Shakespeare's Birthday!

On Easter Monday I took advantage of a quintessentially London experience: celebrating the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeare's birthday with a free bash at the Globe Theatre in Southwark. As we are only a week out from the dreaded Authors exam, many of my classmates have been acting like bears in winter: hibernating with their books and critical theory and refusing to come out. This study method is fine, of course, but not my style. I have always been a procrastinator and done just fine, so instead of using my last few months as a Londoner sitting in a library or at home, I'm going to jump on every opportunity I find.

I found out about this event because waaaaaay back when we first decided to make this move, I signed up for the Globe's email list. The message I got promised free activities and performances, plus the exhibition attached to the theatre, which normally runs over £13 per ticket, would be open to the public for free! Sold!

My classmate Emily met me along the river walk in front of the theatre. We were both embarrassingly excited to be at Shakespeare's Globe celebrating Shakespeare's birthday.

 Costumes in the exhibition, including one worn by Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth I

Once we'd made it through the crush of party guests in the exhibition, Emily and I were thrilled by the traditional Birthday Party going on downstairs - face painting, a puppet show, and a bouncy Elsinore Castle were just a few of the family-friendly festivities.

Once we made it into the theatre it was like being transported. I know I should say that it felt like time-traveling back to the turn of the 17th century when The Globe was built and Shakespeare was there writing plays, but instead it felt like walking onto a movie set. Maybe that's the California in me.

Emily and I were both excited when we were offered these flags that we'd seen all the children running around with

There was a performance by the Shakespearean improv group the School of Night, which not only performs in impromptu iambic pentameter, but will incorporate suggestions from the audience while increasing the difficulty of their performance (adding rhymes, couplets, or creating sonnets on the spot).

And of course there was a cake and the entire audience sang Happy Birthday to Shakespeare (and Kiara, who was turning 5)!

It would have been very easy to bail on this event, especially after most of the people I had planned to go with said that they couldn't make it, but I am so glad that I didn't. Not only did I get to spend some time with Emily and get to know her better, but I also got to participate in a London event that I know I'll never be able to recreate. 

Afterwards, Emily and I met up with some of our classmates at her flat to celebrate Easter by eating chocolate eggs and drinking wine/sangria. From there I headed over to Euston Tap to meet up with Joe and a bunch of BrewDog friends to support the Stone Tap takeover where Joe was the default Stone rep. It was a lovely London day and even ended with us walking to our bus in the rain, both very happy.

(Just wait! Next week I actually get to see a performance at the Globe!)