Day off

We had a nice day off today. I had a lot of homework to catch up on for my online classes so I spent the day working on that. The heat was a little crazy today. I put some peppermint oil on the back of my neck which helped immensely. They don't have air conditioning in most buildings or on public transportation. I assume its because gas prices are the equivalent of about $8 a gallon. That also probably explains why most people walk instead of driving wherever they need to go. Tanner and I made a stop at Sainsbury's to stock up on groceries for the next couple weeks. It was great to have time to relax and work on our Shakespeare scenes.

The Roaring Girl

This evening we saw the RSC's production of The Roaring Girl at the Swan theatre. The production was so much fun and very progressive for the time that it was written. It centers on a cross dressing woman named Moll. She is not necessarily a main character in the plot, but she is a pivotal part of the show. She has a great monologue that rally focuses on feminism, which in the early seventeenth century was pretty monumental. At the end of the show they danced their bows, which we've learned is historically common practice after a Shakespeare show. Though it wasn't Shakespeare, the jig was still a great inclusion. As we walked out of the theatre, they played Beyonce's "Run the World." After the show, we went to the The Dirty Duck/ The Black Swan, a pub around the corner from the RSC where the actors allegedly frequent after their shows. We didn't meet any actors, but we had a good time chatting with each other.

Medea

We missed our train out of Stratford-Upon-Avon. We watched it drive away and didn't realize for about twenty minutes that it had arrived at a different platform. We got on the wrong train and listened to them announce a long list of destinations. When we didn't hear ours, we scrambled to grab our bags and hop off just before it left. Luckily, we'd planned for little hiccups like this and we got on the next one heading to London. It had a transfer in Solihall. The guard looked at our tickets and told us that switching at Dorridge would be faster. Sure enough, we arrived in the city only 10-20 minutes after we'd originally planned. We headed straight from Marylebone to Waterloo, then to the theatre. Medea was a wonderful piece of theatre. The women's chorus used a lot of modern dance to tell the story, as did Jason's new wife. None of the deaths happened onstage, even though it was a modern interpretation. Medea was played by Helen McCroy, who played Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter series. She was wonderful!

Startford Performance

We started off the day with breakfast at the hotel after checking out. I had coffee, cranberry juice, chocolate twists, peach apricot yogurt, scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. It was all quite good. From there, bags in hand, we headed to the park where we performed our monologues. Here is a short clip of mine from The Taming of the Shrew. The church in the background is Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried. It was also across the river from the RSC. After our performances, many people headed back to London. Tanner, Liz, Amy, and I stayed for lunch. It started to rain so we waited it out on the bottom floor of the McDonalds. Tanner and I stopped by Poundland to test out some British candy we found yesterday before making our way to the train station.

Afternoon Tea

This morning we woke up to continental breakfast at the hotel. Last night I stayed up watching the British Food Network. There's a show called B*tchin' Kitchin, which was pretty funny to watch. We weren't sure whether or not breakfast was included in our package. We asked at the front desk and he didn't seem to completely understand but he told us it was. I had a chocolate twist with peach apricot yogurt and a coffee. Then we headed out on the town. First we headed toward Trinity Church. Vimto

We passed by the RSC and the back of Shakespeare's father's house. As we walked, we saw several actors leaving rehearsal for lunch.

We passed these rental boats. Each was named after a Shakespeare character. I think they probably should have left Ophelia out though. That doesn't seem like a safe boat.

Here is the gravesite of Shakespeare and his wife. His daughters and sons in law are also buried nearby. The statue in the corner was installed not too long after his death. On his grave you could still just barely make out the inscription so they have it copied on a plaque: "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forebeare, To digg the dust enclosed heare; Bleste be the man that spares thes stones, And curst be he that moves my bones."

This is the Hall's Croft, the former home of Shakespeare's daughter Susanna and her husband. We tried to go in the shop but they told us it was closed.

These are the gates to King Edward VI School. The bard attended this school growing up.

We found so many Shakespeare shops. We also came across a street market. It was like a giant garage sale. We found a booth that sold gourmet sausage rolls. At first I was skeptical because the first sausage rolls we tried were virtually flavorless. These were so very delicious. I had a Chinese barbecue roll, Tanner tried the chorizo, Liz had the mozzarella tomato pesto, and Amy tried the Jack Daniels BBQ. We almost had to go back for seconds. We stopped at a corner shop to get drinks. I got a blackcurrant raspberry soda called Vimto. It was very good.

Here is Shakespeare's Birthplace. The sheets of paper hanging outside are poems from a local children's competition inspired by on of the greatest poets of all time. 

Tanner and I stopped for Afternoon Tea at Hobson's Patisserie. They had case after case of incredible desserts and treats. Overwhelmed for choice, we went for the scones and clotted cream. It was all delicious.

One of our last stops before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the performance that evening. It was a china shop owned by a sweet older couple. Their son had designed all of the art on the china. He had also written a children's book called A Midsummer Mouse. His dad walked us through the whole story, picture by picture, showing off the work his son had done. It was very sweet.

Two Gents

We left the hotel and stopped by a McDonalds on the way for a drink before meeting Lance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Prior to the show, we went to a talk with the director, Simon Godwin. He is incredibly passionate about Shakespeare and it was great to hear from an industry professional. So many of the people here know so much about the Bard. It was very cool to be able to apply the things we've been learning in class to the conversation. He even talked about the monologue Nick is working one. After the talk, we headed out to find some grub before the show. We didn't have much time, so we just stopped at a small take-away restaurant for fish and chips. I also popped by a corner shop across the street to grab some water. We ate in the grass in front of the theatre. A group of local twenty-somethings were playing frisbee. It was fun to watch and listen to their accents and slang words. We finished our meal and headed in to the RSC shop. It is a Shakespeare wonderland! We almost had to pull each other away from all the books to head in to the performance. What a wonderful production! Two Gentlemen of Verona is not one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, but I thoroughly enjoyed this performance! Post-show, we headed out to search for a local pub and stopped at allegedly the oldest one in Stratford.

Blurry, but the director is the one in blue 

It was packed in paper. That's the first time we've had it that way.

The sign said Two Gents, but changed right before the picture.

Stratford Upon Avon

This morning in BC&S, we talked about class distinction and British media. It was interesting to compare their media ethics to ours. They are much more unforgiving than our major news sources. after class, we headed for Marylebone Station to catch our train to Stratfor Upon Avon for the weekend. We ended up at the station early so we decided to get luck for the road. Tanner and I stopped in the Internation Cheese shop and got a bacon and brie sandwich, Funyon-like crisps, and a sparkling apple juice. It was quite delicious. Tanner, Lance, and I shared a four person table on the Chiltern Railways train. I spent the time writing and essay for my online U.S. History class. We had a layover in Solihaul for about a half an our, then boarded another train for the last half hour of our trip. Stratford is beautiful. It is chalk-full of everything Shakespeare. Lance walked us straight to our hotel, The Grosvenor. We are getting washed up to head out again. Tonight we are going to a director's talk and seeing The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Royal Shakespeare Company

The cheese place.

Marylebone artwork

Stratford-Upon-Avon Train Station

Toy store on the way to our hotel