Day 1

March 10

I was absolutely overwhelmed! Everyone said I’d be disappointed by the Globe Theatre’s lack in size, but I was thrilled. It was so beautiful. What I had forgotten about was the visibility between actor and audience. I would be very interested to see a soliloquy delivered as a conversation with the audience rather than an internal monologue. The theatre was simply magical. I think my favorite part was the Heavens painted on the ceiling… It must be so inspiring to have that to look at as an actor.

While on the walking tour, I realized that I had never put two and two together in regards to the Great Fire of 1666 and the Blitz during WWII. I knew about them, but for some reason I never thought that that equated to a lack of old architecture. I was fascinated by the diversity of architecture; there were so many buildings from different times clumped together. I was particularly blown away by the square with the underground Roman arena, the castle from the era of Henry IV (of particular interest to me since I had recently performed in Shakespeare’s play about him), and the church with the ongoing discordant bells. The bells really transported me, I could imagine the square filling with people in period dress coming out of church, like many a Shakespeare opening scene. I was very impressed that London seems to be ever-changing, always in evolution with history. Each century left it’s mark on the city. It wasn’t what I expected, but I loved it nonetheless! (I also loved the medieval ruins!) 

The sun rises on my first day in England!

Landing in Heathrow Airport... So exciting!!

Our beautiful, cozy hotel... Home for the week!

The ever-dynamic Professor Alan Wade, our guide in London.

My first glimpse of the River Thames!

Arriving at the Globe Theatre.

The ill-fated special effects box... It lead to the downfall of the original Globe!

The inside of the Globe Theatre... It's beauty blew me away! (Unfortunately, 'Shakespeare in Love' was NOT filmed here)

The Heavens- My favorite part of the stage.

Me, in front of the stage! The theatre had such an amazing presence.

So long, Globe!

The man himself.

And his Queen! This gown was incredibly intricate- very impressive!

'A Winter's Tale': "Exit pursued by a bear." Best stage direction ever written.

St. Paul's Cathedral... Remarkably, it survived the Blitz! (It did not make it through the Great Fire... The original architecture was Gothic!)

This sign declares that this spot is the highest altitude in London... According to our guide Michael Winter, this is a lie.

This is the square with the Roman Arena underground... And in the center is the church from King Henry IV's time! It really had an impact on me and made me think back to my performance in the play.

The 19th century church whose bells never stopped ringing!

A close up of the Henry IV church- beautiful! (Note the 1960's era building in front!)

Another 19th century building!

Love Lane- Apparently not inspired by Shakespeare-sonnet-love... Rather it indicated the old Red Light District. Oops.

Shakespeare!

Medieval ruins- In the middle of the city!

My absolute favorite meal that I always eat on my birthday: Bangers and Mash! I was thrilled to find that it was widely available. Naturally it was my first dinner. :)