Macbeth, Ditch, The 39 Steps

Remember how I said I was going to cry when I saw Macbeth? Well, I came pretty close. The Globe Theatre gave me chills just walking up to it. I had been wanting to see a play here ever since I can remember, and I was about to see one as famous and epic as Macbeth?! I could Hardly contain myself. It was a lot smaller than I expected, but still amazing.
Back in Shakespeare's day, your tickets were based on class. Nowadays you can pretty much sit where you want. The lower classes stood for the entire performance in an area right by the front of the stage known as the yard. They were called groundlings, because they were on the ground and not technically "seated." This is where I was, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I wanted to be right up close and personal and as close to the stage as possible.
This production of Macbeth was really interesting, because they had an elastic tarp covering the entire groundling area with small holes to pop your head through. It was supposed to be kind if like Dante's Inferno, and represent "hell" in a way. It's hard to explain, but hopefully the pictures will help you understand. We had to stay put there the whole time, which was kind of hard, but it added a whole other element to the play- they had actors walking around underneath the tarp popping out and scaring us, and they used them to showcase some of the gore associated with the play- it was so interesting. It would be awesome to be able to look out into the audience as an actor and see little bobbing heads, and every now and then a character popping out of a hole in the middle of nowhere. The stage was fairly bare, but the background was a black tarp with blood spatters all over it. Walking in to that kind of environment was intense and exciting.

The acting was outstanding. The actor that played Macbeth was absolutely incredible. He really made the audience feel like they were a part of the show. He spoke all of his soliloquies directly at audience members. He even looked at me a few times! I was so drawn in that I stopped thinking about how uncomfortable my feet were feeling and just went straight into the world that was being presented in front of me. After the play was over, and after the curtain call, all the actors did a Scottish song and dance onstage with choreographed hand motions. I didn't understand why it was so celebratory at first, but apparently its a tradition in that theater to do a similar dance to the one we saw after every play to kind of shake off all the misery that they just performed and let it all go. It was a nice way to close out the story and jump start real life. I thought it was really interesting to see that, and it was enjoyable to see the actors kind of let loose after the tragedy they just performed.
There is so much I could talk about with this play, but most of it would just me praising everything aspect about the play. After it was over we walked out of the theater and I started tearing up. It was the most unbelievable play, and overall experience. I couldn't believe I just saw such an amazing production in the Globe Theatre. It was a total trip. It will go down as one of the most amazing experiences in my entire life.

My reaction to the original play "Ditch" was slightly different. The environment was awesome, but I wasn't a huge fan of the play. It took place underground in the Old Vic tunnels (think V For Vendetta, but grungier). When we walked in we were surrounded by modern surrealistic artwork all around the space. There was a bar, and shadow work and tons of interesting pieces. It was damp, and dark, and really dirty but it set the mood really well for the play we were about to see. I couldn't believe some of the things they did with that space. They were really into shadow work, and everything was really creepy.

The stage was literally in a tunnel- they just arranged some seating there, and provided blankets for the cold. It smelled like mildew, or more specifically, it smelled like Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. Everything was created out of nothing. It was so interesting. Who would have thought that an underground tunnel would have made for such an interesting theatre space.

The play itself was new, and had a lot of textual problems, and confusing nuances. A lot of things weren't as developed as they needed to be, and I was confused about a lot of aspects of the play. I also had a few problems with some of the acting choices in the play. There was one character who was written really well, and acted really well, but for the most part i was not a fan.

"39 Steps" was hilarious. It was nice to see a more mainstream show in the heart of London's theatre district. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, and my camera batteries died anyways, so I don't have anything to show for it. The play was made into an Alfred Hitchcock movie, which is apparently much darker than the play version, but I really enjoyed the humor. There were 4 actors and they each played about 10 roles. It was very similar humor to the humor in the play that I'm directing next fall called "The Complete History of America, Abridged." The acting was great, and they all had wonderful timing, but what I really loved about it the most was the pace. The scene transitions were done so fast, and people were running around and there was such a high energy there that was contagious. I really enjoyed the urgency behind the idea that these actors had a story to tell to the audience, and they really got right to it with no delays.

Well, those were the plays we saw this week. I can't wait to see what next week has in store!

