Today was a bit of a hectic week; our two groups were hurriedly putting the final touches on our second play project. Therefore, I didn't have the chance to do much; this will actually be the first post of mine with no pictures! Sorry!
Because of the busy rehearsal schedule, our weekly theatre trip for our Theatre in London class was cancelled, but that didn't stop me from seeking out some theatre on my own. My friend Jason and I went to the Pleasance Theatre to see the musical Assassins, which focuses on assassinations or attempted assassinations of United States presidents. Jason and I were very interested in how British actors would handle this extremely American material. Well, the accents were impeccable, the costumes and set design gave exactly the right feel, and for the most part the acting was spot on. However, I was disappointed with the overall feel of the production. Assassins is an incendiary piece of theatre, covering an explosive topic and introducing radical ideas. Therefore, I was shocked to see how relatively safe the production was. I felt that not enough risks were taken. It was a completely adequate, acceptable production, with no one element out of place. But in a show like Assassins, I want to feel nervous and scared. Instead, I found myself calmly watching the action unfold and simply observing what choices the director had made. I wanted things to be shaken up a bit more.
We did our group performances on Thursday afternoon. They both went very well and both groups were impressed with the other's work. Our group put on our study of women in Shakespeare and beyond and their silence or outspokenness. We used pieces from Hamlet, Gertrude by Howard Barker, a poem called "This is the Woman Who" by Claudia Jessop, Titus Andronicus, Oleanna, Measure for Measure, another poem called "Lot's Wife" by Wislawa Szymborska, and the song "Oh My Man". It all came together beautifully. The other group did a piece entitled "O Ruined Piece of Nature: King Lear - The natural world's indifference to human kind and our trivial attempt to control nature and its repercussions". That pretty much says it all. It was stunning and moving. Their performance was much more of an ensemble piece, blending their texts together and moving as one, while ours was more of a series of vignettes that supported our theme. We were all proud of how far we've come and all that we've learned.
We didn't have school on Friday due to the Jewish and Christian holidays. A while ago I bought tickets to the Alien Quadrilogy (all four Alien films (directed by Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, respectively) shown at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square). As a film fanatic, I always appreciate the opportunity to see classic films on the big screen, as they were first showcased when they were originally released. This cinema even showed them in their original format of 35mm. I appreciated the grainy quality of the film; it did not bother me in the least. I had a wonderful time despite the fact that I couldn't convince any of my friends to sit through eight hours of movies. I made a friend in the theatre however, a British film school graduate who came alone as well. Her name was Jenny, and she knew all about the films. We had fun exchanging little known trivia about the movies. We swapped numbers when she left after the third film (I stayed on until the end) and plan to see some more movies together. It was a wonderful experience, and even though I've seen each film multiple times, I couldn't help feeling a little bit scared seeing them on the big screen. It was a true experience.
On my way home in the early hours of the morning, I had another experience. The taxi driver who picked me up turned out to be the last male true Londoner. A true Londoner is defined as someone who was born within hearing distance of the church bells of St. Mary Le Bow in Cheapside. My taxi driver was born on March 12, 1947 and the bells were replaced on March 15. They were much smaller bells and couldn't be heard as far away, especially with the advent of more motor traffic. There were two girls born after him and before the bells were replaced, so he isn't the last true Cockney, but he is the last male. He told me his mother was even given a plaque by the City of London to commemorate the historical importance of his birth. He also told me it was his last day on the job. I congratulated him on his retirement and we had a nice chat while he drove me back to my dormitory.
My last bit of news is that our final play project, All's Well that Ends Well, has been cast. I am the Countess, Bertram's mother. I am excited for this role, hoping to expand it and not simply play into the dignified, stiff, matronly figure that she is so often portrayed as. I hope to give her a little life and humor. My classmates are excited to put on the play, and even more excited to be able to invite friends and family to the performances on April 19th and 20th. After that, our time at RADA will have come to an end. I can't believe it has gone by so fast!
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