Since this is my last weekend in England before returning to the real world (aka the United States), I decided to go out with a bang. Accordingly, Hadyn and I caught the train this morning from Cambridge to King’s Cross, intending to spend our last weekend power touring in London. What better place to bid farewell to England in than London? I personally can’t think of one! As this was the third time that I’ve been to London now, navigating King’s Cross seemed natural, rather than completely overwhelming, which was my first impression weeks ago. Furthermore, the Tube, which also seemed very complicated at first, has lost most of its mysteriousness as well. I think this development is quite good, allowing me to think less about public transportation in London and more about what I want to see once I get where I’m going. Additionally, the more I get used to riding the Tube, the more I wish I could live in a large city (preferably in Europe) where I could ride public transportation most places; although I enjoy the freedom that a car provides at home, I do like not having to sit in traffic jams!
Anyway, back to London. After arriving at King’s Cross, Hadyn and I rode the Piccadilly line to South Kensington, where our hostel was located. I knew that South Kensington was a nice area after looking at pictures of the hostel online, but I didn’t realize just how upper class it was until we got there. The streets are very wide, resembling traditional grand European boulevards, with trees in the median on the larger streets. As for the buildings, there was row after row of large townhouses, with columns in front. In an area this nice, there was little doubt that our hostel would be anything but nice either; indeed, this was certainly true, as it was clean, relatively spacious, and very modern inside. If I were to indulge in stereotypes, I would also say that the cleanliness and modernity of the hostel was assured by the fact that it is run by a German company (Meininger). Even though it was only 11:00 in the morning, Hadyn and I were able to check in to our room and drop off our bags before catching the Tube once again. From South Kensington, we rode to Blackfriars, on the river, so that we could make our way to the highlight of the day (and perhaps the entire weekend): the Globe Theatre. Both of us so enjoyed seeing Titus Andronicus performed earlier in the trip that we decided to buy tickets for Julius Caesar, which is what we saw today.
The matinee was not until 2:00 pm, giving us time beforehand to eat lunch, a very good thing, as we were to be groundlings. This meant that we would be standing the entire performance, rather than sitting as we had done with Titus; however, becoming a groundling for a few hours was completely worth the foot pain, as the tickets were only £5, which is incredible for theatre in London (or anywhere, for that matter). From our previous trip to the Globe, we knew that there was a Pizza Express right across the street, so the two of us somewhat appropriately enjoyed pizza for lunch before delving into the politics of ancient Rome. Of the several Pizza Expresses I have eaten at in England, this one has to be my favorite, partly because the quality of the food is very good, and partly because we ate with a view of the Thames and St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is not something that one gets every day. After finishing our lunch, we proceeded to the Globe, where we stood in line for the next half hour or so, waiting for the theatre to open. Our wait was quite enjoyable though, as two actors put on a puppet show, in which they informed us of the backstory of Caesar and Pompey, complete with much humor, references to The Princess Bride, and quotes from The Lord of the Rings (all of which were popular in ancient Rome, of course).
When we saw Titus Andronicus at the Globe, I enjoyed it very much and wrote about how much better that play was when one is able to see it performed, rather than simply reading it. After such a wonderful experience at Titus, I was unsure whether Julius Caesar would be able to top it, partly because I did not greatly enjoy the play when I read it in high school. However, continuing my opinion that seeing a Shakespeare play performed is ten times better than reading it, Julius Caesar was absolutely amazing. I would even go so far as to say that the entire production was better than that of Titus Andronicus. The acting was top-notch, especially that of the actors playing Brutus and Mark Antony. When I read the play in high school, I got the impression that both these characters were middle-aged and was less able to relate to them; however, in the Globe production, both Brutus and Mark Antony were cast quite a bit younger. Indeed, I would guess that the two actors were only in their mid-thirties, at most, giving the play a more youthful feeling. Furthermore, the quality of the acting allowed me to form a deeper emotional bond with the characters than ever in Titus Andronicus. When Brutus died, I was genuinely sad, and, by the same token, when Mark Antony gave his great speech after the death of Caesar, I began to feel that I could easily give him my allegiance, as the Romans in the play were doing. To say a bit more about Mark Antony’s speech, I was deeply impressed by the actor’s skill in this scene, as he moved from anger to grief to passionate rhetoric within just a few lines.
