Classes ended on Thursday and all exams and papers have been completed (except for Global Issues which students are working on now as I write this blog). The last couple of weeks after Scotland were a whirlwind! In addition to completing the classes, everyone got to see a lot of shows! The last two plays for Page to Stage were The Exorcist at the Phoenix Theatre and Saint George and the Dragon at the National. Both pretty good! On the Sunday before we opened our show we went to the Comedy Store to see the improv group The Comedy Store Players. Hysterical! Other shows people saw were Les Miz, School of Rock, Phantom of the Opera, Matilda, Book of Mormon (Some students were able to get 20 pound front row seats through the lottery), Stomp, Harry Potter and the Cursed-Child (which is amazing...second row Dress Circle...great seats!), Glengarry Glen Ross with Christian Slater, Big Fish with Kelsey Grammer, and the Amazing Network at the National Theatre starring Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey). Also Young Marx at the brand new Bridge Theatre.
The new Bridge Theatre, next to Tower Bridge
Cast of Young Marx starring Rory Kinnear
Here is a picture of the very first audience in the theatre taken by Nicholas Hytner the director of the show! Look who is in the front row in the right corner! Ed Sheeran, I mean, Stefan!
The set for Glengarry Glen Ross: Act I
Act Two.
Some of us waited for return/house seats for the opening night preview of Network based on the film. Absolutely incredible!
I managed to get a 15 pound seat right to the left of where Bryan Cranston is standing. I could have touched him.
One of the cool things about the set was to the right there is a restaurant on stage where if you paid 97 pounds you get a five course meal during the performance. Some of the scenes take place in the restaurant and bar and are filmed live on the screen. The glass windows upstage is the kitchen where all the food is prepped and served.
The play is very timely with all the political unrest in the States and talk of "fake news". Famous quote is "I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore!"
Throughout the semester the Art in London class went to many museums and exhibits: The Tate Britain, The Tate Modern, The British Museum, The National Gallery and Portrait Gallery, The Barbican Gallery, The Opera Exhibit at the Victoria-Albert Museum, a street art tour in East London to name a few. Here are a few of the works of art that some students submitted as their favorite works. They all did oral presentations with power point on various topics of their choosing for their final!
The following were submitted by Parker.
Some of the street art.
An ice rink has been installed in the moat of the Tower of London!
Peyton, Liam, and Leah went to Paris for the weekend and went to Disneyland!
Anna, on the other hand, went to Krakow, Poland with another St. Mary's student who is studying in Spain. More students will be travelling Europe after they finish their studies at the Gaiety School of Acting.
Mike, Stefan, Becca, and Parker leaving the flats for the final time on their way to the airport to fly to Dublin. Stefan took the picture.
I tried my best to keep Stefan in London, but somehow he got on the plane at Heathrow.
Sat behind me and....
Kicked my seat all the way to Dublin.
We arrived in Dublin late afternoon, checked into the Abbey Court Hostel and then went to a play that night. This Beach at the Project Arts Center. It was an absurd piece dealing with the refugee issue in Europe.
Today was a free day so some of the students went to the Guinness Brewery. They also were working on their Global Issues paper to get it done before classes at the Gaiety start tomorrow. I got a well-needed massage! I also started shopping for Thanksgiving Dinner.
Some had Guinness and others had Hot Mint Chocolate from the best place in Dublin. Their Guinness hot chocolate is awesome. It is made with Guinness dark chocolate bars!
Next blog will have more on Dublin and Galway!
THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!!
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