The London taxi driver did not like Shakespeare
After we got off the train at Victoria Station we found ourselves sitting comfortably in one of London black taxis. Jian said to me in a low voice: "The London taxi drivers are said to be very talkative. Let me give it a try". He immediately struck up a conversation. It turned out the taxi driver was a very amiable and humorous guy. He asked where we came from and how long we were staying in London. After hearing we would stay for fifteen days he exclaimed: "Fifteen days? That is too long. What are you going to do in London? