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Published: June 14th 2011
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Bonus points if you can name the Anthrax song my title comes from So, day 2 in London was a busy one. After waking up at seven in the morning I quickly got myself up, showered and off to my day.
I started off the day at the Tower of London. In the play that I teach my students,
Richard III, the Tower is a very important landmark. It serves as a cold symbol of death for anyone who is associated with it (George, Duke of Clarence; Lord Hastings; and of course Richard's two nephews). But as I walked into the Tower it became so much more real to me as an actual piece of British and World History. It was amazing for me to actually be in the place that I have read about and tried to describe to my students in class as we read and study the play.
Despite the Tower containing such things as the Crown Jewels and armors of King Henry VIII - the most important moment came for me as I made my way through the building referred to as the Bloody Tower. I started out in a part that contained the
study of Sir Walter Raleigh who was sent to Tower under the orders of Queen Elizabeth I. As I left his study I found, under a low arch, a very narrow spiral staircase. It was very tight and cramped, and I stumbled a few times because not all of the stairs were of the same height, so you really had to look at each stair before you stepped up. At the top I came to a small platform that led to a descending spiral staircase, this one not as long. Once descended I walked into the very room that held the Princes Edward and Richard, the 11 and 9 year old nephews of Richard III. This was the room where the two Princes were put by their Uncle Richard, and it was the room where these two children were murdered (as the legend has it). With the exception of a few displays telling the story of the two Princes and their demise, the room was bare and cold. I was alone in the room for quite some time and it gave me time to reflect on these two young boys and the fear they must have felt as a political
world they couldn't understand closed in on them (no matter who actually ordered their death). It was truly a great experience to share the space with those ghosts.
Okay, I think I laid it on a little thick with that last line. The 2nd place I went to today was the Borough Market. Right by London Bridge station, this was a huge collection of restaurants and little local food shops. I had lunch at a restaurant I had seen on the Travel Channel called Roast. I was feeling a bit under dressed (I was in a button up and some jeans, while most people around me were having business lunches), but that didn't stop me from enjoying a lovely steak pie with some mashed potatoes.
One of the things that caught my eye in the dining room was a picture of Karl Pilkington, the friend of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant who gets lampooned on The Ricky Gervais Show and An Idiot Abroad. I loved An Idiot Abroad - it was a show that was on the Science channel in the US. Ricky and Stephen would send Karl to various wonders of the world in foreign countries
and have his reactions to being sent out of his comfort zone filmed. On my favorite things that Karl ever said was when they were sending him to China to see the Great Wall. Karl was apprehensive about the food in China because he had heard that they ate toads in China. It wasn't that he thought toads were gross, it was the idea of going to China where they eat toads - he tries it, likes it, develops a taste for it - then comes back to the UK where you can't get toad.
Day 2 wrapped up tonight with a performance of
Antigone at the Southwark Playhouse. The production updated this 2,500 year old play to modern day Middle East. While it did create comparisons of the role of women in a male-driven society, I'm not sure of the setting update was wholly necessary. The performances, however, were spectacular! I got to meet one of the actors at the bar afterwards, Christopher Ragland, who played Guard (or Sentry, as the role is listed in my copy of the text). It's one of my favorite "minor" characters in the play as it's the only character who gives some
comic relief to the tragedy; and Mr. Ragland nailed his comic scene perfectly.
After the play I got to sit for a brief lecture by veteran British actor Edward Petherbridge. He told stories of his time with the Royal Shakespearean company and of his time as a young actor working on a production of
Othello with Laurence Oliver in the title role. My favorite part of his presentation was when he acted out Shakespeare's sonnet #57 as a man leaving a voice mail on a cell phone.
It was a great day, and I am glad to be back in my little closet of a hotel room. It is almost 12:30 am and I am very tired. Tomorrow I get to face down my acrophobia on the London Eye, visit the London Dungeon, and visit Shakespeare's Globe Theatre for a tour and a performance of his comedy
As You Like It.
Good night all!
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