London has been absolutely incredible thus far!
The group began the morning by taking a tour of the Globe Theatre. We learned that the version we toured was the third construction of the globe. The original Globe burned down because a canon was fired to create a sound effect during a performance of King Henry VIII, and started an actor's pants on fire. It was made to house 3,000 people. Fun Fact: Of the probable 3,000 theatre-goers, zero perished. The second Globe was built about 5 years following and was overtaken by Puritans who did not particularly enjoy theatre and chose to dismantled the structure. Today's Globe was built only 20 years ago. It's construction was initiated and funded by an American named Sam Wanamaker. It is built from English Oak beams with lime-washed walls containing a mixture of sand, slaked lime, and animal hair, and possess a thatched roof. It houses a total of 1,600 people. I love all things Shakespeare, so the Globe is currently number one on my favorite places visited in London. Next week our group plans to see a performance of Twelfth Night at The Globe, and I couldn't be more tickled.
In the afternoon, we visited the Tate Museum of Modern Art. It contained a number of unique exhibitions and displays of Modern Art. Some of the exhibits also included pieces by more popular historical artists like Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, and Oscar-Claude Monet. A few of the exhibits contained information about the plethora of materials modern artists use to create their art. One artist used human hair in her art! The pictures I've included are of a friend and I's shadows in a liquid crystal display, a paining titled "Morning" by Dod Procter (this painting was one of my favorites), and Salvador Dalí's "Lobster Phone."
To finish this fun-filled day off, we attended a performance of "The Woman in Black" by Susan Hill at the Fortune Theatre. The show was performed by two men (and perhaps a woman starring in the role as "the woman in black"). The acting and staging in this show were amazing!
More adventures to come!
Shayna,
ReplyDeleteI was also very excited about seeing the Globe! I don't know about you, but despite being a Shakespeare fan I still didn't know some of the fun facts we learned on the tour! Still can't believe people would just pee on the ground...gross! I'm also looking forward to next weeks performance of The Twelfth Night! Hopefully we end up right towards the front of the stage!
I also thought The Woman in Black was done expertly! How cool that there were pretty much only two actors!?! I like how they didn't simply act out the story, but it ended up being more like a story within a story. Seems like all the shows we've been going to have been good! (Knock on wood)
I agree with both Shayna and Alissa, Woman in Black really drew upon one's imagination to give this story a more erie feeling. And while we sat, anxiously awaiting the start of the production, I felt that the set was very boring, however, later on in the show when the set was building I began to fall in love with it!
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoy your enthusiasm for Shakespeare and his theater, as well as for the art in the Tate Modern museum. I hope that one day in your home, there will be a lobster phone.
Shayna,
ReplyDeleteIt was quite interesting to learn all those things about how theatre's worked back then? I thought it was really funny to hear how the wealthy would choose seats sitting to the backs of the actors, just so they could looked at and by envied by the poor. Talk about vain! I also really enjoyed the Woman in Black. I couldn't believe how well they pulled of a play that was actually scary! They timed everything perfectly.