutely beautiful production of a show that had never been produced before, about three young boys in the middle of war with absolutely no speaking. I'm a huge fan of fringe theatre because it's full of young people who are passionate about theatre and aren't afraid to fail. Fringe theatre isn't about being commercial and appealing to a wide audience, it's about pushing the envelope and creating raw, real theatre.

Last night I finally got a chance to see a fringe show and went to Hampstead Theatre's production of Luna Gale by Rebecca Gillman. We had studied the show in an acting class that I had taken this previous semester and I loved it. It's a very new, edgy, and rarely produced show, so being able to see it performed after just studying it was great. It follows a social worker, Caroline, as she tries to help the minor child Luna Gale, whose taken away from her teenage, meth-addict parents and put in the grandmother's care. However, the grandmother, a devout Christian, said some concerning things about Christianity, her daughter, and the baby, making Caroline doubt Luna's placement and side with her sweet but troubled parents, Karlie and Peter. Caroline suggests they make up a story about how Karlie's former step-dad molested her, and how her mother didn't believe her when she told her. Although Karlie went along with the "story" like it never happened, it turns out that she was molested by her step-father as a teenager, and although she didn't tell her mom, she didn't have to in order for it to be obvious. That scene, where Peter is describing the event to Karlie's mom, was a stand out. It made me feel disgusted and heartbroken, and the mother's reaction of continuing to say she didn't know because Karlie never told her was enraging. There was not one weak link in this cast (Karlie's American accent sucked, but other than that she was fantastic), Peter was the real stand out. He was endearing, sweet, and so in love with Karlie that it made you hurt for him. If we had more time, I would definitely recommend this show to anyone here.

day twenty something

I grew up doing summer community theatre in an amphitheater in our local park, and St. Louis is home to the nations largest outdoor amphitheater, so seeing The Seagull in Regent's Park Open Air Theater kind of reminded me of home. Outdoor theatre has its pros and cons, both from an actor and audience member's point of view. There are the obvious drawbacks, like unpredictable weather (which we almost saw last night), and, uncontrollable outside noises, but I think my least favorite thing about outdoor theatre is it's lack of formality. This isn't necessarily pertaining to productions themselves, but more with the members of the audience. Because we're seated outdoors, I think audience members feel more comfortable with getting up in the middle of a scene and going to the bathroom, or whispering loudly to their neighbor their opinion of the show. Along with the number of other distractions that could happen at any given moment outdoors - a plane going by, thunder, or a bird pooping on one of the actors on stage (it's happened in a show I was in, it's a real threat!) - it can make for disengaged audience. However, this can also be a fun challenge for the cast and creative team of a show. They know they have to make the show so engaging that they hold the audiences attention even during those inevitable outside distractions. This is something I think The Seagull did a fairly good job with.

The set, consisting of a giant mirror propped above the stage, a grass floor, and a lake upstage, was enticing and interactive. It allowed the audience to see absolutely everything, even things the other characters on stage didn't. It also felt very natural, it didn't seem intrusive or out of place at all. The effect could really only be achieved in the outdoor space. If they did the same set in a classic proscenium, I think it would feel very mechanical and like-a-set. But, because it was surrounded by the trees and flowers of the park, it looked like it belonged there. Another great thing about the outdoor theatre experience is that it can sometimes be a little immersive. For example, when it started to rain onstage, it started to drizzle on the audience as well, allowing the audience to feel like we were in the house with them.

Ultimately, the only thing I remember not liking about seeing The Seagull outdoors was sometimes it was a little difficult to hear. Despite this, I thought the outdoor space allowed the production to be innovative and fresh while still staying true to Chekhov's story.

Day 23 & 24

I did not have very high expectations for Bend It Like Beckham coming into the show, yet it somehow still managed to fall short.

Let's start with the good. The set, costumes, and lights were all very intriguing and fun. I loved the rotating panels, the tricks they did with the soccer ball, and the Indian singing. I'm also a huge fan of Lauren Samuels, who played Jules, and I thought she was easily the best actor and singer in the show. Jess, played by Natalie Dew, was also a strong actor, although the part was not very vocally demanding and I thought her voice was weak at times. I also thought they had a very strong supporting cast in the girl's soccer team. They brought great energy and were fun to watch, but none of them actually talked, which I thought was a huge waste of talent. Generally, the music didn't do it for me. However, "Glorious" was beautiful and had some awesome harmonies.

