Richard III

Of all the theatre performances I’ve been to for my Play Critique class, tonight’s was the one I was most excited about. After a wonderful Indian dinner at a little place near Waterloo, we headed to the Old Vic Theatre to see the production of Shakespeare’s Richard III starring Kevin Spacey and directed by Sam Mendes. I’ll admit I was a bit star-struck. I’ve been going on for days about how amazing Kevin Spacey is, so the opportunity to see a production firsthand promised to be incredible. And it was, well at least for the most part. We arrived on time and were promptly led to our seats, top balcony and as far to the stage as possible. In fact, we were so close to the edge of the stage (except many feet above) that we were seated almost directly behind a lighting scaffold. Though I was warned that our seats were not the best in the house, I had at least expected be able to see. Rather, we spent the first two hours craning our necks and teetering almost dangerously over the balcony railing to catch a glimpse of the action on stage. Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s most intense histories, depicting the story of the madman king who murdered his way to the throne. Kevin Spacey (at least from what we could see) dazzled in the role of the deformed and demented Richard. The performance itself took a modern turn, recalling the 1950s style of Sir Ian McKellan’s turn as the murderous monarch in the 1995 film. Aside from the awful seating arrangements, the only negative thing I can say about the play is the length. At three and a half hours, not even Kevin Spacey can keep things from dragging a bit.

Sophie and I at the Old Vic.

After the performance, Sophie and I headed to Covent Garden to meet up with our visitors form France (Lauren, Loren and Josh!) who are in town for the weekend. We had a quick drink before the pub closed and caught up on the last few weeks of our adventures. I think tomorrow we’re headed out to Hampton Court to see where King Henry VIII lived. Should be a good, but busy weekend :)

Being Shakespeare

I went to see the one man show “Being Shakespeare” at Trafalgar Studios tonight. It was required for my Shakepeare course and is the last play I have to attend alone, which is a nice relief. I was honestly expecting to be rather bored. We have already discussed Shakespeare’s history in my class and the idea of listening to one man talk for two straight hours is a bit off-putting, but I went anyways and actually found it rather enjoyable.

Trafalgar Studios (from far away).

The performance itself (by actor Simon Callow of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” fame) was a great mix of Shakespeare’s life and quotes from his work. As he spoke about Shakespeare’s time working as an actor, he quoted from “As You Like It,” as he discussed Shakespeare’s illness in old age, he quoted “King Lear,” etc. It was a surprisingly entertaining telling of information that I was already familiar with, plus a few interesting facts I was unaware of. All in all, I really enjoyed the performance including the ice cream at intermission. :)

Despite its entertaining appeal, I don’t think the performance did much to sway my opinion on the Shakespearean authorship debate. For those of you who shun all things Shakespeare as dense and overwrought (don’t worry, I was one of you once), the authorship debate is a currently raging disagreement among scholars regarding who the great Shakespeare truly was. Many of us were raised with the tale of the glove maker’s son from Stratford-upon-Avon who rose from actor to writer to theatre owner as all good working class heroes do. However, upon greater study it has been suggested that perhaps William Shakespeare from Stratford was simply the common man whose name happened to sound like the pen name for one of England’s greatest playwrights. These scholars, known as Oxfordians (versus Stratfordians, believe that the true talent behind Shakespeare is a man named Edward de Vere, the 17^th Earl of Oxford. Given Shakespeare’s unparalleled grasp on human interactions, especially among the nobility, it is argued that he must have been a member of Queen Elizabeth’s inner circle to have such knowledge. It is also stated that the settings of many of Shakespeare’s works, in Denmark, Italy, etc. are far too accurate depictions for a middle class man from Stratford to have dreamed up. As an Earl, Edward de Vere would have travelled extensively and would have the first hand knowledge of the inner workings of the Queen’s court. Perhaps the most convincing argument for Oxfordianism is the presence of Shakespeare from Stratford’s signature on legal documents from the time of his life. These signatures suggest that Shakespeare was barely literate, a trait expected of the glove maker’s son in a small village. Edward de Vere, on the other hand, was educated in the Queen’s household and graduated from Cambridge. It is suggested that he wrote under the pen name “Shakespeare” because his coat of arms features a shaking spear and writing was not seen as a respectable profession during his lifetime.

Either way you stand on the debate, it is certainly thought provoking. While I think everyone can agree that Shakespeare’s words, rather than his identity, is his true contribution to literature, it is interesting nonetheless.

If you want to read more about the authorship debate, there are some great articles surrounding it if you search “Shakespeare Authorship Debate.”

cheers,
kate.

