Catching Up: June 2, 2011 Stratford-Upon-Avon and Macbeth

Stratford-Upon-Avon! Day two.


Today we went to Anne Hathaway's cottage...and that's when I fell head-over-heels in love with Stratford-Upon-Avon. It is so beautiful there, as was our little walk to the cottage from our B&B's. Roses climbing up every wall and almost every country house along the way had a gorgeously tended garden. My favorite garden was, of course, Anne Hathaway's, though.


Roses in full bloom climbing up the Tudor exterior of the cottage. Willow cabins and trellises. A lush green "wilderness walk". A thriving herb garden. The list could go on for pages. The garden was beautiful, the home itself was beautiful...ugh...I now 100% regret not buying my mum a tea towel from the cottage. 

After we took the traditional group photo in front of the herb garden and wandered through thegift shop, we started to head over to Hall's Croft, where Shakespeare's daughter, Susannah, and her husband lived. The garden there was more tamed and under control, but still gorgeous. I cannot get enough of those English gardens! So many different roses! And...so many lovely peonies, as well!


After these adventures, we went back to our B&B's to take nap in preparation for RSC's Macbeth. 


At about 2:30, Matthew, Nathan, Claire, Andy and I met to get food and hang out before the show. We went to Pizza Express and had such a fun time! I felt like I hadn't laughed that hard in a while. Andy and I were really adventurous, we got the American pizza. 'Twas good. 


After Pizza Express, we hurried over to Moo-Moo's to get Andy's long awaited milkshake. Oh my Lord. These shakes are a complete joke! In a good way! They're incredible! Will would love this place. They have so many amazingly yummy combinations to choose from/make! Andy got a milk chocolate HobNob shake and Matthew got a chocolate chip cookie shake. Wow, wow, wow. Rarely have I seen Matthew giggle as hard as he did when he took the first sip of that shake. 


Then, once Andy and Matthew could get their heavily sugared bodies to move, we walked over to the RSC bookstore so Matthew and I could buy our RSC Complete Works. Twenty-five pounds! It's gorgeous and beautiful and my little baby!!! Ahhh!!! Matt and I were so protective of our Complete Works that we had to run back to our B&B's to drop them off before the show. We walked back and spent the remainder of our time before the show relaxing outside the RSC by the river watching the boats go by.

I can't delay writing about the RSC's Macbeth any longer. It was incredible. I barely even know where to begin. Uh...I'll write my pre-play impressions:

• The set is creepy as all hell.
• Looks like a church that has been destroyed by bombing and disrepair and, then, aging. 
• Ruined frescas (saints with their faces scratched off), obliterated statues, piles of debris...dust in the air...shattered stained glass windows. 

When the play started, the three cellists on the upstairs balcony began to play, the lights went out, and, not 20 seconds later, a bloody and shell-shocked Malcom was lit up and, with creepy prompting from Ross, began the Captain's opening speech. And from then on, my heart was racing and my mouth was agape.

The witches were little dead children. Their first entrance was absolutely terrifying! They were lowered down from the ceiling from ropes with their bodies hanging limp. It looked like they had been hung by the neck, but then they started to speak...telling Macbeth his prophesy. This was creepier in retrospect because these children ended up being the dead versions of Macduff's slain children. OH!

They cut most of the witches out, but it was okay because it really would not have worked with this concept.

One thing I was especially excited about in this production was the use of the Porter! This production did with the Porter what our production tried to do with the witches. Because the Porter in this show was ACTUALLY the porter of hell-gate! He was on stage, on the upstairs balcony, overseeing all of the evil deeds being done. Ah! The same actor who played the Porter also played Seyton (get it?!) and put Mabeth's armor on him before the battle at the end. And when people died, the Porter stood by the upstage door holding a lantern, that shined red light, and welcomed the dead in. So cool!

Jonathan Slinger as Macbeth

 Just for the record, Jonathan Slinger as Macbeth was amazing. He was so present and seemed like he was never going to produce tonight's specific Macbeth ever again! The way he played with vocal pitch was amazing and taught me so much. Actually he and Lady Macbeth did this. They would go down to these extreme low notes in very specifics places. Depending on where, it showed either/both strength and extreme fear and grief. 

