In honor of the Romano-British people whom we studied in class on Tuesday, I decided to call this post “Adventures in Londinium,” though my first trip to London took me far beyond the boundaries of the Roman settlement. We set out from Cambridge in the morning to take the train to London in order to see Titus Andronicus at the Globe Theatre. Although I have been on many trains in Germany, I had not yet encountered the British rail system; overall, it was much like the Deutsche Bahn. Some things never change with train travel, such as running down the platform to catch the train (which is exactly what we did). Another constant is that there are never enough seats together, causing me and several others to stand for the fifty-minute trip to King’s Cross. The train was quite exciting to stand on, though, since the rails were rather bumpy; it was almost like our own personal rollercoaster train ride!
One of the essential London experiences, at least for a tourist like me, is to ride the Underground (better known as the Tube). We had a plethora of Tube experiences during our hours in London, riding on several different lines. I never knew how much of a tourist I truly was until the announcer on the Tube delighted me by saying “mind the gap.” Somewhere in my mind I probably believed that that phrase was just a made up British-ism, so hearing it in real life was definitely a cheap tourist thrill. In terms of architecture, the neatest Tube station I saw was Westminster, right near the eponymous palace. As we rode the escalators to the Jubilee line, going further and further underneath the city, the station took on a sort of industrial vibe, with exposed piping and lots of steel; it was the most modern station we were in all day.
From King’s Cross we went straight to the British Museum, which was crowded with more people than I could ever visualize in one museum at once. Everywhere I turned there were people; in nearly every picture I took of an object, there is someone’s face. I knew before coming to England that the British Museum was enormous, big enough in which to spend a whole week, but I was still surprised by the size of the place; it was not merely enormous, it was gigantic, probably big enough to fit an entire city inside. The museum was also very modern, with an open atrium, which the various galleries and exhibits branched off of.
We first went to the Rosetta Stone, which was smaller than I expected it to be. Somehow, in my mind, I had been picturing an enormous stone ten feet across and ten feet long; however, it was only a few feet wide and long. Despite its underwhelming size, though, the Rosetta Stone is simply amazing as the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. In a historic sense, it is also amazing that someone (or many people) transcribed one inscription into different languages, almost as if they were intending to leave a clue about their language to future generations. From the Rosetta Stone we traveled forward in time to the Elgin Marbles (more correctly known as the Parthenon Marbles) and Assyrian friezes before going upstairs to view the Anglo-Saxon treasures found at the Sutton Hoo burial ground.
Of the exhibits and artifacts that we saw in the British Museum, I think the Anglo-Saxon treasures found in the ship burial at Sutton Hoo were my favorite. In Anglo-Saxon culture (pre-Christianization), people, especially those who were prominent, such as warriors and kings, were given elaborate burials in mounds; Sutton Hoo was one such burial site, boasting the ship burial of a king (most likely). Though the ship disintegrated over the centuries, the treasure buried with the man did not, and is on display at the British Museum.
Among the artifacts were a helmet reconstructed from tiny pieces, an ornate shield, and absolutely beautiful belt buckles and other decorative objects. The amount of detail and the level of skill required to make such things are an enormous indication that Anglo-Saxon culture was just as rich and complex as our own. I also thought that the quotations from the epic poem Beowulf on the glass cases surrounding the exhibit added even more meaning to the displays. Having read Beowulf, with its many references to treasure, and being able to see such treasure before me enriched both experiences: the museum and the play.
After the British Museum, we traveled to Blackfriars (on the Tube, of course), had a quick lunch, then proceeded to the main attraction of the day: the Globe Theatre. I must admit that I had rather low expectations for Titus Andronicus, after having read the play and the reviews of the current production; both are quite bloody and violent. However, seeing the play in person added a new level of meaning and understanding to it such that the Globe became my favorite part of the entire day. While the production was bloody-no doubt about that-I never felt that the sole aim of the production was to be bloody and gory. This feeling was partly formed by the fact that the actors were all quite good, especially those playing Aaron and Tamora; they were able to flesh out their characters through body language and vocal intonation in a way that cannot be achieved with words on a page alone. Thus, despite the increasing violence of the play, there were still discoveries to be made and enjoyment to be had.
Indeed, the major discovery I made about the play is that there is actually quite a lot of black comedy in Titus, something that was just not apparent when I read the play. Seeing it in person though, with the actors’ body language and vocal inflections, really caused the humorous parts to become apparent, especially the sheer black humor of Titus forcing Tamora to eat her sons baked in a pie. This scene was so humorously twisted that it almost brought the name Hannibal Lecter to mind. One other part of the production that impressed me was its use of space. Rather than confine the actors to the stage, the director had them moving through the groundlings both on foot and on moving platforms, running up and down a ramp on the front of the stage, and even up in the sitting areas (where we were sitting). I felt as though this use of movement aided the imagination by making the space seem larger, as if Titus really was parading though Rome, rather than a theater.
Once the play let out, we walked along the Thames a while, enjoying a wonderful view of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and a view of Tower Bridge from the Millennium Bridge. From there, we took a ride on the London Eye, which was definitely a worthwhile experience. While I don’t know whether it was worth 18 pounds or not, I am glad that I went, especially since it was such a beautiful, clear day. If nothing else, the views of the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and other buildings along the river were quite spectacular. For dinner, we ate at a pub called the Porcupine, in Piccadilly, which was very good. I had the first fish and chips that I’ve had since arriving in England, and they did not disappoint me by any means! Soon after I and others headed back to King’s Cross, and from there to Cambridge, exhausted by the very long (but very good) day.
After all of this, I have only one thing left to say: when can I go back to London?
Making the Past Present 