Shakespeare's England Revealed
Earlier this month 13 HSU theatre majors and minors, along with seven sponsors, flew to London for a close up look at the sights, sounds, and institutions that influenced and defined western theatre.
The students hit the ground running. An overnight flight through several time zones had everyone’s internal clocks out of synch, so their hosts hoped a day of walking, with brief rides on the tube (London’s subway) would help everyone resist the temptation to fall asleep. Destinations included Piccadilly Circus, Charing Cross and Covent Garden, with a hearty meal at a Spanish restaurant at day’s end. The plan worked and body clocks quickly adjusted to the time difference. No one had trouble sleeping that night.
Students at the National Theatre
The third day’s activities read like a brochure of must-see London locales: Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Everyone was famished by the time they stopped for dinner in Chinatown.
After this frenzied introduction to London, the pace slowed a bit with a trip to the Tower of London. A Yeoman Warder (or Beefeater) regaled the group with stories of the tower’s more unfortunate residents. His colorful accounts of the gruesome early days in the Tower’s history left more than one student in need of some fresh air and a little distraction, and everyone was relieved when the next stop showcased the crown jewels and not a chopping block. Dinner (English food finally) was followed by a visit to the Apollo Theatre to see the musical “Wicked.�
In the days that followed, students attended a workshop at a reproduction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (the original burned in 1613 and again in 1644), visited his childhood home at Stratford-upon-Avon, and attended several plays in London. The group had a chance to visit the National Theatre (where the group photo is taken) and the Drury Lane Theatre Royal (for a production of “The Lord of the Rings� musical, and Oxford before making the long return flight home.
0 Comments
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Click here for our full user agreement.