I would  now like to discuss how horrific the murder of the MacDuffs was. VERY HORRIFIC. So, the murderers walked in and one of them got Lady MacDuff in a strangle hold forcing her to watch the events that would take place. The others, meanwhile, slit her two sons' throats. Lady MacDuff died before she could see what would happen to her daughter. The murderers exited dragging the young MacDuff girl off stage with them. On stage, the Porter opened the upstage door and welcomed the family in. Once they were all gone, the little girl came back on stage and went through the door to catch up with her family. O. M. G. Messed Up.

The live cello performers were amazing and made every scene 10x more intense and brought me 10x closer to tears.

Beautiful coronation scene between the Macbeths.

I'm gushing, I know, but I would like to address the brilliance of the final battle between Macbeth and MacDuff. So, the MacDuff family as ghosts followed MacDuff wherever he went...it was beautiful because we literally saw what was fueling MacDuff's revenge. After he killed Macbeth, the ghosts of his dead family were all around him and there was a moment when he saw his daughter. It was absolutely heartbreaking. I was crying so hard at then end of the play and I couldn't seem to get myself to stop for a while afterward. 


This was the first production here where I was weeping after. Like, the hiccuping kind. Like, snotty and stuff. 

Jonathan Slinger and Aislin McGuckin

Anyway, a few of us when to the pub where all the actors hang out after the shows called The Black Swan. I met Jonathan Slinger and got his autograph! I told him that the show made me snot...well, not in so many words...just kidding I said WAY more than he needed to hear...too many. I just hope I didn't make too big of a fool of myself...


Oh, RSC, how I do love thee.

Catching Up: June 1, 2011 Stratford-Upon-Avon and The Merchant of Venice

Stratford-Upon-Avon Trip! Day one.


The train ride up was gorgeous! Once I get some pictures from Andy, I can prove it to you! So green and luch...it kind of reminded me of the Sonoma/Napa area of California in springtime.

The first thing we did after arriving in Stratford was settle down in our cute littles Bed & Breakfasts. Andy and I were in the Penhurst and our room was all yellow!

After some leisure time to take naps, we all met Tim to go to the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was christened and is now buried. It was a beautiful church from the renaissance period and it is CROOKED!

The inscription on Shakespeare's grace:

GOOD FRIEND FOR iESUS SAKE FORBEARE,

TO DIFF THE DUST ENCLOASED HEARE.
                     e             t
BLESS ME Y MAN Y SPARES THES STONES,
                                      t
AND CVRST BE HE Y MOVES MY BONES.

His grave was so simple. His memorial was simple. Shakespeare's legacy speaks for itself and lives on.

I looked up at the same ceiling that Shakespeare looked up at! Ahhh! This amazing man was baptized here and his funeral was here! Incredible.

After we wandered around the beautifully creepy cemetary outside the church, we left to go to Shakespeare's Birthplace! First we stopped by the Royal Shakespeare Company's theatre so we would know how to get there later that night to see The Merchant of Venice.


The birthplace museum was...pretty cool. You know...the parts where you saw some of Shakespeare's actual stuff...but, it was overdone....a lot like Disneyland. Shakespeare Disneyland...hm...I'd enjoy that.

Patrick Stewart as Shylock

After, a few of us bought one pound pasties at the Cornwall Pasty Co. and headed over to the park in front of the RSC to hang out before seeing Patrick Stewart, direted by Rupert Gould, play Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. It was fun! Especially because Claire had to speak in a mouse voice because she had lost her normal one.


This show was...amazing. It was innovative, bold, poignant and funny. It made choices that...I don't know I would've made, but I appreciated how it stretched my normal way of thinking. 


The show was set in modern day Las Vegas, which really played up the showy and deceitful sides of the story.

Patrick Stewart as Shylock...oh my GOD...incredible! He was terrifying one moment and the next, as vulnerable as a peach. I could not imagine a better performance of the "Hath not a Jew eyes?" monologue! He held the audience in his grip. He had our full attention whenever he was on stage.

Scott Handy as Antonio

The trial scene between Shylock and Antonio, well...and everyone else too, was so intense. It was almost unbearable to watch. They hoisted Antonio's handcuffed hands into the air by a long chain. His orange inmate's onesie was tied around his hips to make it easier for Shylock to cut out that pound of flesh. When Shylock approached Antonio with the knife, his body started to panic....he was breathing so hard, his stomach was convulsing with fear, he was sweating and shaking....extremely hard to watch. Rarely to movies or plays show realistically moments of extreme human fear, but they nailed it. I was preparing myself to see a damn execution, even though I knew the story didn't go there! 


