From a while back...

So, I know it's been a bit longer between posts than it should have been, but I will try to catch everyone up on the last two weeks or so. When I last left you, it was snowing and London had shut down. The next day, almost all of the snow had melted (though not on the foot bridge across the Thames, which was an adventure to cross!) That night we saw Gethsemane, by David Hare. The play was ok, not my favorite, but the coolest part was the set. When we first came into the theatre, the stage was bare, and the walls somewhat resembled drywall with blue light cast on them. But once the play began, large chunks of the walls began to move, and the whole set was rear projected with images of London in fast motion. Throughout the rest of the show, different parts of the set moved and different images were projected. All in all it was very neat.
The next night-- Wednesday for those who are keeping track-- we saw a production of Midsummer Night's Dream at the Novello performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. I had never seen the show before, and I quite enjoyed it. It was an unusual interpretation of the play, and some people didn't like it. It was a lot darker and more modern than the traditional method of staging the show. The set was also intriguing. I was worried when we first came in because once again, the set was bare. All that was there was a large red moon, which was very cool, a glossy black floor, and the entire back wall of mirror. No huge moving set pieces this time, though the moon did move continuously, slowly across the top of the stage. Lights were shined from the back of the mirror at some points, which created the really neat effect of being able to see the light and the reflection in the mirror at the same time. The character of the fairy queen was hoisted up to the top of the proscenium on a crescent moon shaped hammock-type thing, where she spent most of the second act. I think I would have freaked out a little if I were her. The only bad thing about the experience was that we were up in the balcony, with some restricted views, and a group of restless high school students around us.
Something interesting we've noticed about the theatres here that is very different from theatres at home is that they allow food and drinks during the shows. During the interval (intermission) there are vendors selling ice cream! It was really strange, and gave the theatre more of a movie theatre feeling.
On Thursday we went to Westminster Abbey with Sarah. The building is magnificent from the outside, though obviously (at least obviously after class with Sarah) added on to in different times. The inside is breathtaking. I wish so much that we were allowed to take pictures inside. I understand why we weren't, of course, but I still REALLY wanted to take pictures. It was a very interesting experience. We walked into the side entrance of the Abbey, which is more or less a rough stone hallway, which quickly opens into the main part of the building. But as we walked along, we noticed that there were stone chunks on the ground that were a different color, and there was writing on them. Low and behold, we were walking over people's graves. We tried to walk around them, but soon realized that was impossible because of the sheer abundance of stones. It made me feel less awkward when I saw that scaffolding near an area that conservators were working on was sitting on top of someone's grave. We saw Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, and many other notable individuals. There was one point when we went into a chapel to note the architecture, and had to squeeze through 2 stone tombs to stand right in front of another, and I realized that we were completely surrounded by dead bodies. It was an interesting feeling. The newer section of the abbey built by Henry VII, which had a completely different feel from the rest of the building, was very open, and light, and detailed, and ornate, and absolutely gorgeous.
On Friday, we went to The National Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery, which are both free museums. Most of the museums are free here. The National Portrait Gallery had portraits of just about any notable person from England's history. Some of the paintings were fantastic, and even more so after Sarah helped decode some of their meanings. The National Gallery was fantastic, and I could have spent a long time there, but we had to hurry back to the flat for meetings. There were paintings by some incredible artists. There was Van Gogh, Degas, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Dyck, Botticelli, Seurat, Da Vinci, and so much more! It was fantastic! And the fact that it was free made it even better.
Well, that is enough for right now, more to come very soon. Sorry no pictures this time, the internet connection is being annoying.