by Jospeh Mounsitiraj
Joseph in Stratford
On Thursday morning the class embarked on a coach (not a bus) at the bright and early time of 6:30am for a field trip first to Coventry, and then to Stratford-upon-Avon. Stopping at a service station for breakfast and caffeine, we arrived in Coventry and toured the ruins of the old cathedral, bombed during World War II, as well as the newer, modern cathedral, built right next to the ruins. With lovely stained glass windows, a massive tapestry, and thin, tree-like pillars, the new Coventry cathedral is distinctly different but equally as beautiful as the old.
After singing in the cathedral for a few local members of the community, we had a quick bite to eat in Coventry and departed for Stratford. Arriving in the quaint hometown of Shakespeare, we were given a few different places of note to explore before we had to meet for a performance of Cymbeline at the Royal Shakespeare Company. I went with a small group to Shakespeare’s birthplace, the Holy Trinity Church where he is buried, and we even walked out to Anne Hathaway’s cottage just in time to be the last people allowed inside to visit the cottage and the beautiful gardens surrounding it.
Shakespeare’s Grave
After a filling dinner at the Garrick Inn (where we ran into our faculty as well), we saw a thrilling performance of Cymbeline at the Royal Shakespeare Company. I enjoyed the deep thrust of the stage which put the actors right into the audience, and the simplicity of the set props which let the acting shine. And of course, I have to talk about the lighting design. Overall it was relatively simple, but there were a couple of interesting effects such as a large circle flying above the actors that I interpreted as a sun, the use of sprinkling lights and chains as rain, and, rather unfortunately, strobes for lightning which lasted way too long hurt my eyes (and that’s saying something from someone who loves flashy lights).
After the amazing performance, we all got back on the bus to attempt to do our FRAs on the way back, but by the time we were back in London at 1 in the morning, most of us woke from our naps only to go back into the hotel and straight to bed.