But then, that valley girl beeyotch, Portia, had to ruin Shylock's like by, you know, finding a loophole in the bond. After Antonio and the court ruled that Shylock must lose everything, including abandoning his faith, Graziano spit on him and it was...the saddest thing...ever...

Susannah Fielding as Portia
Emily Plumtree as Nerissa

Here are some of my notes from the show:

• Las Vegas? Whaaa?! I wonder how this will work out.
• The set is bery elaborate and I love when shows start with characters...I mean actors on stage as their characters during the preshow. But, sometimes it gives me a different first impression of the show...like School For Scandal.
• Bassanio's speech pattern in the first scene = WTF.
• Creative scene settings: elevator, car...
• I wish Bassanio would change his facial expression. It's distracting and pushy.
• LOL WTF are you thinking, Bassanio!?

Also, the whole Portia part of the play was interesting in this production. She was like a beauty queen slash host of her own bachelorette type show. The show was called Destiny and was about all the men who come to try to court her by having to choose the right casket to win her. It was really funny and clever, but I thought it got a bit old... 

Catching Up: May 31, 2011 In A Forest Dark and Deep

Tonight we attended another one of our required shows called In A Forest Dark and Deep, by one of my favorite playwrights Neil Labute. The show starred Matthew Fox (Lost) and Olivia Williams (Rushmore, The Sixth Sense).

When we got to the Vaudeville Theatre and started looking for our seats, Neil Labute was just walking around and hanging out in his flannel shirt and jeans! Neil G.D. Labute! Some pretty hardcore rock music was playing, which is not something I expected from the posters/fliers. But, I didn't mind.

However, I did mind when the play started and I was seriously underwhelmed by the acting! It was so predictable! It was predictable and quite repetitive.

I liked the script alright, but I thought it needed more editing.

The twists and turns that revealed Betty's truth were pretty intense, but the two of them bickering to get to those points was...well, it got old.

And they hashed out some issues while completely ignoring others! To me personally, their whole performances were just washes lacking specificity...they didn't allow the characters to change or grow much from where they started at the beginning. Maybe that's the writing. Or the directing. I didn't really care either way, but I wanted something more that I did not get. Mr. Labute has done much better, I think.

Some Notes From the Talkback with Neil Labute:

• He and the actors tweaked the script even when the show went into previews.
• There is a musicality of the silence in a play.
• About the incestuous suggestion between Bobby and Betty in the play: They are constantly misreading each other so, it's only natural that they would misread each other physically.
• You want the characters to grow and have somewhere to go, but sometimes they grow in reverse.
• "The job is to take these stories and find a way to make them fresh."
• When writing a play, you are trying to find the most important 90 minutes of these characters' lives.

Nathaniel: Where do you see theatre going in the future?

Mr. Labute: Space.

Catching Up: May 30, 2011 London Road

Tonight Andy, Cameron and I saw London Road at the National Theatre...in the same space that The Holy Rosenbergs was in a day prior, but completed reconstructed! I love the Cottesloe space.

It was perfect to see this show right after seeing Do We Look Like Refugees?! because they were both written by the same Alecky Blythe. But, what was so awesome about London Road was that the same style of Refugees...how am I going to phrase this...I do it simply, with bullets!

London Road =

• Series of interviews of the people who lived near the prostitute killings in Ipswitch, Suffolk, UK.
• Anna Deveare-Smith style.
• Verbatim Technique
• A MUSICAL!

Yeah, it was a musical. Unlike anything I've ever seen, really. The use of the Verbatim Technique is what makes it sooo cool! They sang all the "ums" and "you knows" and all the pauses and laughs. Example: I got nearly seventeen hangin' baskets in this back garden - believe it or not. Begonias an' petunias an' - erm - impatiens an' things

I also loved it because it was about these murders that really happened. Singing about a serial killer. Sounds like my kind of show.

I bought the script of London Road and The Holy Rosenbergs! So, mum and dad, read all that you need to make room for these, which I will force upon you,

I love theatre and I can't wait to become a working actress!

Catching Up: May 29, 2011 East End and Do We Look Like Refugees?!

I should be catching up on my actual journal right now, the journal supplies this blog with all its content, but...I should start my paper for class and it is much easier on the conscience to procrastinate on the computer.

