The Play's the Thing

(By Jenny via Davinia's account)

Our Wednesday started off with a guest lecture from Andrew Blake. While it did focus on the characters from the Harry Potter series, Blake brought in an interesting aspect of true life to the concepts J.K. Rowling introduced, such as the “downfall” of the English educational system. It’s sad to think that I read these books for fun. Apparently, there was a lot of underlying social commentary that I missed because I was purely enjoying it. He did ask if we would consider Harry Potter to be a part of literature, or just bestselling books, so I ask those of you who couldn’t come, “Would you consider the HP books to be literature?” And, “Why or why not?”

After the lecture, and a brief stint in the library, we headed into town. Cara, Davinia, and I were almost hit by a speeding car near the Southwark Station, but we avoided disaster and began looking for a delicious dinner. If it had been left up to me and my lack of adventure, we would have eaten at Pizza Express, but Cara shoed interest in a Turkish restaurant called TAS Pide (pee-day). Nervously, I ordered a minced lamb pide, but it turned out to be the most delicious meal. I advise you all to try Turkish food once in your life. With dinner finished, we headed to the Globe theatre to watch Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

Walking into the Globe was breathtaking. I was supper excited to watch a play in this venue. For the evening, we were considered “Groundlings”. I thought this meant that we would be sitting on the ground to watch the play; however, it meant that we would be standing for the duration of the play. At first, that was okay, but three hours later, we were exhausted and aching. Despite the torture of standing for so long, the play was fantastic. The actors were skilled enough to play three separate parts throughout and their facial expressions and actions added a lot to the text. It was more fun to watch the play than read it. I truly enjoyed the experience of the Globe theatre, but next time, I’m paying for a seat.