Fortune brings in some boats that are not steer’d.
(this Sunday blog post brought to you on a Tuesday, courtesy of poor internet connection and website errors)
“Fortune brings in some boats that are not steer’d.”
-Shakespeare, Cymbeline
Well, here we are, another Sunday after another busy week! It’s been a particularly good one, too – lots of work but lots of time for fun too, and some great theatre along the way!
Classes are still great. This week we said a temporary goodbye to our program director Kathryn Pogson, who’s off to the States for four weeks to perform in Antigone. We also welcomed back our Drama Crit teacher Christopher from a week in hospital, and guided ourselves through a Movement class because our teacher Hannah was sick… let’s just say it’s been an eventful week. This week’s highlight for me has been all the detailed text work we’ve been doing in Acting for Shakespeare. Having never taken a formal Shakespeare class, I’m really enjoying learning all these different tools to analyse text and get it on its feet.
Our show of the week was The Beaux’ Stratagem at the National Theatre. It’s a Restoration comedy all about love, marriage, and deception, complicated by a band of thieving highwaymen. The whole production was just really clean and well done, and the overall impression was of a very cohesive piece. My favorite parts were the musicians, who played very well and frequently interacted with characters onstage, and the beautifully and creatively designed set.
Friday we had another walking lecture, this one to Middle Temple and the Inns of Court. We learned about English law, the Knights Templar, lots of architecture, and plenty of theatre history thrown in. We saw the Royal Theatre on Drury Lane, the oldest continuously operated theatre site in London. Finally we went to Covent Garden and saw St. Paul’s church (known as the Actors’ Church, and where Eliza Doolittle sells her flowers).
We spent Friday night in bars watching England beat Fiji in the opening match of the Rugby World Cup. Saturday we headed out to see Bend it Like Beckham the Musical, which was amazing. I expected a fun and feel-good theatre experience, but it surpassed that. There were lots of cool effects to show characters interacting with soccer balls, gorgeously designed and coordinated costumes, and some surprisingly emotional songs. It’s getting great reviews, and it deserves them! I’m so happy we decided to try to get tickets.
As usual, today has been all about catching up on homework, cleaning, and trying to get the wifi to let me blog. I have a bit of a sore throat, so I’m hoping a restful day will have me ready to face another week!
See you next Sunday!