Bougainvillea, courtesy of GoogleImages.

Today we went on a tour of the East End with Jane. We went to the most beautiful flower market, the Columbia Road Flower Market. I found the most beautiful flowers ever (since yesterday when I also found the most beautiful flowers ever, Campanula Persicifola)! They are called Bougainvillea! Ah...absolutely gorgeous...they are blue or purple or yellow or any pleasing color, really.

The only thing I did not care for at the market, was the huge crowd. Worse than Portobello Road on a Saturday.

Before we left Columbia Road to move on to Brick Lane, we stopped by the cutest little shop that my mum would adore! It is called J & B The Shop. It had so many cute vintage things that were recreated into cute new things. The shop, including all its merchandise, felt like a giant collage of new meets old. I would've bought mum something but, it was, if you can imagine, horrendously over priced.

Moving on.

Brick Lane was alright. It was basically just a street with garage sales on either side of you. But, further down, it had the most delicious smelling and mouth watering food. Including STEAMED PORK BUNS that I suppressed the urge to buy...for now.

After a tour of the Huguenot architecture of the area and of St. Paul's Cathedral Spitalfields, the group was set free in Spitalfields Market. Nathan, Olivia and I started out at Montezuma's Chocolate, which Prof. Tim swears is the best chocolate in the world. It was, as everything in this damn country and most other things in the market, very expensive.

I got a watch, however and thank God, for ten pounds. It's pretty cute, but I don't need it to be cute...I need it to tell time.

It was sort of sad going through the market knowing I could not even barely afford many things. There was a cute designer whose stuff I loved, but it was much too expensive, called:

Lulu London

I clearly had to love it!

When we got home, Andy was a bit grumpy because we returned later than we thought we would. Because of this, he was bored and hungry, since we keep our food in my flat and he doesn't have the key. But, we decided to go see a show called Do We Look Like Refugees?! 


It was a very interesting show and I loved it. It was written inspired by the Anna Deveare-Smith interview style, but took it to a whole new level. The actors never formally learned their lines, but they had the exact audio interview playing on earphones throughout rehearsals and during performances. Called The Verbatim Technique, the actors must copy every single nuance of the original interview.

The play itself was about the various viewpoints of the Russian occupation of and war with Georgia. Most of the play was spoken in Georgian and had subtitles projected onto the backdrop, along with various footage of the Georgian landscape, behind the action of the play.

With Georgians making up more than half the audience, getting the jokes before I could read them, you'd think a couple of white kids would feel a little out of the loop. WRONG. I was totally involved with every new character that any of the actors introduced and with anywhere the show took me!

Catching Up: May 28, 2011 Bath!!!

Beautiful bus ride to Bath.

Andy and I got up and out really early today to catch our bus to Bath!!! We were both so excited and so exhausted, but the drive out was too beautiful to sleep through. So, we fought it valiantly.

When we got to Bath, we walked through Bath Abbey and it was gorgeous. The fan vaulting was more beautiful in this cathedral than any other we've seen...so far. And there was a memorial for an American senator there! What?!

In front of Bath Abbey.

Fan vaulted ceilings!!!

After we finished gazing up at the glorious abbey ceilings, we decided to brave the queue for the Roman Baths. It didn't seem like too long of a wait because of the awesome street performers. They were a band with a man playing guitar and singing and a woman playing a percussion box. Waiting in line made me notice that the pigeons in Bath are psycho.  There were way too many scary situations where I thought the birds would land on my head.

The main bath with Bath Abbey in the background.
Photo by Andy

We got into the Baths and...they were just as amazing, if not more so, as when I was a kid. To make the experience even better, Andy was thrilled by the whole thing! He was fascinated! It was cool as a kid, but this time I was intrigued by the history behind it all. That the natural spring and the Roman foundations and remains survived over 2,000 years! The spring itself is amazing to me...just how it sprung up and then remained warm for thousands of years is incredible.

My favorite bath this time was the circle bath. It is the cold pool that people jumped into after a hot bath to close their pores. The pool was filled with shining and glimmering coins that, with the cool water, cast soothing shadows on the dark walls.

The Circle Bath.