Knightsbridge

Katie, Lauren, Michael and I ventured over to Knightsbridge today. The weather was absolutely perfect and walking down Brompton Road gave me the familiar sense of awe that I’ve often experienced in my adventures here. Though largely commercial, Knightsbridge maintains its historic ambiance with small sidewalk cafes and shops woven into perfectly maintained Victorian facades. The beautifully commanding buildings that house the Natural History Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum side by side were our destination for the day. The V&A was commissioned by Queen Victoria and PrinceAlbert (surprise!) as a collection of artifacts, art and design displayed in a building equally as striking as its possessions. It was a goal that more than succeeded. Walking into the museum, visitors are greeted by a grand entrance, topped by an enormous and elaborately decorated dome and hung with a modern glass chandelier. The collections arearranged by wing and include Greek and Roman sculpture, Asian artifacts, architectural models, elaborate silver relics, jewelry, and (my personal favorite) costumes from some of the most famous theater and musical productions in history. The V & A costume wing is one of its most notable collections and includes the costumes from the Broadway production of The Lion King, Mick Jagger and Elton John’s stage outfits, and Juliet’s dress from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of the classic love story.

Victoria & Albert Museum

The ceramic stairwell inside the V&A.

After a long wander through the museum’s many wings, we headed to another imposing Victorian style building on Brompton Street – Harrods. The luxury department store is seven stories of designer clothes, shoes, luggage, home furnishings and more. It also features 30+ restaurants, from pizza to pate, and a gourmet food market. Needless to say, we walkedinto the store in absolute amazement at the sheer size and the formality of it all. We wandered around and drooled at a few things we knew we could never afford before stumbling upon something we could – the Harrod’s Chocolate Bar. Hidden deep inside the store, it was the best surprise yet. Between the four of us, we split the Harrod’s sundae, which included four scoops of ice cream, a brownie, a cookie, caramel, hot fudge and whipped cream. It was served in a bowl about the size of my head and was daunting, to say the least. Of course we polished it off in no time and left stuffed to the brim with deliciousness.

Harrod's on Brompton Street.

Ice cream sundae!

Harrod’s Chocolate Bar is a definite repeat.

cheers,
kate.

Tate Modern

We ventured out this morning to the Tate Modern Art Museum. After taking the classic tourist pictures by St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge, we made our way into the converted power station that now serves as London’s center for modern art. Admission is free, which is nice because I’m not sure I would’ve paid to see it.

Entrance to the Tate Modern.

Favorites:

Floating staircase

Giant suspended electrical plug

Jackson Pollock

Mark Rothko exhibit

Not So Favorite:

Dead crows nailed to the wall (yes, real crows)

Giant pile of clay dripped in a corner

White fabric spread on the floor

White rocks arranged in a bullseye

cheers,
kate.

Hats Off to the Royal Ascot!

Today was perhaps my best London experience to date.

Thanks to the recommendations of some savvy Londoners, we snagged some tickets to the Royal Ascot horse races for a day trip outside of the city. Fortunately, we did some research before hand and discovered that the RoyalAscot has a dress code all its own. You remember those crazy hats the women wore to the royal wedding? Think that, but crazier. Feather fascinators (that’s the true technical name), balancing berets and perfectly polished top hats were everywhere, along with some unique creations meant to tease in the spirit of the event.

Royal Ascot hats!

With our own less ambitious headwear we headed to the races by train from London Waterloo station. It was amazing to see all of London turned out in their most posh ensembles for a day of horse racing and general revelry. The train to Ascot took us about an hour to the west of London, in which time I managed to spill coffee on my white dress and sufficiently succumb to the pre-Ascot blues. When we arrived on the packed train platform, the rainy weather did little to cheer me up and I was expecting the very least from this grand event (crazy how a little coffee stain can ruin my day eh?). We joined the crowds and began the slow procession towards the racetrack, dodging the rain and doing our best to avoid the mud. Upon arriving at the track itself, my whole perspective changed. We walked across a road bridge that overlooked the main street of the tiny town of Ascot. Picturesque in classic British style, the pubs and tiny hotels had their doors wide open to the crowds, despite the wine and the friendly, celebratory spirit was too much for my grumpiness. I soon found myself swept up in the spirit of the event (helped by some water to remove my coffee stain) and couldn’t wait to get inside the race enclosure and see what all the fuss was about.

Entrance to the Royal Ascot.

