On Wednesday 14th June, the hottest day of the year so far, all students in Exham visited the Globe Theatre in London.
Unfortunately, due to long traffic delays, the group arrived later than expected and went directly to the theatre, rather than enjoying the planned walk along the Thames in the sunshine.
First, students enjoyed a brief tour of the theatre itself, where they witnessed a group of actors warming up for the matinee performance. The theatre itself was beautiful, with murals above the stage depicting the heavens and a clear view of the real blue sky above the heads of the audience – though perhaps it would not be so pleasant on a rainy day. Both students and staff were awestruck that over one thousand ‘groundlings’ would have been packed into the compact standing area in Shakespeare’s time.
After a quick snack, the group was whisked off to a nearby studio, where students took part in workshops based on The Tempest, practising skills rehearsed by the Globe’s own actors. Finally, Bloxham visited the Globe Exhibition, a fascinating history of the original Globe and its 20th Century reconstruction. Students were delighted to see pictures of the real-life actors whose namesakes appear in the novel, King of Shadows, studied by many of them this year.
The journey home took a scenic route along the River Thames, with excellent view of the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament, before heading back to Oxfordshire. Though students were very tired and pleased to be back at Bloxham after a long day, everyone enjoyed themselves and it was an excellent way to understand a little more about Shakespeare and his world.