Epic First Week of Class

Even though I've just barely been here a week, I feel like it's been a month. I'm getting so accustomed to the way things work around here, and am fitting into the daily hustle and bustle of the city really well. It was hard to motivate myself to be energetic and excited about classes this week. After the excitement of the first day wore off I just didn't want to get up at 7:30 every morning and even more than that I didn't want to read anything. I'm really frustrated about the amount of work we have to do and the little time we have to do it. This quarter is about half as long as a regular Cal Poly quarter, and 10 weeks is short enough already. But 6?! This is going to be rough. I realized this week that I was going to be exhausted all the time and have very little time to myself, both of which are going to get old.

Tuesday was the longest day ever. We left for class at 8:30 in the morning and didn't get back until about 11:30 at night. Classes were typical and slightly boring, and by the time we got to our last one I was just trying to stay awake. Immediately after humanities was over we hopped on the tube and headed for the Museum of London. Our professor led us around a few historical areas before we got to the actual museum, which was a 30 minute walk by the way, and some of those sights were pretty cool. I don't remember the names for any of the buildings, but we were in an area called Temple, and we got to see the Inns of Court where a lot of lawyers work, and where a lot of famous cases had taken place. There was also another building that was built in the 1500's in which Shakespeare's acting company performed Twelfth Night (my favorite Shakespearean play). The we went to the Temple Church which is a medieval cathedral that the knights used to use in the middle ages. Professor Makey said that the whole area used to be walled off and was used solely for knights during the crusades and the middle ages. It was cool to think about all the history that had taken place right where I was standing.

After that we went to the museum and walked around in there for a little over an hour. We're learning a lot about the origins of the city of London right now, specifically about the Celts and the Romans, so we focused a lot on the Roman ruins and areas from thousands of years ago. The museum took us through the history of London, and had tons of artifacts (as any museum should). There were interactive displays, and videos and a whole bunch of interesting things to do in there. I was particularly intrigued by the great fire of London in 1666 that started in a bakery and literally tore through the city. It was fascinating hearing about it all. They also had a lot about the plague, which was creepy but interesting. The had everything there. I could have walked around for hours.

After that was over we met Josh and walked another 20 minutes to a famous pub called "Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese" for dinner. I didn't end up eating there because it was really crowded, but it reminded me of the pubs that the hobbits used to eat and drink at in Lord of the Rings- with low ceilings and wooden tables... it was funny. I tried fish and chips, by the way. It tasted like fried nothing. I really don't like fish, but I tried it anyways and found out that I could handle it if it was smothered in saturated fats. Who knew.

We walked another half an hour or so to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre to see Macbeth. The walk was kind of funny. Jill and I are so alike. I've started getting really annoyed with going everywhere with everyone all the time. We're like a heard of cattle. We have a pretty big group and some of the kids in our class are too stupid to realize that you can't get all 45 of us across the street with no cars coming by- so if the person in front of them walks, they follow them like sheep and almost get run over by taxis. They also stop everywhere along te way to take pictures of everything they see. I'm starting to understand why a lot of people here hate oblivious Americans. A lot of the other students here are afraid to do anything by themselves and cling on to our professors at all times, and Jill and I have started getting really frustrated with it. We walked about 1/4 of a mile ahead of everybody finding our own way taking 1 or 2 pictures along the way and we had a much better and much less frustrating experience.

"Macbeth" was unbelievable. (See my other post about the shows we've been seeing if you want a waaaaay too detailed account). The only thing that was annoying was that I was a grounding in the yard- which means I stood for the whole performance of 2 1/2 hours. Talk about exhaustion. So we were out all day, carrying backpacks full of books, walking around for hours, and then standing in one place- without moving for 2 1/2 hours. And to top it all off- remember that amazing run I went on the other day? My calves were so sore I couldn't go down the stairs. The past few days I've been going down stairs backwards to take the pressure off of them. And yes, I look foolish doing it, but I don't care. The worst part was the walk back to the tube station after all of that was over. My feet were KILLING me. We were finally home by 11:30 and I think I fell asleep by 11:31.

