Stratford-upon-Avon

Our class went on a trip to Oxford (briefly) and Stratford-upon-Avon today. In Oxford, we only had a little time to walk around the city before heading out again. I'm very happy that we will be coming back later in the month. Then we continued on to Stratford-upon-Avon and all things Shakespeare.

Places visited in Stratford-upon-Avon:

• Shakespeare's Birthplace


• Hall's Croft


• Nash House (New Place)


• Swan Theatre for a production of Macbeth

Shakespeare's Birthplace was very interesting. His parents, John and Mary, bought the house in 1556 and passed to William upon his father's death. William and his wife, Anne, lived in the house briefly but did not make it their primary residence. Inside the house, was a window which early tourists carved their names. I always find graffiti like that interesting. The garden around the house was so pretty and full of such colourful flowers.

Hall's Croft was owned by John Hall who was married to William's daughter, Susanna. Hall was a doctor so much of the house was devoted to Elizabethan medical instruments and learning as well as Hall's own medical practice. He kept a journal so it was interesting to read his own words about his experiences. The only disappointing thing about this house was that there was no guided tour of any sort so you had to pick up a history of the building on your own.

The Nash House, or New Place as it was known, did have a guided tour for a portion of the house. It always makes for an interesting tour when the guide is enthusiastic about his or her subject. The guided part of the house has been preserved so that visitors can glimpse what a house of that time would look like and get an idea of some everyday activities. The non-guided part of the house is set up as an exhibit about book publishing in Shakespeare's time and all of his works. I really liked going through that area. The part that I liked the most was the quiz about his works. You had to answer a question like "In which play does a laundry basket play a part?" and then lift a flap to find out the answer.

New Place, the house which Shakespeare bought when he returned from London as a famous playwright. The house today, however, only exists as a set of foundations. The house was torn down because the owner next door in Nash House would have had to pay more taxes if it continued to stand. Unfortunately, I didn't write down if Nash was the one who torn New Place down or if it was an occupant of the house after his death.

The play, Macbeth at the Swan Theatre, was well done. The representation of the 3 wyrd sisters was very interesting. They were portrayed as younger women who were present in almost every scene though the other characters couldn't see them. It made them really feel like they were pulling strings behind everyone's actions. The thing I could have done without was Macbeth seeing visions of the other guy's decendents stretching forward to forever being represented by babies hanging over the stage. Some of them were burnt or covered with blood and just looked gross. But the actors did a good job and Lady Macbeth was a very convincing mad woman.

We got back to London around 1.30 am. It had been a very full and very long day!