Wednesday September 15th: There is No Such Thing as Theatre Overload

Last night at the National Theatre, I saw a production of Danton's Death.  It is a history play, written by Georg Buchner, which takes place during the French Revolution.  More accurately, it is set during the Reign of Terror, when Robespierre (a power-hungry tyrant) arrested anybody - including friends and family members - who resisted his power and had them sentenced to death by guillotine.  This play specifically looks at the arrest, trial, and execution of Georg Danton and his followers, who were at one point close friends with Robespierre.  Anyway, the performance was very well done.  I was just in awe at the designs - the set and light design were so simple but so beautiful, and the sound design was fantastic - and the acting was excellent.  The copy of the script that we have is a different translation/version than the one we saw performed, so I'm anxious to read my copy and compare the two.

Tonight we went back to Shakespeare's Globe and saw Henry IV: Part 1.  Yes, another history play - and yes, I enjoyed this one as well!  Actually I was quite taken by the performance.  I am familiar with the script, and there are many ways to play the main character Prince Hal (King Henry's first son and heir to the throne) and I was very impressed by this actor.  The great comedic character John Falstaff makes his debut in this play, and he appears again in Henry IV: Part 2.  Apparently the Queen was so taken by this laughable yet loveable character that she asked Shakespeare to write a play for her in which Falstaff has a love interest, and so The Merry Wives of Windsor was born!  (That's the play we saw at the Globe last week.)  I can't wait to discuss Henry IV: Part 1 in class tomorrow, and I am anxious to move on to Henry IV: Part 2.  Moreover, I can't wait until we SEE Henry IV: Part 2, as the actors were absolutely stunning in Part 1 and they continue their same roles in Part 2.

Earlier today we went to the British Museum with my Britain Today class ... but we only saw a few rooms, and I will be back many many times (did you know the museums are free?!) so I will talk more about that museum at a later date.

Riddle of the Day:  Why aren't there any roads in "The City" (the one-square mile block that is actually London)?