a star danced and under that was i born

Just got back from a lovely mini-break to London! I love London. Well, I love England in general. I want to live there someday, maybe in Bath again, maybe in Stratford-Upon-Avon, maybe in London itself-- though, that is a really expensive undertaking. Still, when we suddenly were flying over land again and I thought, "Down there is Somerset! Down there is home!" I realized that I definitely need to spend some prolonged time in England again.

Anyway, day one was mostly just flying and arriving at the hotel around midnight, and going to the hotel bar for some Cornish crabcakes and a Strongbow! Then the very next afternoon it was ARTHUR DARVILL as Mephistopheles in Doctor Faustus at the Globe. Such a good production, though I did think some of the actors could have played on their diagonals a bit better. But, it had a very strong cast, especially the men playing Faustus and the fools, and some cool effects (though not as outrageous as I was led to believe they would be). I ate chocolate-covered raisins, and we sat in the middle gallery, but secretly I was quite jealous of the groundlings so close to the actors.

The next morning we had breakfast at Cafe Rouge, then took a tour of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. As some of you may recall, Drury Lane is the theater of Garrick, so I studied it quite a bit for my thesis. Granted, the current theatre dates from 1812 (Garrick retired in 1776), but it was still awesome! And in a glass case they had little bits of the stage left that Garrick would have performed on, and it felt like making some kind of pilgrimmage. Our tour guide was hilarious, and we got to see the Royal Box and the Royal Retiring Room, and stood in the wings, and walked through the auditorium, and it was amazing. After the tour, we went to the Sir John Soane Museum, which had been recommended to me by the dramaturg on Hamlet. Wonderful call-- the museum is crammed with pieces of Roman ruins and paintings by Hogarth. It's eclectic and beautiful and strange. We had lunch at the Prince of Wales pub-- jacket potato with Devonshire Cheddar and Steak & Ale pie-- and we walked up to the Tower of London, just to see it. I love just looking at it, so majestic, so full of history. We didn't purchase a ticket to go in this time, just sat on the benches outside, and looked in at Traitor's Gate, where Elizabeth I came through once long ago, when Mary was still Queen.

Then that night-- the main event! Much Ado About Nothing with DAVID TENNANT and CATHERINE TATE! Oh. My. God. My life is made. I was lucky enough to get a seat in the Stalls, six rows from the stage. The set/costume design threw me for a second, as I'm used to the staging practices at the ASC at this point, but it made sense. The text was clearly understandable and hilarious. Tennant and Tate were amazing, but of course, and the guy that played Claudio surprised me with how well he did-- normally I hate Claudio, but I found myself really feeling for this guy. After the show we went to the stage door and managed to get both David Tennant and Catherine Tate's autographs. My life has been made.

The last day we took the train to Bath, to see my old stomping grounds. We walked up the towpath a way, but it was very hot and there were too many bikers. It still looked magical, but I think I will always prefer it on a misty morning in early Spring. We looked at Nelson House, but it was closed, and we stopped by Nunes and took a picture. Opa was still there. So was Po-Na-Na. We walked by the Pump Room and the Abbey, and got Cornish pasties. We had Sunday Roast at the Huntsman and then did a bit of shopping, before heading back to London for an evening of Indian food at Punjab.

Then, home! Back Stateside now, and returning to Hamlet rehearsals today, with a mind full of England.