Now the bad. The script and plot were weak and irrelevant. The movie the show was based on was made in 2002, so it's taken 13 years to take it to the stage, and it's lost its relevance. David Beckham, while still in the media every now and then, was far more popular in 2002, and not many people care about him now. Not to mention, hardly anyone knows who Mia Hamm, Jules' soccer idol, is anymore. Hardly any of the music was memorable, and I think they could've easily cut two or three songs. Also, a good chunk of the show was full of bad acting. At times, it kind of felt like I was watching a high school production with some awesome technical elements. In particular, Mrs. Bhamra, played by Natasha Jayetileke, was one of the most annoying characters I have ever seen on stage, ever. All in all, the play was poorly executed, and nothing really blew me away. Not to say that I hated my life during every moment of the show, but all in all, it was pretty bad.

However, today we saw two beautiful shows, Elephant Man starring Bradley Cooper and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Both were touching, funny, and all around lovely. It was certainly a refresher after last night.

Day 22

(Days 17-21 were spent in Paris, blog on that to come soon).

The Victoria and Albert Museum was established in 1852. Their primary attraction is design: architecture, fashion, etc. According to the website, their "founding principle was to make works of art available to all, to educate working people and to inspire British designers and manufacturers" (vam.ac.uk).

When we first got to the museum, Camila, Erin and I all headed straight to the fashion exhibit. Something that immediately caught my eye was the section on modern fashion (I've never really been one for history), and in particular this black jumpsuit covered in sequins.

The masculine features and tuxedo-like look of the piece made me think of the two leading women in the Shakespeare shows we saw at the Globe Theatre. Portia from Merchant of Venice and Rosalind from As You Like It both cross-dressed in order to get what they want. More-so in Portia's case than Rosalind's, it allowed her to be taken more seriously and achieve something she wouldn't have been able to if she was dressed as a woman. 

Women's fashion has always had masculine influences, and that's because masculinity is associated with power. Unfortunately, women are perceived as more authoritative when wearing suits, structured blazers, or inspired pieces like the one above (minus the sequins), rather than feminine dresses. This connects back with Shakespeare's shows and the amount of cross dressing women had to do to get shit done. Not to say Shakespeare didn't have a number of strong female characters, but, for the most part, in order to establish control or dominance, they had to dress like men. 

Unfortunately, we still see the stereotypes and gender roles at play today, as there's an abundance of men-inspired women's clothes, but you'll hardly see largely feminine inspired men's clothes.

Somehow this blog post turned into a post about feminism. Not mad about it though.

Day 16

The production of Everyman at the National Theatre was easily the coolest thing I have ever seen on stage. Even though we had read the script in class, I still didn't know what to expect. I had looked up production photos, and the website had a warning for drug references and language, which the script we read had none of, so I figured it was going to be a bit different. It was a lot different. In the best way possible, though. The text was adapted by Carol Ann Duffy, and it changed almost everything about the show while keeping the original message in tact. Not only did it make the show funny, poignant, and smart, but it made it much more accessible to modern audiences.

One of my favorite things about the show was how they still made references to the old text/language while completely changing the text itself. There would be little rhyming couplets here and there, or quotes or references from the Bible. Also, even though this is a small thing, I'm glad they kept his name Everyman. I'm not sure what I was expecting when they started the show, but since the show was much more human rather than representational, as I felt the script was, I wasn't sure if they would refer to him as Everyman. Not only did they do that, but they gave him the nickname "Ev", and called the younger version of him "Everyboy". It gave the show a Brechtian effect, and reminded the audience they were watching a play. It was incredibly effective and memorable.

