Liberty Lyceum Travel

We came to England to experience Shakespearean theater (and a few other things). Now, having attended a performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon, a West End production starring Dr. Who’s David Tennant, and the Globe Theatre productions I wrote about previously, we’re feeling we’ve accomplished that goal!

Miss C is currently both a high school and college student, and theater is her great love, and technically, her college major. We say we are homeschoolers, but to some, that implies my teaching her, and actually, we are more autodidacts who love to learn together. I’ve long felt I was of more powerful benefit to her as an experienced co-learner than as a teacher, and it’s been a joy to learn about theater with her, since I am more math/science-oriented. We love experiential learning, being out in the world — attending performances, immersing in museums, and seeing what the world has to offer. Our three months in Europe, which we’ll wrap up in a little over a week, have provided the ultimate experience for two autodidacts out and about in the world.

Happily, my husband Neil was able to join us here in England for a short time, and he traveled with us by train to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace and lifelong home of William Shakespeare, and now home to the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company. A visit to Stratford is a wonderful pilgrimage for Shakespeare fans, with much to see and do related to his life and work. It’s also simply a lovely English town on a river, filled with history, with some fifteenth-century and many sixteenth- and seventeenth-century buildings. The town is proud of its past, both as the home to Shakespeare and his family, and of its ancient roots otherwise. It’s a very enjoyable place to spend some time.

We went to Stratford with advance tickets to see Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard of “Star Trek: Next Generation” for those who don’t know his deep roots as a Shakespearean actor!) in “The Merchant of Venice.” We wanted to see any production of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and felt we were doubly lucky that Stewart was performing while we would be there. It was indeed an honor to see him performing live, as Shakespeare’s complex villain, “Shylock.” However, the production was extremely bizarre!

We’ve seen other plays of Shakespeare set in a different time and place from that originally used by the playwright. However, we found this transposition just too much: Instead of Venice in the sixteenth century, the story was set in a modern-day Las Vegas, complete with an Elvis impersonator. The worst thing about it was that Portia, arguably Shakespeare’s strongest female character, was turned into a bimbo with a reality TV show. Aargh. The interludes with the strolling and singing “Elvis” didn’t work for us either. Interestingly, Stewart’s scenes were pretty much Elvis-free, and were played in a classic way.  In that sense, they seemed part of a play within a…Vegas spectacular.

Despite our strong reservations about and criticisms of this production, we enjoyed attending it at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The theatre, built in 1932 in an art deco style and designed by a female architect, and renovated in 2010, is a wonderful place to see a performance. The next day we toured both this theatre and the Victorian-era Swan Theatre it adjoins (also used for RSC productions). Although the buildings are older, this is the fiftieth anniversary of the RSC itself, and many costumes and other displays from its history enhanced the tour. The RSC has downloadable audio tours on its Web site, which we had pre-loaded on our iPhones before we arrived. Then we were able to just wander about freely on our own and look at the various features while listening to the tours with earbuds. Nice!

The RSC has a large footprint in Stratford, dominating the town in many ways. The Stratford Fringe Festival was going on during the week we were there, with lots of musical and play performances and art shows. We decided that in Stratford, “fringe” must be anything besides the RSC. However, there is a lot more to see and do related to Shakespeare.

For example, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust operates “Shakespeare’s Houses and Gardens,” five historic houses associated with the Bard and his family. We visited all but one, Mary Arden’s Farm (3 miles outside of Stratford), the home of Shakespeare’s mother. The other four were all very interesting and worthwhile to see. They included the house where Shakespeare was born and lived as a young boy; Anne Hathaway’s Cottage (where he wooed his future wife); Hall’s Croft, the home of his daughter Susanna and her husband Dr. John Hall; and “Nash’s House and New Place,” the site of Shakespeare’s final home, which he bought after he had made a fortune as a part owner of theaters in London. All of these have been restored and have exhibits and other enhancements that make them very educational and enjoyable.

We were delighted to see some Morris dancers performing in front of Shakespeare’s birthplace house. We know all about them through being a “Revels” family (the Christmas Revels, performed annually in eight U.S. cities, heavily uses old English customs such as Morris dancing in its traditions). Please see our photos of these and other sights around Stratford-Upon-Avon.

As proof that it’s possible to set a play of Shakespeare’s in a different time and place, and have it actually work, the production of “Much Ado About Nothing” that we later saw in London’s famous West End was a delight. Starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate (who both appeared in the BBC’s “Dr. Who”) as the sparring couple Benedick and Beatrice, it was set in the early 1980s, in Gibraltar (Britain owns this “rock” at the southern tip of Spain). The soldiers “returning” with Don Pedro are Brits who have been at war in the Falkland Islands (!). It’s amazing how effortlessly this overlays on the play, without intruding too much. The biggest things about that era that stuck out to us were how much everyone smoked (at least they used theatrical herbal cigarettes), and that a maid Benedick sent to fetch a book was turned into a boy who kept fooling around with a Rubik’s cube. As it should be, the chemistry between Beatrice and Benedick was electric, and David Tennant was hilarious as Benedick hiding behind the columns when he hears his compatriots talking (for his benefit) about how much Beatrice loves him. The standing ovation from the audience was wildly enthusiastic.

We still have some more theater to attend here in London, but for now our Shakespeare cup is full and we feel sated. It’s been a wonderful trip!

P.S. As an American, I spell theater “t-h-e-a-t-e-r.” However, when referring to buildings and institutions in Britain that use the British spelling, “t-h-e-a-t-r-e,” I use that spelling. I also use the latter spelling for American institutions that affect (er, use) this British spelling. That’s why the two spellings are mixed in my posts.