5/10/09 14:00 Today in "World of the Play," we took a tour in the rain of the City of London during the Shakespearean age. We saw many interesting sights while we were drenched by the heavens. At the end, we went inside finally to the Shakespeare Museum, beneath the Globe Theater. And THAT was fascinating! When we first walked in, a demonstration was going on of Tudor Clothing and costumes. They showed all the underlying garments to give a young boy the shape of a woman, adding a corset and a pillow around the hips to allude to curves. And since these clothes could not be washed, and the shows runs for 5 months at a time, they always have to wear linen underneath. The exhibition was really informative about the age that Shakespeare lived in. Talking about how ther took the wood from a theater north of the city to the south bank because their landlord was a greedy bugger. The exhibit covered everything from special effects to costumes to music to even what type of wood they used for the construction of the new Globe. (Green Oak) the reconstruction of the Globe was all done by Elizabethan tools and wooden pegs. The whole creation process of the new Globe was a giant learning experience for carpentry and engineering. Presently I am sitting at the Tate very hungry, but have little money, so I shall wait until I get back to have some rice and curry at home.6/10/09 14:11 This morning we went on a tour of Westminster Abbey. Very informative. Very Interesting. Saw thousands of graves there, including Newton, Darwin, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, and Edward the Confessor (or St. Edward if you are Catholic). There will be the celebration for Edward the Confessor on his feast day coming up because his body has now become a relic, and the most holy parts of the Abbey. As for a church, there isn't much that IS holy. Sure, there are plenty of dead brits, but of Kings and Queens stained in a bloody history. I saw maybe 3 pictures of statues of Jesus or Mary. This is more of a shrine to a Tyrannical monarchy than to the Lord Jesus. Amazing. Beautiful. But in the end, a lot of dead rich folk...
21:07 At the intermission of Love's Labor's Lost at the Globe, and it is hilarious! I am standing in the middle front of the yard, in between two thrusts throughout the performance, circling my head around, for the stage is all around me. What really is amazing is since I am in the true center of this wooden "O," when an actor stands center I hear them amplified. or in surround sound, if you will. This is truly the way to see Shakespeare! The show itself is full of innuendos and penis jokes. Full of sex and angst. As bawdy as Shakespeare gets, I think.
00:24 after returning home from the raunchy Globe, I analyze what just happened. A fantastic, gut-wrenching comedy ending in a giant food fight. A strange, peculiar ending not in marrige, but a promise to marry in a years time. The performance was being filmed and since I was just about center stage, I was probably on film alot. I wonder if I can get a copy. My friend, Ted, says he talked to a guy outside before the show who knows where to find it once it comes out, so I shall follow up on that with him.
On the way back from the Globe, a few other students from Temple started talking to a drunk Irishman on the Tube. He was on a 'Grogball' team, a type of league play drinking game. He said he know the capitals of the States, so some tested him, and he got about 70%, which alot better than most Americans. A laugh, a riot. Fun experiences with fun encounters.
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