While the text was extremely different from the original, and I can see how others could see it as they were "trying too hard" to make it modern, I thought it made the show that much more appealing to modern audiences. The show was the definition of theatrical, and it's one of the most memorable pieces of theatre I've ever seen.

nationaltheatre.org.uk

Day 14

Westminster Abbey is an absolutely gorgeous church filled with intricate and beautiful sculptures, paintings, and ornaments. Unfortunately, I can't show you those intricate and beautiful sculptures, paintings and ornaments because you can't take pictures inside the church. Moreover, that's where most of the actors/dramatists were buried, making this scavenger hunt hard to complete. However, there were a several recognizable names we saw on our way through the church, most buried in poets corner. Among which we saw Ben Jonson (author of On My First Son, one of my favorite poems), Charles Dickens, Noel Coward, Anne Bracecirdle, Laurence Olivier, William Congreve, and David Garrick. I wish we were able to find more actor's graves/take pictures of them, I love a little competition, but this one was a little hard to do. Sorry, at least twenty actors buried or memorialized in Westminster Abbey.

Side note: We go to Paris tomorrow. Not a big deal, not a big deal at all.

Day 13

The question of whether or not Waiting for Godot is a comedy, or at least, sometimes funny, entirely depends on the production. The script itself is up to interpretation, so it pretty much falls upon the director and the actors to find the comedy. While it's completely possible to make it completely a drama, I think a Waiting for Godot with no comedy would be a very slow, hard-to-sit-through show.

The version of Godot we saw last night at The Barbican Theatre fell somewhat short of what I was expecting in the comedy department. After watching McKellen and Stewart find the humor so effortlessly, I was kind of expecting to be in stitches. It had it's moments, Gogo and Didi's imitation of Pozzo and Lucky and Lucky's dramatic fall off the side of the stage come to mind, but I think this production was more of a funny tragedy than a tragic comedy.

One thing that really contributed to this is the portrayal of Pozzo and Lucky. I did not read Pozzo nearly as villainous as Philip Quast played him. I thoroughly enjoyed his take on Pozzo, and I think it had comedic moments of it's own, but the manipulative and destructive relationship between Pozzo and Lucky made it almost uncomfortable to laugh at times. While reading the script, I thought Pozzo was this over the top, completely ridiculous caricature, and Lucky his shy and somewhat off-beat servant. Despite him being Lucky's master, I did not read Pozzo nearly as mean, degrading, and, at some times, evil, as he was in the production. Because of this, I think some moments that could have been read as funny in the script were hard to watch on stage.

Before Godot yesterday, we spent the morning at Hampton Court Palace, where numerous Kings and Queens resided. It had one of the most beautiful gardens I had ever seen, and every room had such extravagant and beautiful paintings and decorations. Not a bad place to spend your days as a monarch in England.

Days 10, 11, & 12 (I think)

This whole counting days thing is starting to throw me off.

Borough Market (which I talked a little bit about last time) has a massive array of amazing looking and smelling food. Everything from Greek to German to grilled cheeses (which I got!), you really can't go wrong. Plus, there's a fruit stand where I got five apples for one pound. What's not to like?

On Saturday, we went to Portobello Market in Notting Hill. It basically felt like a massive farmer's market, but better. Not only were there lots of shops along that road, but there were tons of clothes, jewelry, antiques, and food. And, they had the cutest houses all painted bright pastel colors.

There were also a fair amount of performers in the market. Most were playing music, but my personal favorite was the headless couple taking pictures with people.

The food section was particularly magical. The entire section smelled absolutely heavenly. Camila and I decided to get fresh coconut water (out of an actual coconut) for only two pounds. I had never had it before, but it was definitely a good choice, if nothing else than for the pictures we got out of it. After all, everything we do, we do for Instagram.

Portobello Market was filled with great stuff, and I wish I could go there with 100 pounds to spend because I'm sure I would have a field day. I was able to get one of my best friends from back home a souvenir, and I saw tons of other things that would make great souvenirs for some other friends and family back home, too, so I'm sure I'll be back.

The only downside to these market places is the sheer amount of people. It's like you're swimming through crowds and it's incredibly easy to lose people. Sometimes, that can get overwhelming, but I guess that's what the city of London is like, too. And let's face it, I'd rather be in the middle of a massive herd of people than in the middle of nowhere. So, overlooking the slightly claustrophobic nature of these markets, they're a pretty cool way to spend a beautiful morning in London.

