Stratford-upon-Avon and its Goodies

Why I love England
Reason #31: Shakespeare.

Stratford-upon-Avon is his birthplace, and we were able to catch two plays there, one really modern adaptation of As You Like It and another called The Empress, the latter not having much to do with Shakespeare and the former being really, really entertaining.

Stratford is a quaint little country town that plays up the fact that Shakespeare was born, lived, and died there. It's a nice town that bustles with tourists (mostly students), expensive rates, and lots of souvenir shops, the latter two having to do with the first.

Now on with the pictures, I say (and you're probably thinking):

The old style of houses.

Left: Anne Hathaway (wife of W.S.),
Right: Shakespeare's grave

Memorial of Shakespeare

Upon the River Avon

The river's lovely, really. 

Shakespeare Memorial

Shakespeare's birthplace

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

So yes, Shakespeare is awesome, the river is beautiful, and the Royal Shakespeare Company was absolutely amazing in their production of As You Like It. I'm not a big fan of the play myself, but the way the play was performed was enough to convince me that I loved it even if I, well, don't in real life. The production was set in the present time and all the actors wore very modern clothing with lots of plaid shirts and sweaters. The music was very English indie/folk with a tinge of an older, ancient world to it that really set the mood and tone for the entire play. The musician, Laura Marling, plays really well and has a very lovely voice. 

As for the actors, Rosalind was played by a lovely actress, Pippa Nixon, that a lot of the women in the program fell in love with when she came out again dressed as Ganymede. Everyone fell in love with Orlando, played by Alex Waldmann, and his silliness, his gentle naivety, and his passion for Rosalind. Those two and everyone else in the production executed the Shakespearean language so well, and with their body language and blocking along with their facial expressions and modern clothing, I could understand every bit of what was going on and what the funny and serious bits were. After watching such a well done modern adaptation of Shakespeare, I don't think I could even read the play the same afterwards. It made reading the play itself rather boring. 

Besides the plays and apart from Shakespeare altogether, I was led to find a cute little shop/cafe on the popular tourist street. It's tucked into the row of shops, but it has a small swinging sign that reads, "The Creaky Cauldron." And just as the sign leads one to think, once you enter you are welcomed to the magical world, a tiny oasis for magic lovers and for those who are a little overwhelmed by the world of Shakespeare. Once you make your way past the man at the counter, you enter the magic shop with tons of games, magic dust, wands, etc. It's small, but full and wonderful. Through the magic shop, there is a cafe where they serve sweet cakes and other treats along with butterbeer, pumpkin juice, or just plain coffee. And past that (yes, this place extends quite deep), there is a tight sitting area. I had to get the butterbeer and it didn't disappoint a new butterbeer drinker. I won't tell what it tasted like, but I do hope to try other kinds and see how they compare. 

There is also an upper level that you have to pay to get into, but there is a treasure hunt-like game that you play as you go through and you get to peruse through the shelves full of magical objects and the rooms that get a little creepier the further you go. There was so much integration of the magical world with British history (including the claim that William Shakespeare was a great wizard) that I could almost believe it all, even if some other claims were a bit silly. At the very least, it was all entertaining and I, as an avid Harry Potter fan, did enjoy it. I just can't WAIT to go to the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour.

Why I Love England
Reason #32: Harry Potter references

Butterbeer!

The Sorting Hat (borrowed from Hogwarts)

Officially a witch of Henley Street

I did go to other places, like Greenwich! Greenwich is also a really lovely town and the prime meridian is there, but we only took a day trip there to mainly visit the National Maritime Museum. It's a nice coastal town, but so far all of the cities I've visited have been near some source of water. It's nice to know water isn't scarce on this island.

Why I Love England 

Reason #33: Water is EVERYWHERE. And it's beautiful.

Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?

I can't believe it's been less than two weeks since I've been in London. There is so much I can't even express myself in words. I've seen so many amazing buildings, museums, plays, theatres, houses, gardens...it's been one heck of a ride and there's still five and a half weeks left (is it really that short?)! Don't believe me? Let me tell you all about it...in pictures!

Alfred Hitchcock's London home

One of my favorite sets for the Longing

The egg-shaped skyscraper

The Princess Diana Memorial walk at
Hyde Park

A swan at Hyde Park

J.M. Barrie lived here once <3

I found it! To Hogwarts!

