Brush Up Your Shakespeare

(So I probably should be doing something productive like reading or paper writing right now, but blogging can be productive right? Thanks for enabling me. Anyways, I'd rather do this than homework right now.)
Yesterday, I went to Stratford. That's right, the Stratford, as in Stratford-upon-Avon, as in Shakespeare's hometown. Now I know I'm huge nerd, with a specialty in Shakespeare, but it was soo exciting and soo much fun. I went on a field trip (don't you miss those?) with my Shakespeare in Performance class. We didn't do any of the traditional sightseeing, but just being in the town and seeing all the old black and white buildings was enough for me. Plus, who can't love a town with a Fool statue in the middle of one of the main squares and has cafes called "Food of Love" and "As You Like It". Nerd heaven. (I can't wait until ASE comes back to Stratford for a couple days.)
Our class went to visit the Shakespeare archives and see the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Julius Caesar, which we just read in class. We didn't get to go to the official archives - instead the archives were brought to us. We spent two hours in this little room that had photos, programs, prompt books, and review clippings from previous RSC productions of Julius Caesar. It was really fascinating to see the different approaches productions have taken over the years and it was really nerdily awesome to see the old prompt books. The one not-so-exciting part - we had to wear silly gloves so as not to ruin anything. Ha.
After looking at all the old stuff, we stopped for tea (yes!) and then got a brief tour of the town. Then it was dinner time (fish and chips) and then we went to the theatre. We spent a good chunk of time in the gift shop, which had so much awesome Shakespeare stuff that you don't really need but is really cool. This design is one of my new favorite things of all time. (Oh, Shakespeare humor.)
Finally, the show started. Now, I'm not a huge fan of Julius Caesar. I was excited to simply see a show in Stratford, but I wasn't necessarily excited about this show. But I ended up really enjoying the production. I didn't love it, and there were things I didn't agree with, but they made some really interesting and unexpected choices that made watching the show fun. I won't bore you with all of the details, but I'll share two of the highlights for me. The first was the opening. As we came into the theatre, we saw these two bloody and bruised boys crouched on the stage. They started fighting each other, grappling and even biting each other, like animals. It was Romulus and Remus. My words can't even do justice to how unnerving this was, to watch these two boys attack each other in this horribly brutish and animalistic manner. It set the tone for the rest of the show and really emphasized the degeneracy of the Roman people in the show. Another favorite part was Marc Antony. I personally always picture Antony as this "perfect Roman" with that famous line "Friends, Romans, countrymen..." But this March Antony was kinda a fat alcoholic. Again, I can't quite describe why it worked so well, but it was so unexpected and was also an entirely plausible interpretation. I love choices like that.
And then, we went home on our little mini-bus. And I started thinking about how truly happy I am being in England right now. It just kinda dawned on me, since I wasn't worrying about the next thing I had to do or stressing about my homework and papers, that I'm so lucky to have all of these opportunities. And just this flood of gratefulness washed over me. I even felt this rush of productivness building up inside me (hopefully that will carry over the next couple of days...) And the best part? As I was sitting with my eyes closed, I started thinking about how it, surprisingly, hasn't really rained since we've been here. When I opened my eyes, this perfect light drizzle was coming down. I love England.