Yesterday was one of my favorite days. We took a picnic to Hyde Park, which kind of reminds me of London's version of Central Park. After the picnic, the rest of the group went to see Princess Diana's memorial fountain, but Camila and I laid out in the sun by the lake. It was beautiful weather, a beautiful day, all around beautiful. I did get sun burnt from it. Not so beautiful. But other that: beautiful.

Days 8 & 9

24 hours later and I'm definitely not over how good The Beaux Stratagem was last night. I knew it was going to be funny because I laughed out loud while just reading the script, something I don't often find myself doing when it comes to classical and restoration pieces, but the cast and creative team took this show to another level. It was funny, charming, poignant, and all around just a great piece of theatre. I especially loved the music, and I think we'll all be singing the Trifle Song for the next few days.

Some of my favorite aspects of the show were the transitions from the Inn to Lady Bountiful's house. When I walked into the theatre and saw the set, my first thought was that they were going to have a rotating stage to switch between the two locations (which definitely would have been cool, too). However, I really liked the way they ended up handling the transitions, they were quick, seamless, and incorporated everyone, which added to the feel of an ensemble show. Not to mention, it didn't stop the action of the show at all, as transitions so often do. I loved how they payed attention to the small details that differentiated between the Inn and the house. For example, every time we transitioned to Lady Bountiful's house, they added a gold decorative piece to the end of the stair way where there wasn't one in the Inn. They also traded in their hanging lanterns for chandeliers and added tablecloths to give the house a more elegant feel. The director, cast, and crew definitely knew how to work with their set and make the most of it, and it made for a quick paced and highly enjoyable show.

(nationaltheatre.org.uk)

Erin and I also got to see the Phantom of the Opera matinee yesterday, a show that I've been dying to see live since the first time I watched the movie. It's such a beautiful show and everyone had such beautiful voices and it was all just really, really beautiful, guys. But there were a few technical difficulties, and it's always fun to be in an audience when something goes wrong in a professional production. At least I find it slightly reassuring. In the first scene where the Phantom leads Christine to his lair, they're supposed to ride a boat. Instead, they sang part of the song offstage and then he led her downstage...walking. They covered it beautifully and no one would have ever known, except for the fact the whole boat ride thing is a fairly famous part of the production. Also, when she wakes up after the song, she sings about how she remembers that there was a boat....and there was no boat. But really, it was just a little thing that didn't impact the performance or the production at all, and the show was everything I could have hoped for and more.

Today we went on a tour of the Tower of London and went to go eat lunch at Borough Market, which may make it's way into my top 3 favorite places in London. There was so much food and it all looked absolutely amazing. I feel like I'm going to frequent Borough Market throughout the next three weeks here. After, we headed to the TKTS booth and got tickets for Matilda the Musical tonight (!!!!!!!!), and then went to go buy tickets for The Elephant Man starring Bradley Cooper for the matinee performance on the 18th (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).




I like this place a lot.

Days 6 & 7

It's hard to believe we've only been here a week. We've crammed so much into these last 7 days that it feels like we should be nearing the end of the trip, but we still have 3 more weeks! I really can't believe how lucky we are.

On Monday, we loaded out of our place at Earl's Court and made our way down to Stratford-upon-Avon for a two night stay. I had been to Stratford once before when I came to England with my high school's theatre department in 2012, and it was one of my favorite parts of the trip, so I was excited to return. Seeing Shakespeare's birthplace and (supposedly) walking on the same floors he walked on is definitely up there on the list of Cool Things I've done. 

The first night we got to Stratford, we saw Christopher Marlowe's Jew of Malta at the Swan Theatre with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The show itself does not have a lot of substantial roles for women except for Abigail, the daughter of the main character Barabas. We saw the understudy play the role of Abigail as the original actress, Catrin Stewart, was out sick. Despite being an understudy, I think Rhiannon Handy had a real grip on the character of Abigail. She is sassy, flirty, and very much her father's daughter. However, she is also defined and ruled by the men in her life, which was the way of the world for women in Marlowe's day. Her father and the two men who love her treat her as an item to be won rather than a person. Abigail dies (at her father's hands) as a nun without getting closure for her losses because the men in her life manipulated each other at her expense. 