Wednesday we went to class, watched some world cup games (The U.S. and the U.K. won in the same day), and then headed off to see another play. This one was called "Ditch" and it took place in Old Vic Tunnels underground. At least this time we got to sit down, but in a dark damp, freezing cave. It was a really cool atmosphere, but I had mixed feelings about the show itself (see other post). Afterward we went on a sunset walk and saw the London Eye, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament all lit up. It was gorgeous, and it made us want to take a day and just go around to all of London's most famous locations and take pictures there.
Thursday was really fun. After class, Me, Max, Jill, Tia, and Ashleigh went to China town for dinner. It's funny how every major city has a China Town... anyways it was nice to sit down for a real dinner at a real restaurant and take our time enjoying each other's company. After we went and saw a play called "The 39 Steps" in the West End of London, which is equivalent to Broadway in New York. Our program paid £45 per ticket for us to see this show! It was a good one to see after a long week. It was a fancy theater and a really popular show. It was hilarious and was a really good time (see other post). After a unanimous decision to neglect our homework, we decided to check out the London night life at a local club called "Zoo Bar." We had so much fun dancing around and meeting new people. There were a lot of other students there that we talked with for a while. We met some people from Canada, a group of recent Harvard graduates, and some pretty awesome guys from Belgium. The scene was crazy and slightly frightening at times, but we had a lot of fun there. I think the hilight for me was when I got into a dance off with a guy from New Zealand. It was hilarious- he pulled out the running man and the worm, and then I had to top that- people were cheering us on and everything. Oh, and I won, in case you were wondering :)

So now I'm procrastinating on homework again until i finish writing this super long novel of a blog. Tomorrow I'm meeting up with my friend Erik who is from Germany for a river boat tour, and I'm really excited about it. But anyways, I'm having a really great time here, and can't wait to explore more of hat London has to offer!

Cheerio, mates!

I Love This City

Picture: Me in Hyde Park

Today was our first day of classes, and I was in a weird mood all day. I've been living off coffee every morning to battle the daily drowsiness and jet lag, but today I think it really upset my stomach. For the majority of the day I felt dizzy and sick to my stomach. I actually hate coffee, but I needed something to wake me up in the morning. Caffeine really effects me and I think today my body was telling me to watch it.
Our english class is going to be interesting because we're studying romantic poetry, but we're going to be doing a lot of writing because the class is a GE C4 and a GWR. All the professors today didn't think they were giving us that much work but realistically it's a lot for 6 weeks and 4 days a week of class. Josh's class will, of course, be my favorite, but even that class seems like it will be a lot more work than I expected it too. I guess it's more the combination of workloads than any one thing in particular. At least all of our assignments are creative project type things about experiencing the city... but still. I won't like working on stuff like that. Tonight I have a chapter of history to read and like 8 poems to analyze. Our British professor has the coolest accent ever. That class will be interesting as well, it seems like a lot of time will be spent on the melting pot culture of London, which I find extremely interesting.After class and a quick stop to the grocery store, Jill, Ashleigh and I went out exploring. We went to Notting Hill and Portobello Road, which is where they have a famous street market on the weekends. We had some gelato, which was unbelievable by the way, and we just wandered around. It's so fun getting lost in London and taking pictures of random things. We took way too many pictures of us just being stupid, but it was so much fun.Whenever we find Hyde Park we know how to get home because we're just on the other side. We walked around the park and took some outrageous pictures. I was really excited at how "friendly" the birds are at the lakes around Hyde Park. I hand fed pigeons, swallows, and swans. I thought it was cool, but then again I'm really easily amused.
One thing I noticed about the people in Hyde Park is that people are not afraid to be affectionate in public. People were laying on top of each other and making out in the middle of the day! It was shockingly inappropriate according to American standards, so naturally we took pictures and made fun of them. See them there in the background?By the time we got back we realized that we had been out walking around for 2 1/2 hours. It felt like we were out for half an hour. I just love exploring the city.
I'm starting to feel like I never have any alone time to reflect or to just surround myself in my thoughts and enjoy the beauty of this place, so when we got back I decided to go for a run by myself through the park. I was nervous about my ankle, since I sprained it in March and it's still kind of giving me problems. I put my brace on it, grabbed my ipod and went for it. I thought my ankle was going to die, I thought I was going to get lost, and I thought I would feel completely out of shape... but as I started my run listening to the buttery voice of Tyrone Wells I realized I was smiling. Nothing mattered anymore, it was one of the most incredible things I have ever experienced. I was amazed at the grandeur of the park. There were lakes and paths off the roads that went through brush and around rivers... I got lost in the park and didn't care. I couldn't stop smiling. I missed running so much, and I was enjoying everything around me. I didn't even notice any pain (if there was any) in my ankle because the beauty of the park was such a pleasant distraction. It was nice to be by myself for a little while and just appreciate the beauty of the scenery around me. Before I knew it I was at the Serpentine and I could see the London Eye, Big Ben, and Parliament. Without even keeping track of anything I had run about 3 miles away from home, and took a shortcut back to make the whole thing around 5, and my ankle felt awesome.
I am in love with this city. I could easily live here permanently. It was an awesome day, awesome adventure through the city, and an awesome run. I just wish I didn't have school and could do this kind of thing all day everyday. Tomorrow we're going to Parliament on a field trip and then we're going to see Macbeth in the Globe Theatre. It's going to be unbelievably epic. I've dreamed of being in the Globe for years, and tomorrow I get to go see one of Shakespeare's most famous plays there. I might cry. Maybe. Ok, probably not, but it will be one of the highlights of the experience for sure. That's all for now! Cheerio!