Our tickets were for the Silver Ring, the slightly less posh area reserved for those who weren’t willing to pay an arm and a leg for seats in the Grandstand and didn’t merit an invitation to the Royal Enclosure (where the Queen hangs out!). Within the ring, there are giant tents with a band, places to bet on the races, and loads of food and bar stands. It turns out the Silver Ring is where people go to get all dressed up and then get really, really drunk. Longhorns – think Round Up weekend with top hats and stiletto heels. People-watching was an absolute smash and certainly made for entertainment between the races, the actual day’s entertainment.

Inside the tents.

Despite the rain, we made our way through the mud to the edge of the track and snagged some front row spots right next to a lovely woman named Nora. Nora’s cousin was one of the jockeys racing in the day’s events, though she couldn’t remember his name or the race he was participating in… Nevertheless she loved her new American friends and helped explain some of the technicalities of the races. As the first group came around the bend I snapped a few pictures and before I knew it they were gone again! It was all very exciting, but very quick! We watched the finish of the race on a giant projection screen set up across from the tents and cheered appropriately as the victor was presented with his prize. Of course I knew nothing about the horses or their riders, so I pretty much just cheered no matter who won. A few people in our group placed bets, but after a several consecutive losses they decided to spend their money on drinks instead.

And they're off!

We spent the late afternoon under the cover of the food/drink tent chatting with a group of friendly British women. Our new best friend Nora was no where to be found, but Ann and her friends offered us some free snacks and tried to set us up with their 20 something-year-old sons. Apparently not everyone here hates the young Americans! Katie and Michael swapped email addresses with our lovely hosts and promised to keep in touch.

Katie and Michael with Nora!

Around five we decided to call it a day and headed back to the train. We slugged back through the rain and mud, laughing about the day’s events and hoping Nora would make it home okay.

The train ride reminded us how exhausted we really were and immediately everyone seated fell asleep. I kicked off my shoes and stood barefoot and sopping wet by the doors, counting the stops until we were home.

Queens, horses and crazy hats? Count me in.

I think horse racing is my new favorite sport.

Wearing my feather fascinator at the Royal Ascot!

cheers,
kate.

As You Like It

"All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players."
-William Shakespeare

Tonight I found myself back at the Globe for a performance of Shakespeare’s comedy “As You Like It.” While I didn’t particularly like it, it was a good experience nonetheless. Perhaps if I had been more familiar with the text I would’ve enjoyed it more, but mostly I just found the whole performance rather confusing. Something about a boy dressing up as a girl and convincing the man she is in love with to woo her boyish alter ego? Okay Shakespeare…whatever fits your fancy. Aside from the convoluted plotline, I was rather confused by the Victorian style costuming and the use of an old fashioned camera in many of the scenes. While I agree that Shakespeare’s work has a certain timelessness, I don’t understand why a play performed in an Elizabethan style theater would not be designed in a coordinating style. But again, whatever fits your fancy. Most notable moments include the rain through the open roof of the theater and the official mutiny of my feet after standing for three and a half hours. I’ll probably reflect on this experience with more kindness when the hypothermia wears off and I can walk again…

St. Paul's at night from across the river.

cheers,
kate.

School for Scandal

Due to scheduling conflicts between my two courses, I ended up going to see School for Scandal alone at the Barbican Center. Aside from getting terribly lost trying to get there, I really didn’t mind being on my own. I’ve mastered the underground system and its pretty much common knowledge that I don’t play well in groups, so I enjoyed the opportunity to slip into the London population without an AMERICA sticker on my forehead.

Luckily I gave myself plenty of time to find the place and I arrived just in time for the doors to open.

The Barbican Center is the largest multi-arts venue in Europe, composed of a theater, a cinema, a gallery, an exhibition hall and several restaurants. The actual venue is mostly underground, which is surprising considering how enormous it seems. The Barbican is funded largely by the City of London as part of London’s arts promotion initiatives. So far, I’m a major fan of the focus England has on the arts, though I don’t pay the taxes that pay for them. I just reap the benefits.

Anyways, I got to my seat about 15 minutes before the real show started and thoroughly enjoyed the pre-show entertainment. Before the show started, the actors were all running around the stage, changing costumes and waving signs that stated lines from the show. At one point they actually came out into the audience and sat in empty seats. One of the actors came to sit next to me and we talked about Texas. It was only after he told me he was disappointed with my southern accent that I realized it was the actor who plays Dudley in the Harry Potter movies! I spent the rest of the play a bit star struck and thoroughly enjoyed the performance. School for Scandal was written in 1777 about a group of upper class people who spend their time gossiping and sneering at others. Despite its age, the play echoes some contemporary issues. The director highlighted this by mixing period appropriate costumes and sets with modern pieces, flashy lighting techniques and contemporary music.

Overall, much better than last week’s play. We’ll see what the rest of the class thinks when they go to see it tomorrow.