Stratford, Shakespeare, and Swine Flu

A trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birth - and burial- place, was planned by our program advisers. The town was simply picturesque! Getting out of the city to spend a relaxing couple of days people-watching in the town square of Stratford was a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of 7.5 million Londoners.

The best place to people-watch was in the courtyard square next to this swan fountain. Everyone was drawn to it - young, old, tourist, townfolk.

Just beyond the fountain we watched some guys knocking a soccer ball around. If you can't quite tell, the fellow with the ball is in fact wearing huge wellies, a neon green vest, and a gray beret. His friend behind the fountain is in neon orange trousers. (Yes I said trousers... but I can't say pants... if you say pants here, you mean underwear, and I frankly have no idea what color he has on or even if he's wearing any).

So that scene a little interesting, but not terribly entertaining. Now turn about 90 degrees.

You thought I was judging them. What do you think is going through their heads? "All those young kids these days... What are these hoodlums doing ruining our peaceful little town? Rant rant rant."

I actually think I know where the guys were going and what they were doing in Stratford-upon-Avon (and perhaps why they are dressed as they are). Probably the same place our friend Jared on the train from London was going.

We found some seats on the train up to Stratford and beside us is a guy in a Michigan t-shirt with a huge backpacking sack and a Strongbow. (Drinking is allowed on the rail trains in the UK. It was allowed on the tube until May 31 last year - and there was apparently a city-wide party on all the trains on that night).

Anyway, we heckle Jared for his preference in college football teams and he asks if we came all the way from Ohio "for this." We ask, for what?

Apparently, that weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon was a festival called "Global Gathering," which was an "unforgettable two-day electronic music and dance marathon" (aka a 48-hour techno rave that most will actually not remember because of the quantities of alcohol they have consumed).

We actually were going to Stratford to see some Shakespeare (A Winter's Tale on Friday night and a Saturday matinee, Julius Ceaser). The Royal Shakespeare Company's Swan Theater is undergoing major renovation, so we actually had a tour of and saw two plays in a temporary space, called the Courtyard Theater. The Courtyard Theater was built off of a previous theater space to provide a place for the RSC to perform during the 5-year renovation. (It was made with all recyclable materials, so hopefully those will be put to use when it is torn down in 2011).

The Swan
The inside of the temporary Courtyard Theater

The Courtyard Theater is the prototype for the redesigned Swan Theater. I must admit, I think the idea for the space is pretty cool - and I love the thrust stage - but those were the most uncomfortable seats to perch on for two three-hour Shakespeare plays. The railings were always in your line-of-view, so you either had to lean forward to see over them or sit in a side-bend position to see under them. Some seats were so high off the ground that your feet dangled - and I don't mean a little - I mean my feet were 6 inches from the ground. (Standing for three hours at the globe was actually more comfortable).

Dear Designer,
Please note: Not everyone is 7 feet tall. In fact, almost no one is.
Thanks.

The plays were interesting, I suppose, when I could focus on them and not how uncomfortable I was or how a bar was severely limiting my view of the action. I guess I went into them with a little bit of a bad attitude, however, because during our tour, our guide essentially bashed the Globe - which I thought was an enjoyable experience, great acting, and what I believe would be fairly authentic Shakespeare. I was going to try not to compare the two - because, to be fair, seeing a comedy versus a tragedy is likely to be an entirely different experience. I figured I would just appreciate both. However, the tour guide started the competition. Her words were something like, "Well the Globe is good for tourists, but if you want to see real theater you come to the Royal Shakespeare Company."

I guess what they consider real theater is Shakespeare's script but modern stage design, hydraulic moving bookcases, moving digital images on screens, and extremely over-the-top acting (to the point that it is no longer believable).

I really don't think the competition is necessary because they serve two entirely different purposes. One is for upholding and recreating the original staging of Shakespeare's plays and the other is for modern adaptations. Both are valid artistically. I didn't hear Shakespeare rolling over in his grave because the RSC was putting a new spin on his work.
But if you ask me which I would recommend, I say go to the Globe.


We spent one night in Stratford. I wish we'd had a little more time in Stratford. Namely, an hour. Hannah and I wanted to rent a little rowboat to go out on the Avon River.



One of the little boat renting shops had rowboats named after Shakespeare's characters. I'm not sure how many would want to row around in Ophelia... who drowned to death in a brook.


This was our hostel - a little Georgian mansion. Not bad accommodations - and they had great croissants at breakfast.



We rode the bus out the first night, but the next morning we decided to save a few pounds (in my wallet) and hopefully lose a few pounds (in my thighs) and walk the two miles into town... a little poetic walk in the English countryside.





So I've told my tales about Stratford, about Shakespeare, that leaves us with swine flu.

Many of the students with me on the trip had been a little under the weather. A sore throat here, a cough or two there, a stomach ache maybe. One girl felt particularly ill, however, with a high fever and sudden cough.

Swine flu pandemic information from the UK's National Health Services
The typical symptoms are:

• a sudden fever (a high body temperature of 38°C/100.4°F or above), and
• a sudden cough.

Well, our resident adviser tries to take her to the hospital... they aren't admitting anyone with suspicions of swine flu - big signs on every hospital proclaim this - nor are they testing for it anymore (with over 11,000 new potential cases a day), but she was quarantined.
Please note: She has since recovered!

What a weekend, huh?