A Day of Tours

Pictures: Kensington Palace, me and Jill at Saint Paul's Cathedral, the roomies at Saint Paul's Cathedral, me and Ashleigh pretending to feed the birds.

Today we went on a bus tour of the city, and a walking tour of Kensington. It was a really long day, but I feel a lot more knowledgeable about the city I live in now.

The bus tour was really fun because we saw all the famous tourist spots like Parliament, London Bridge, The Tower of London, Big Ben, The London Eye, etc. Although it was interesting it was also a little bit frustrating because we couldn't get out to see anything, we just drove past it all. Taking pictures of buildings from inside a bus was not really all that fun. We did stop in front of St. Paul's Cathedral for a little while and took a bunch of pictures there. We were all a little bit slap happy, especially me and Ashleigh, so it was a good time. The steps of St. Paul's Cathedral were where the famous "Feed the Birds" song was filmed in "Marry Poppins." Unfortunately there were no birds. We pretended there were, though, for the sake of a picture.


The walking tour was fun because it was the first time we'd been in to Hyde Park. We went and saw Kensington Palace, and the Albert Monument- some famous locations in Hyde Park. I can't wait to explore the area more because it had some gorgeous gardens and some really nice wooded, green areas. Our tour guide told us about a children's park that you can't get in to unless you have children with you. Apparently it's Peter Pan themed and there's a pirate ship and everything. We're going to steal Josh MacHamer's kids and get in there sometime.

After that was over me, Jill, and Ashleigh went shopping in the shopping Kensington district which was quite a unique experience. I didn't end up buying anything there because everything was way out of my price range, but it was cool to see all the shops there and look around. The fashion in London is incredible. People in the stores and walking around the town dress much nicer than we do to go out and run errands in America. I really like the style here, but I feel like everywhere I go I look frumpy in my jeans, sneakers, and t- shirt. The women literally wear dresses with tights and heels, full faces of makeup and perfectly styled hair; and the men wear dress pants, dress shoes, collared shirts, and vests. It's impressive and intimidating. I didn't bring any of my really nice clothes here, most of my stuff is super casual.

After we looked around the shops (including an American Apparel, and Urban Outfitters) we found the most awesome place to eat. WHOLE FOODS. It's kind of a pricey grocery store, but they have an upstairs food court with every kind of food you could imagine and all for really really cheap- around 5 pounds a meal. We were really excited that we found it, and we're pretty amped to go back and try all the other food.

After that we went and saw the most amazing play I've ever seen in my life. I want to go back and see it again. It was called money, and it took place in this little warehouse that they turned into a theatre. If I tried to explain what it was about I would totally confuse you, because it was a little bit hard to follow and kind of absurd, but believe me when I saw it was incredible. Visually stunning, well acted, and really thought provoking and interpretive.

Tomorrow we have a free day, and we're going to go back to Camden to buy some cheap clothes, which for me includes a wind breaker/ rain jacket since I freeze here at night. I brought warm jackets, but the wind goes right through me. I want to look at some London touristy things too to see if I can get some gifts and stuff. Otherwise we'll just be gearing up for school on Monday, which is going to suck a little bit. I have to remind myself that this isn't just a vacation, and that I do actually have things to focus on.

That's all for now :) Cheerio!

Greetings From Kensington!

Pictures: Elephant artwork in Leicester Square, our lovely room, market in Camden, the beige building is the place where our classes will be, bottom white building is our flat.