A night view of Soho from across the Thames

The wonderful, amazing Charles Dickens

Big Ben + the Eye

The Tower Bridge and me

Tower of London

A well-preserved (I think) WWII air
raid shelter

Westminster Abbey

So. As you can see from all of these pictures, I have hit quite a few of the places I was meaning to on my list. Not to mention the museums where we weren't allowed to take pictures.

-Charles Dickens Museum
-British Museum
-British Library
-Pollock's Toy Museum
-Kensington Gardens
-National Gallery
-Museum of London
-Harry Potter WB Studio Tour
-Westminster Abbey
-Natural History Museum
-Walk on Tower Bridge (if possible)
-Shakespeare's Globe
-Camden Market
-Brick Lane Beigel Bake
-Tower of London
-Victoria & Albert Museum
-Ride in the London Eye
-Visit Liverpool and Surrey

I'd say that's quite a lot in a week and a half, don't you think? The plays I've seen here so far have been really good too. I feel so lucky to have come study abroad instead of visit myself. Of the four plays we've seen, there were famous film/TV actors in three of them. I was pretty stoked to find that out. 

The first play we saw was a promenade performance. As someone who previously had no real experience with seeing professional plays and musicals, this was like throwing me into the deep end of a pool without teaching me how to swim. I was so confused and scared most of the time because I had no idea what was going on. It felt like an interactive museum or something and it took a lot of thinking for me to actually get what I was seeing. It was definitely an experience, but one I probably wouldn't want to go to again. It had a post-apocalyptic theme, so it was kind of creepy the entire time. 

One of my absolute favorite actors was in Macbeth, the second play we saw. JAMES MCAVOY. I think most of the girls swooned a little to see him up close (me included). Even if he was bloody, puking, or marching around with scruff most of the time. It was so awesome. The play itself was an interesting spin on Shakespeare's tragedy. It's a really dark and violent play, so the director had set it in a post-apocalyptic world in the future sometime. I really liked his take on it even if I wasn't totally a fan of all the female screaming that went on almost unnecessarily. There was just so much to unpack, but that's just how Shakespeare plays are no matter what time period they're set in. 

The other actor we saw was Iain Glen in our third play called Longing, which was really good and based off of two of Anton Chekhov's short stories. I really like Anton Chekhov, so I had a better understanding of this play. I didn't really know the actor that well, but he was really good. Unsurprisingly, they all were. Peter Postlethwaite's son William was in that play too and he played a pretty dominant role. He was also brilliant. 

The most recent play we saw was called Old Times and was the second strangest play I've ever seen. It was super confusing as apparently the playwright Harold Pinter enjoys messing with his audience's minds, but I have to admit I was really taken by the acting done by Rufus Sewell, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Lia Williams. I really like Kristen Scott Thomas and Rufus Sewell from other films and it was cool seeing them act together. It was only a three-person play, so all three got a lot of stage time (obviously). 

I love the English theatre so much. They are all just so good! I only have to pay for one of the plays that I'm expected to write about for my final exam, but otherwise it's pretty good. I'm really happy I'm on this program. I'm in the center of the city, I've really gotten to know the metro system well enough (at least in Central London), I found a church to go to nearby, and I'm getting to see all of these plays that just blow my mind every time. 

When I travel, a line from T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" comes to mind: 

Do I dare

Disturb the universe?  

Or shall I sit back and observe the people, the places, the things that I see? The answer, though perhaps not to J. Alfred Prufrock, should be yes, I should disturb the universe. It's just been a dream, being here, in a place that I have dreamed of coming to for so long. But floating through a dream is no way to dream at all. I need to grip it in one hand and exchange it for reality and find my feet back on solid ground.

"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?'/Let us go and make our visit."

("The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock")

Taking advice from a static, dawdling character is probably not wise, but in this case it's not so bad. One of the highlights to being here is being able to see the homes and streets and places that English authors I have idolized and studied for so long lived in. J.M. Barrie with his Peter Pan. Alfred Hitchcock isn't an author, but he was one darn amazing filmmaker. And Charles Dickens...oh. Don't get me started on how much I love Charles Dickens. I'll be keeping an eye out for any more houses or museums of my favorite authors.

All right, I suppose that's enough for now. I've got quite the day tomorrow (a tour and workshop at the Globe Theatre (right?)). I am so in love with London right now it's ridiculous in the best way possible.