While there are some parallells between the women in Jew of Malta and John Ford's Love's Sacrifice, there is one vast difference: the women in Love's Sacrifice get their revenge. Julia, Colona, and Morona are all, essentially, played by Ferentes and all end up pregnant by him. When they all find out that he has been telling them all the same lies, that he is loyal to only them, they plan their revenge. They (quite elaborately) kill him and, at least in the world of the show, are never reprimanded for it. The women are empowered in this, something that you don't often see in shows written at this time. It's also important to keep in mind that their roles would have been played by boys at the time when it was first produced. Ferentes is pretty explicitly sexual with these three characters, which brings in the idea of implied homosexuality. It would be interesting to see how their characters would have been handled differently because of the actors playing them, or if there is a difference at all. 

This morning we headed back to London and got our new lodgings at Pickwick Hall. I'm glad to be back in the center of things and go to Quiz Night at the Charles Dickens Pub tonight!

Days 4 & 5

In the past five days I have seen six shows. I am a very happy theatre geek right now.

   

On Friday night, we visited the National Theatre to see Caryl Churchill's A Light Shining in Buckinhamshire. The theatre is nationally subsidized, and has been putting on shows in it's current location in Southbank since 1976. The National Theatre Act was passed in Parliament in January of 1949, but it had some trouble starting up. Almost ten years passed after the bill went through Parliament, and still nothing had happened. In fact, in 1961, the Government declared that Britain did not have enough money to have a national theatre. Luckily, "the LCC offered to pay half the cost of construction, in addition to providing the site rent free" (nationaltheatre.org.uk). In 1963, their first performance of Hamlet was put on at The Old Vic, one of the two sites of the National Theatre that is no longer apart of it today. The National Theatre now describes itself as a theatre that is "dedicated to the constant revitalization of the great traditions of the British stage and to expanding the horizons of audiences and artists alike" (nationaltheatre.org.uk). 

In some respects, Buckinghamshire fulfills the purpose of the National Theatre as it is an incredibly political and opinionated show that could expand the horizons of theatre-goers. However, you have to go in to the show knowing a thing or two about the British Civil War to really grasp the show. Although to be honest, even then, major themes and plot points could fly right over your head. The show was pretty hard to follow in that it was difficult to keep up with the many different characters and the choppy and seemingly unrelated scenes. Despite this, the show was technically beautiful. The Lyttelton Theatre lent itself wonderfully to the extravagant set. When the curtain opened at the top of the show, there was a collective gasp throughout the audience at how surreal and fantastical the set was. The songs that were interspersed throughout helped keep the audience intrigued as well, and those were some of my favorite parts of the show.

The next day, Saturday, was definitely my favorite day of the trip so far. Some of us won the lottery tickets to see Book of Mormon, one of my very favorite shows, in the front row. I've seen it once before, but definitely not like that. I think I watched the entire show smiling like an idiot. We all made eye contact with some of the performers at least once, and Elder Cunningham even came over and sang part of Man Up to me! Ah! We even stage-doored the show after and met a few of the leads and got pictures. That whole experience was basically the pinnacle of cool for me, which makes me the biggest nerd ever, but I'm okay with that.

That night we got to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, my 4th time seeing the show. That theatre is one of the biggest theatres I have ever been in, I can't imagine playing to that audience 8 times a week. The show, as per usual, was fantastic and beautiful. I can't believe I got to see two huge West End shows in one day, one being in the first row. Life is really, really good right now. Cheers!  

Day 3

Watching The Merchant of Venice in the yard of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre definitely qualifies as one of the highlights of my life. I've been involved with theatre since I was in third grade, and every drama class I've ever taken has at least one in depth section focusing on Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre, so to actually step foot inside it was absolutely surreal. Not going to lie, when I heard that we were standing for this performance, I did a little internal groan. Not that I wasn't excited, but the idea of standing for nearly three hours watching what I thought was going to be a pretty heavy and dramatic show was not the most enticing. I couldn't have been more wrong, though. Standing in the yard, maybe 4 feet from the edge of the stage, was the most fun I've ever had in the theatre. As soon as the show started with a lavish song and dance, I was in awe. It was like we had been invited to party with them, and I just stood starting up at the stage, smiling like an idiot. If before I had wanted to be sitting in the seats, now there was no place I'd rather be than standing in the yard. The performance was unlike any Shakespeare I've ever seen, and I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to enjoy Shakespeare the same way again. His shows were made to be played to the audience and to interact with the yard. In fact, I had so much fun standing there for three hours, that Camila and I are choosing to stand for As You Like It when we see it even though we have actual seats. 

