Tonight I sadly write my last blog post on our incredible study abroad journey. I write this post with a full heart. We have experienced so many incredible plays, sights, museums, and I have gained so many wonderful friendships. We end our journey in Stratford-Upon-Avon, the city of Shakespeare’s birth. Shakespeare is so important to our studies on this trip and in theatre as a whole. The culmination of this trip just seems right to end it in the city of the birth of the author some of the most well known plays in the entire world. Stratford is so different than London. The pace of this town is slower, quieter, and everything sort of stands still at night. The scenery here is green and homes and cottages look like something out of a fairytale. This town is actually what I pictured all of England to look like. I feel safe here. I love London so much and I love the feeling of being in the city but it has been so lovely to get away to the countryside and see so many historical sites to Shakespeare’s life. We saw Anne Hathaway’s cottage and Mary Arden’s, Shakespeare’s mother’s farm, as well as the home Shakespeare was born in. We also got to see the site of Shakespeare’s grave. We get to see such a timeline of Shakespeare’s life in this beautiful little town. It’s crazy to get to experience this place where in my entire academic career I have known about this man- William Shakespeare. Now here I am, in these streets experiencing a similar scenery to what Shakespeare would have known. We saw two productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company in our time here. One was The Duchess of Malfi and the other was Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet is one of my all time favorite plays. I was disappointed in the production we saw. The production tried to modernize the play in costume and sound and dance numbers and I felt that in doing this, they lost a lot of the classical meaning in the play Shakespeare had written. This was my first time seeing a play production of Romeo and Juliet and I felt that the acting and direction was too chaotic. I think I critiqued this production so hard because of the way I truly love this play. I do understand the ways that some productions are trying to modernize their approaches and express their own creativity, however, I feel sometimes some plays work best when acted as they are written; with more minimalistic costumes, set, and production especially for a Shakespearean play. I do think that even though I did not completely love every production I saw in our time being in Stratford, I have absolutely fallen in love with other plays and productions we have seen in our time in England. Some of my favorites were Machinal, Red, Peter Pan, A Brief Encounter, The Rink, and Matilda. It honestly feels like this opportunity to study abroad has been a dream. As my time in London comes to a close, I am reflecting on the ways this study abroad program has changed me as a student and as a person. In analyzing plays and discussing technical elements of production and script I feel my skills in analysis have improved greatly. We have had many adventures since arriving to London. We have seen things from Buckingham Palace to having high tea time to navigating a tube system. Traveling abroad can seem scary, intimidating even. I have found such a home here in London. The rush of the city is like nothing I have ever felt before. We have also experienced being able to tour theatres such as Shakespeare’s Globe and Royal Drury Lane. I feel that without this study abroad program I would not feel as developed in my theatre minor as I do now. I am so grateful for every stranger, experience, and adventure that London has given me. I think study abroad is so important not only for academic growth, but for personal growth. As a person I feel more confident in my navigational skills, in my ability to problem solve in a stressful situation, and in the ways I manage my own stress away in an unfamiliar situation. I think everyone should study abroad. I have learned so much about the history of theatre in the heart of London. I’ve also importantly learned more about myself. This has been one of the most memorable times of my life. London is now where I want to pursue a career. Studying abroad in London has changed the course of my life in ways I can’t even completely imagine. Here’s some photos to end this journey. I think in a lot of ways the journey is actually just beginning.
Cheers.
Rachel Croland
