Well two and a half weeks have gone by. Here is what happened last week! Below is a photo Stefan took on our way to Canterbury last Friday. As you can see the weather was awful. Rain but then it cleared up by the time we got to Canterbury. All the pictures for my blog are some that I have taken and some that the students have taken. Enjoy!
After Acting Class on Tuesday I took the students to Wimbledon so they can look at the Studio Theatre we will be performing in. It is a direct shot from Edgware Road (where they live) to Wimbledon on the District Line.
This is the main theatre at Wimbledon which is a road house that brings in shows as opposed to producing shows. The studio is on the side of the building. Currently there is a one woman show about Rosemary Clooney being performed there so we saw the space with a fairly large set, but it gave the students an idea of the space we will be performing in.
THE PLAYS!
On Tuesday we went to see the farce, The Play That Goes Wrong which we saw for the Theatre in London class as an example for our unit on British Music Hall, Pantomime, and British Sex Farce! Lots of fun! This same group does a show playing in Piccadilly Circus called Bank Robbery which is about a bank robbery in Minneapolis! Another great farce. Notice the great marketing to this show!
On Wednesday evening for the Page to Stage Class we went to the Royal Court Theatre to see a production of Road that was first performed in London at the Royal Court Theatre 30 years ago. Not much has changed politically and socially.
Michelle Fairley, Lady Stark, from Game of Thrones played three roles in the production. Awesome! Many years ago, Dr. Michael Flanagan and I saw her in a production of Mamet's Oleanna and got invited to her dressing room where we drank wine with her and her co-star, Denis Lawson, Ewan McGregor's uncle! Loved her then and still do! Some of us stayed for a panel discussion with the director and some cast members after the show. Very informative. The director also directed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which is now playing in the West End.
On Saturday night we got free tickets to Britney Spears: The Cabaret at The Other Palace (formerly The St. James Theatre) thanks to Jo McCarthy. Jo was in my production of Vanities that we did at Tara Arts a number of years ago. The theatre was bought by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jo works for his Really Useful Theatre Company. The show wasn't what I was expecting. It was terrific. Loads of laughs and pathos! A great one-woman show! We had a good discussion in class on why it was a great one-woman show!
When we arrived in Canterbury, I took the students into the city center and met our tour guide in The Butter Market. As a lot of you know Canterbury is one of my all-time favorite places in the world. It is magical!
THE TOUR!!!
Here again is the symbol of the Rose which merged both colors Red and White from the War of the Roses. Same symbols we saw in Cambridge at Kings College.
The Butter Market with a musician.
Here is a video of him playing in the square! Enjoy the music!
Here is the Pilgrims Hospital that catered to the pilgrims visiting the Cathedral from all over the world.
The Old Weavers house is a great example of Tudor architecture.
A statue of Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer wrote in Middle English. When I was in College, I had to read the complete works of Chaucer in Middle English. It was like learning a new language. If you have never read them, do so. It is stories pilgrims told each other to pass the time on their way to Canterbury. Warning some are pretty bawdy!
Here is an example of a typical building in Canterbury where the second and third floor (1st and 2nd in England) are larger than the ground floor. Square footage gets bigger as you go up! Why? Taxes are paid on the square footage on the ground floor only so they made that floor smaller in order to pay less tax! Clever!
This statue was placed here last year honoring the Kent Regiment.
This large mask is outside the Marlowe Theatre!
My favorite house in Canterbury!
Not sure you can read the quote on the house. Zoom in!
A door shorter than Anna! Wonders never cease!
CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL!!!
Here are some photos of the outside of the Cathedral and surrounding areas on the grounds. As you can see from the scaffolding restoration is still going on. Has been for years.
Black flint was used in many of the walls!
Some photos featuring flowers, plants, and vegetation.
KINGS SCHOOL:
Students in uniforms and robes. I caught them changing classes or on their way home. It costs as much to go to this high school than it does to go to Saint Mary's.
THE CLOISTERS:
These coats of arms were on the ceiling all the way around the Cloisters
The Chapter House which was part of the monastery where monks would gather for meetings, reading of a chapter, and announcements. They sat according to rank. The ceiling is absolutely gorgeous!
Stained-glass window of all the English Rulers
Henry VIII
INSIDE THE CATHEDRAL:
The middle of the white cross is a door that opens up and things can be lowered down to the main floor.
A cool door. One of my favorites.
Part of a fresco!
When I went to Canterbury in 1974 with Providence College, my Chaucer Professor, Dr. Rodney Delasanta, who was one of the experts on Chaucer wanted us to see if we could find an image of Libra to go along with a theory he was working on to prove that the pilgrims were going there for judgement. At one point he gathered us inside and asked if we found a Libra. The response was no! I then just happened to look down and saw this on the floor where we were standing. Next thing I knew he had me taking pictures of it that he used in the journal article he had published. Every time I see it it brings back great memories of a great man!
The reason Canterbury became a pilgrimage site was Thomas a Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered by four of King Henry II's knights. Henry and Becket were best friends and he made Beckett his Archbishop. Thomas was his own man and the two of them clashed when it came to the Church. Henry made a statement that he wished this guy would be gone. So four knights murdered him. There are two plays that deal with this: Becket which was also a film that starred Richard Burton (Thomas a Becket) and Peter O'Toole (Henry II) and Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot. Ironically, O'Toole played Henry again at the end of his reign in the play and movie The Lion in Winter with Katherine Hepburn. A great, great movie. It was also Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Daltry's first movie. This candle is where the first shrine to Thomas was located before it was destroyed.
Stained=glass window that has Thomas a Becket in it.
More stained-glass!!!
The choir.
Shrine to Becket.
One of many tombs in the Cathedral.
If you would like to see more images of Canterbury go to my February blog which features the Chamber Singers Tour of England: London, Canterbury and Oxford. Until next week....
THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment