Okay, time for insane amounts of rambling post number two. This one is just going to be Stratford, I'm not even going to think about distilling the first few days of London yet.
Stratford-upon-Avon was easily my favorite place we have been so far. I have always loved the Bard and to be in his town (or was it?) was the most incredible thing ever. It's an old Tudor town with real Tudor houses (you don't want to know what they were made of) and it's small and lovely and everything is named after Shakespeare. Some examples: Iago Jewellers (not sure what these people were thinking), The Food of Love Cafe (from the first line of Twelfth Night), Cordelia's (King Lear), and my personal favorite, Romeo and Juliet's adult store which I find ironic because Romeo and Juliet were definately not adults.
The first day we were there, we went on a walking tour of the town with Jonathan Milton, an actor who also had a Ph.D in the Bard. He was hilarious and loud and told great stories. We saw the house where Shakespeare was born, the garden where he sat writing plays, his tomb, the houses of his children, and a few people went to see Anne Hathaway's house as well.
The best thing to do in Stratford is to see plays put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and boy did we take advantage of it.
Monday night we went to see Antony and Cleopatra, which we were excited about, but a little wary: the play is wrechedly long. It ended up being lovely but unspectacular, a little boring, but I thought Enobarbus and Caesar were fantastic. The woman who played Cleopatra was cast against type and most of us didn't get it. (Any Harry Potter fans? It was the woman who plays Mrs. Figg in the movies.)
Tuesday night we went to see Romeo and Juliet and I was excited because it's one of my favorites. It's the first Shakespeare I ever studied and I love the movie (the one from the 70's, not the Leo DiCaprio one) but I knew a lot of people didn't like the play when we read it, so I was a little nervous. It turns out, I had no need to be. I sat on the edge of my seat for the entire three hours. The fighting scenes were intense, the masque was beautiful, and the actors were funny and lively and memorable. I fell hard for the entire play. We saw the understudy of Romeo (the lead had lost his voive in the middle of a play a few nights ago, he was sick) and he was wonderful. Mercutio was a little too much like a junior high boy for my taste, but he was wonderful just the same. I actually liked the play so much I decided to go see it againProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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he next night. I brought Mandy and Ali with me and we all enjoyed it just as much the second time. We got a surprise that the lead Romeo was better, so we got to see his play the part as well. His name was Sam Troughton and he plays Much in the British tv show Robin Hood? I fell for his Romeo big time, I may have to watch the show when I get home.
Then on Thursday night we all went to see King Lear, which seemed very subdued after two nights of Romeo and Juliet, but it was incredible all the same. Well cast, well acted, well costumed, and the set was wonderful too. It was interesting because, since RSC is an ensemble company, the cast was the same as that of Antony and Cleopatra. The one part we were all a little nervous about was Kathryn Hunter, who played Cleopatra, as Lear's fool. Again, we need no have worried because the actress proved, in this role, to be the best actor we saw on that stage this week. She was excellent as the fool, mesmerizing. Every time she was on stage, I couldn't take my eyes off her. It was, I believe, a testament to the importance of good casting.
Another exciting thing to do in Stratford is to go to the Dirty Duck after RSC performances. It's a little pub just down the street fromt he theater where all the actors come to hang out after shows. Not all of them come (no Mercutio or lead Romeo, alack) but it was really fun to see the ones that did. We actually got to talk to the understudy Romeo and he was really nice, and I almost talked to Caesar (whom, I confess, I fell for a little) but alas, I did not. We talked to Lear and saw Juliet and Antony. It was really fun.
I am excited to announce that this RSC ensemble will be traveling to New York next summer (2011) to do these plays: Antony and Cleopatra, ROMEO AND JULIET, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Winter's Tale, and As You Like It. I couldn't bear the thought that I was never going to see that Romeo and Juliet again, so the lovely Ali Morgan (who also fell for the play) and I are already planning our trip. It can't wait.
So now it's London: bus tours and sunburns in 80 degree weather, Beatles walks, West End, Shakespeare's Globe, and getting down to those finals (finally), Covent Garden, hours on the Tube, and I'm trying to reconcile falling harder for Shakespeare then I ever have before.
I love you all so much. Paris the day after tomorrow!
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