There were plenty of stand out performances in the show, but Jonathan Pryce as Shylock was truly incredible. This show can be a difficult one to perform in and direct because, as we talked about, the antisemitism can be taken commentary or as actual antisemitism. Shylock himself can really be played as either a hero or a villain, and what I like about Pryce's performance is that he landed somewhere in between. He was human. One of the most profound moments in the show was his monologue to Antonio, asking if Jews were not unlike Christians. He's a man who has been outcast his entire life for his religion and been told he was unworthy because he was different, and he's simply asking if he can be seen as a person rather than plague on society. The final scene of Shylock's christening, which this production added in, made me feel sick to my stomach. Pryce's agony was so guttural and heart-wrenching, and it made me feel almost dirty watching it, like I was watching someone's death. It was beautiful and it absolutely broke my heart. His performance not only made me critically think about society and the way we treat those who are considered "different", but made me want to be a better person. And that is what great theatre is supposed to do.

Days 1 & 2

It's odd to go from counting down the days for months to actually being in London, but we're definitely here. It's still kind of surreal, and I find myself constantly having "pinch yourself" moments because even the mundane, ordinary things are made that much cooler simply because we're in London. I don't know if I have ever been more tired in my life than I was our first day. I'm not very good at sleeping anywhere else but a bed, so I hardly slept on the plane, and we hit the ground running as soon as we got here. I have been to London once before, and I vaguely (and I do mean vaguely) remember taking the tube. Mostly I remember how crowded it was, and I found my memory served me correctly as we got on the Piccadilly line to explore some of London with our professors. The tube was fairly easy to navigate with our leaders guiding us, but the adrenaline and excitement hit us when they left us in the middle of Leicester Square by ourselves. We took the tube to Embankment with the mission of finding The London Eye, The National Theatre, and Shakespeare's Globe. Predictably, the first was the easiest to find, as you could see it from a mile away.

 The National Theatre proved a bit harder to find, though it was only a short walk away. The theatre had a lot of fun advertisements for their show, Everyman (which we're seeing June 10th!), including a huge wall with finger pointing down painted on it, and a spot indicating where to stand if you want your picture with it (like I did).

 After most of us got our photo shoot in, we realized we couldn't find The Globe on the dinky little map we had, so we had to make like real tourists and ask for directions. It ended up being about a fifteen minute walk down the Thames River. When we finally found it, we made our way across the Millennium Bridge and back on the tube to Earl's Court.

That night, some of the girls and I went to go see The Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre. We had gone to the TKTS booth earlier that day and got pretty great seats for only twelve pounds. I've never been to a "scary" show, so, as a horror film buff, I was very excited to see this production. At this point, I had been up since 8:30 the previous morning, and as much as I hate to admit it, I was very close to dozing off during the beginning of the show. It wasn't boring by any means, but it was like most horror movies in that it had a relatively slow beginning. However, after the woman made her first appearance about half an hour in, I was wide awake. It was so new and wonderful to be terrified like that in live theater. We were also on the balcony, and even though it's a small theatre and we had a wonderful view, I can't imagine how much more intense it is on the floor. The actors make entrances and exits through the audience, include the woman in black. I can pretty confidently say that I would've had trouble sleeping for the next week if she came up close to me in that audience.
The following night we saw The Father at the Tricycle Theatre. I don't think I've ever cried more in a show. It was one of the most beautiful, honest, heart-breaking shows I have ever seen, and a reminder to me of why I love theatre and why I want to act. I could sing it's praises all day long, but that would be a very long blog post. So I will end it here.
I can't put into words how excited I am for the rest of this month!