Another reason why I enjoyed Julius Caesar so much is that the quality of the poetry in general is much better overall than that in Titus Andronicus, probably largely due to the fact that Titus was written at least five years before Julius Caesar. Obviously, in the intervening time, Shakespeare’s writing became much more mature, and he began charting his own path in composing tragedies. With Julius Caesar, Shakespeare was no longer attempting to emulate the bloody revenge genre (popular among his contemporaries), but was beginning to explore the psychological motivation behind an act, as well as the effect that such an act, such as the murder of Caesar, had upon those who carried it out. In my opinion, which I must admit is completely different than what I held in high school, Julius Caesar almost benefits as a play from the fact that Caesar dies in Act 3, as it allows the audience to see firsthand how Brutus and Cassius deal with the aftermath of their conspiracy and how the effects change both of them. Moving from the psychological aspects of the play to the physical, the final reason why I loved Julius Caesar so much was the experience of being a groundling. Although my feet and back hurt after standing for three hours, it was well worth being only a few feet away from the actors at times. Hadyn and I stood only one row back from the stage and were close enough to touch the actors as they moved throughout the groundlings at times. I do not know of any other theater where one can have the same experience of being up close and personal with the actors in a play. Overall, I think my visits to the Globe Theatre are definitely among the highlights of my time in England; indeed, I would recommend a visit to the Globe for anyone traveling to London!
After the play ended, which was around 5:30, Hadyn and I shopped at the Globe Theatre gift shop for a while; I bought a groundling T-shirt to mark my experience, as well as a souvenir notebook with one of my favorite quotes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream on it. From the Globe, we popped into a nearby Starbucks to rejuvenate ourselves and plan our next move. Consulting my guidebook, we decided to head back to South Kensington and eat at a Thai restaurant that was recommended (by Rick Steves, nonetheless). As it was rush hour on a Friday afternoon, we rode the most crowded Tube train I have ever seen from Blackfriars back to South Kensington; at times like these, I am truly reminded of the fact that eight million people live in London: at peak times, everything is crowded. From the South Kensington Tube stop, it was only a short walk to the Thai Square restaurant, which was very good. This was actually the first time that I’ve had Thai food in England, and my phad siew did not disappoint. Once we finished with dinner, Hadyn and I walked back to our hostel to drop off our shopping bags, where we found that we had acquired one more roommate for the night, who was already asleep.
However, we decided not to follow the example of our roommate: for us, the night was still young! We decided to walk toward Kensington Gardens, which were very close to our hostel. Near the gate through which we entered the gardens was the Royal Albert Hall; furthermore, not too far into our walk, we ran into the Albert Memorial, a large monument (with much gold) dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria’s beloved husband. My favorite part of this monument were the four statues surrounding it, depicting the continents of Europe, Africa, Asia, and America. The statue for America is quite indicative of British feelings toward their former colonies in the mid-nineteenth century, as two of the main figures were a frontiersman with a gun and a buffalo. Apparently, all Americans do is shoot guns and hunt buffalo! From the Albert Memorial, we walked to Kensington Palace, which was very underwhelming from the outside, as it was made of brick. At first, I was not even sure that the building was Kensington Palace, as it did not look regal enough to me to be the childhood home of Queen Victoria and the current home of William and Kate. I suppose if I were to tour the palace, it would be much grander on the inside than the outside (hopefully); however, the exterior seems to continue the trend of British royal palaces being much less ornate than those on the continent.
By the time we got to Kensington Palace, it was getting both darker and colder, so Hadyn and I headed back to our hostel, where we relaxed for a while before going to bed. Tomorrow, we’re off to Westminster Abbey in the morning!
Making the Past Present 