“All the World’s a Stage”

Wednesday

We actually did the traditional Canterbury pilgrimage backwards.  Wednesday morning we went to the traditional starting point for the journey: Southwark Cathedral, which is in London, near the Globe.  Chaucer did not have his pilgrims start here; he had them start at the Tabard Inn which at the time was in the red light district.  The Inn is no longer standing, but there is a plaque to denote where it stood, which I saw.

Southwark was starkly different from Canterbury.  We were not allowed to take pictures (although I did sneak one of the cross that the pilgrims would touch before they left).  There were services going on while we were there and only a few tourists.  It felt much more reverent than Canterbury, which had tourists everywhere.  The church was gorgeous; the stone on the outside was black, which gave the cathedral a unique look that I have not seen in other cathedrals.  Shakespeare’s brother Edmond is buried in the Cathedral and Shakespeare attended church there.  We also saw a recent addition to the stained glass with a new one celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  Furthermore, there was a John Harvard Chapel because he was baptized in the church.  Yes, this is the same Harvard who started the university. 

After we explored the Cathedral, we bought theatre tickets for the night and grabbed lunch in an open-air market.  It was very similar to the farmer’s markets back at home, but with more ready to eat food.  The man I bought lunch from asked me where I was from in the USA.  When I told him Louisville, Kentucky, he said: “Ah Kentucky! You have bourbon! I had some bourbon last night! Jack Daniel’s! (Note: that is actually a whiskey from Tennessee, but I didn’t mention that).  I love bourbon!”  I then told him that in Kentucky we have a bourbon trail that you can tour, haha.  Glad my state is famous for something!

At 2:00 we saw Henry V in the Globe.  It was good, but I would have enjoyed it more if I had been familiar with the play.  Sitting in the Globe and seeing a play as it would have been done in Shakespeare’s time was an unforgettable experience (there were no gypsies this time although there were still some fairly bawdy moments).  They try to keep it as authentic as possible and do not let the groundlings in the pit sit down.  I felt bad for those standing in the pit when it rained during the performance.  We had seats on the far left on the first floor (if you were facing the stage).  We couldn’t see everything, but it still beat standing for three hours. 

            That night a group of us saw another play at St. Martin’s theatre: The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie.  It was wonderful.  Once again, Christie kept me on the edge of my seat and delivered many twists that I didn’t see coming.  It was a wonderful day at the theatre.