After the baths, Andy and I opened our umbrellas and briskly walked over to Sally Lunn's to escape the rain and to enjoy the original Bath buns. To our dismay, the waiting line was down the hall and out the door. But, as I told Andy, Sally Lunn's is an essential Bath experience. So, we waited...not for too long, fortunately. We were seated on the cosy third floor by a window. I got the Jane Austen Cream Tea with Darjeeling...which meant I got a bun with a TON of homemade raspberry jam. Andy got the Sally Lunn Cream Tea with House Blend Tea...which meant a bun with strawberry jam. He liked it, but not more than scones. Understandable. We hung out there, talked and sipped our tea until the weather cleared up.

We trekked up to the fashion museum and...wow...that was much more interesting as a kid. The outfits were just a bit tacky this time around.

Luckily, we headed right over to the Royal Crescent afterwards through the beautiful park. We stopped by a little Georgian garden on the way with the most adorable flowers called Campanula Persicifula.

He loves climbing walls to see the beautiful gardens on the other side.

This makes me smile!

We continued walking the path to the Royal Crescent. Once we got close, I made Andy close his eyes while I led him to the middle of the huge lawn in front. He opened his eyes and a HUGE smile took over his face. He was completely surprised. The Royal Crescent was ten times more magnificent than my young memory allowed.

Bath in general was very different than I remembered.

After the Royal Crescent experience, I had to get over to the Jane Austen museum to take care of a very important tradition.

OHHH, MISTAH DAHCY!

By now, we were starting to feel how long of a day it had been, but we had a couple more things we had to see. On my map, I found a roundabout called Laura Place, so we had to go there so I could take a picture by it. We also went to see the Venetian inspired Pultney Bridge that crosses the calm Avon River.

Laura Place!

The Avon River
Photo by Andy

Pultney Bridge
Photo by Andy

Pultney Bridge
Photo by Andy

Then it was about time to head back to the station to catch our bus back to London.

This was such a comforting day because I thought of my incredible family all day long and how much they mean to me.

Catching Up: May 27, 2011 Oxford!

Train ride's are lovely!

The train ride over to Oxford was so beautiful! Green and...totally breath taking. I see the cheese and I know that the cheese is cheesy, but I mean it.

The town of Oxford is beautiful as well. I love how much history is jam packed within the medieval walls surrounding the city. In 1234 A.D., Merton College (Tolkien's college) was founded.

Matthew, Andy, Nathan, Hannah and I atop the Sheldonian theater tower.

All the honey colored Oxford buildings are made of Cotswold stone and Christopher Wren's first building ever was the school's Sheldonian Theatre, which was modeled after Roman amphitheaters.

Little known custom: Apparently, when Oxford students pass their exams, they drink champagne and throw glitter at each other in the streets.

The first "quad" was at Oxford! The quad at Oxford is not only the place where four buildings meet, in the traditional sense, but it is also where the original four most important schools meet: grammar, logic, rhetoric, and theology.

View from the Sheldonian theatre overlook.
Photo by Andy

Sighs Bridge from the overlook.
Photo by Andy

Little known fact: The first folios were dedicated to the Earl of Pembroke who also has a statue in the Oxford quad.

After the first part of the Tim tour was over, we all went over to Pieminister to get the best meat pies! Andy and I both got the award winning Chicken of Aragon pie. It has chicken, bacon, vegetables, tarragon, onions and garlic. You can't really lose if you've got all those ingredients on your side. I got my pie with mushy peas, mash and gravy. Yummm.

After lunch, Tim bought us the most delicious cookies in the world from Ben's Cookies. I got a fresh from the oven dark chocolate chip cookie. Holy Moses.

Then we headed over to Christchurch College, the largest of the Oxford colleges. Beautiful. Cardinal Wolsey, who designed and built Henry VIII's Hampton Court, also worked on Christchurch. On a slightly different note, it's amazing to me how a little ivy growing up a wall can make something look ten times more beautiful.

We wandered around outside the grounds, outside the medieval walls, and arrived at Iris River where Lewis Carol would write Alice in Wonderland.

After a brief lie down by the river, we meandered back to the little cobblestone streets that go through the colleges. Andy and I kissed under Sighs Bridge. We went to the Science Museum to see what Einstein wrote on a preserved blackboard. Eventually we wound up at The Eagle and the Child pub, where J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings! There, I had a Pimm's. Mom and Dad, you must let me know if Pimm's is sold in the states. Because if it's not, then I am going to brings some back. Best summer cocktail ever. Seriously.

Pictures to come. Andy and I just have to coordinate.