I'm finally here! After a long and painful 10 hour flight, 40 minute tube ride, and confusing walk me and Ryan made it to our flat.

I'm never ever going to take a red eye flight again. We left at 9:20 P.M. out of LAX and didn't sleep a wink of our 10 hour flight. When we got to London it was about 4 in the afternoon, sowe couldn't just crash like we desperately wanted to. It was ridiculously uncomfortable, and we were right in the middle of an obnoxious French family who took the liberty of talking loudly over us in French for a large portion of the flight. The food was disgusting, but the company was nice. Ryan and I had some great conversations, and pretty much kept each other sane the entire time. The tube was surprisingly easy to navigate, but when we got off we were completely disoriented and started walking in completely the wrong direction. It was hot and sunny when we got there, which is surprising for London weather. We realized we were going the wrong way and finally found a street sign.

We walked past our house twice, but the 3rd time we walked past it we saw our entire clan of Cal Poly kids out in front who flagged us down and directed us to the right place. Our flat is right next to the Dutch Consulate and across the street from Hyde Park. The other students were about to leave for a tour of the area, so me and Ryan dropped off our bags and joined in. I was so exhausted I thought I was going to fall asleep on the tour. We got our keys and I was relieved to find that I am in a 4 person room with some of my closest friends Ashleigh, Tia, and Jill. Our room is actually quite spacious and really pleasant to live in. We have 2 bunks, 4 closet units, and a bathroom to ourselves. The communal kitchen in our flat is small but fully equipped and really nice. We have great wireless internet here, which is awesome to have, so I can check my emails often.

We went to the grocery store "Sainsbury" and bought some groceries, which, by the way, is really confusing when you're delirious. I bought some basic things like fruit, bread, peanut butter, etc. and then we walked back to our flat. We took some time to get situated in our room and then went out to dinner at a restaurant called "Wagamama" which is essentially a noodle joint. I was starving and had been living off nasty plane food, so I inhaled my shrimp noodle bowl. It was delicious! We went back, hit the showers, and called it a night. What a LONG first day!

Today was really fun. We started the day with an orientation which was WAY too long, but we got some good information about the area and the culture and our classes, which unfortunately start on Monday. We start at 9 and get done at 2 everyday so our schedule shouldn't be too stressful. After our meetings we got some much needed coffee to try to fight off our jet lag and headed back to the flat to get ready for the day. We decided to take the tube (using our recently acquired Oyster cards) to Camden. Camden is unbelievably cool- there are such unique people there. There was a massive, and I mean MASSIVE outdoor market with tons of food from all over the world and clothing shops everywhere. Camden is where the punk movement in London started, so it was interesting to see this theme reflected in the local shops and the style of the area. We shopped around and ate some pretty delicious food. They had every kind of food you could imagine- Greek, Chinese, Swiss, "American" (which looked like nasty Philly cheese steaks), "Mexican" (which looked questionable)... you name it. The shops were really interesting too. They had vintage stores, and leather shops, and all sorts of little stands with tourist looking gifts and nick knacks. It was a really fun time.

After that we went to the Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus areas. Leicester Square is like the Broadway of London. There were tons of advertisements for musicals and plays, and there were move theaters on every corner. There was even a show in the park for free that we might go back and see if we have time. We didn't spend much time there, but I have no doubt that we'll go back.

We weren't in Piccadilly long either, but we walked through the streets until it started to rain and then we headed back. There were these really interesting elephant statues lining the streets to raise awareness for an endangered species in Eastern Asia that people turned into works of art. They were really interesting and creative- I took a few pictures of them.

Later tonight we're going to watch the UK Algeria game at the pub on the corner, and I'm really excited to be a part of that environment. Tomorrow we're going on sight seeing tours of London, which I'm also excited for because I haven't seen Big Ben or any of the really touristy sights yet.

I'm having a lot of fun and live in a very safe part of London, so everything should go smoothly for the rest of my stay here. I'll try to update as much as possible, but that's all for this time!

Cheerio!

Only 1 More Day!

I leave for London tomorrow! I can't believe it! I'm trying to pack light but not forget anything. I'm feeling a little anxious about everything I have to do when I get there. Once we land we have to go through customs, get our bags, get some money exchanged, and pay for/ get on the tube (blue Picadilly line to Gloucester). I hope everything goes well with no major hiccups! I'll post when I get there. My adventures are about to begin!