Today we took the train to visit Stratford upon Avon! This was the birthplace of William Shakespeare, and also where many of his works were originally performed. We walked through the town to meet our tour guide, who is an actor himself working for the Royal Shakespeare Company. I’m looking forward to receiving another tour from him when we visit Oxford this weekend. He was able to recite several sonnets for us, and he gave us a detailed history of the town, specifically about Shakespeare’s life and influence. We saw the theater where many of Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed. While some of the building was added to or retouched, a large part of the theater was still the original architecture. Near the theater we passed a restaurant which was previously a pub where actors would go to celebrate after a show.
I thought it was interesting that in the fifteen-hundreds, actors were regarded as lower class, and were not respected as an occupation. Today we glamorize actors in pop culture, but Shakespeare and his company relied on donations from wealthier supporters. Another fact I learned was that women were not allowed to act in the theater, and originally male tenors played female roles. While exploring the town, I saw signs about an initiative by the Royal Shakespeare Company to promote female participation in their organization. They encouraged female actors or females who have been influenced by Shakespeare’s works to become a part of their company. These encouraged equality in their reenactments and storytelling.
Next we went inside the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespear was buried. We saw the graves of Shakespeare, his children, and his wife Anne Hathaway (not to be confused with the Devil Wears Prada actress). We discussed how Shakespear was Catholic, but he was buried in an Anglican church. This was because of the English religious reform during his time, when the Church of England broke away from Catholicism. One of my favorite facts from the tour was that Shakespeare’s head may be missing from his grave. There have been rumors for centuries that local teens snuck into the church to steal his skull. To put this to rest, the church authorized solar imaging of the grave sight, but found a shadow where Shakepeare’s head should be!
My favorite thing that I saw today was the home/birthplace of William Shakespear. Below you can see a picture of us standing in the doorway to his cottage. A fun fact I learnt was that beds in his time were supported by ropes that needed to be tightened every few weeks, and their mattresses were made from layers of straw and wool. These layers needed to be beaten to soften them and remove lumps before sleeping. This is where the phrases “hitting the hay” and “sleep tight” come from! In the gardens outside the house, two members of the Royal Shakespeare Company put on a few famous Shakespear scenes for us. I was impressed by their performance, and I enjoyed how they used other students from our group as extra characters.
In between our tours, we had free time to walk around and explore the town. Because today is a bank holiday here in the UK, the town was lively with visitors enjoying the day off of work and school. We had fish and chips with mushy peas from one of the market vendors in town. I thought the peas looked a bit odd at first, mostly because they were bright green, but they were delicious! I also learned that here you ask for “take away” not “to-go” when order food. I enjoyed exploring all of the shops in town, and I noticed that this area had many local shops and cafes. I loved seeing this town and learning about its history, and I learned a lot of interesting details about Shakespeare that I hadn’t known previously. I’m excited for our first day at BCU tomorrow!
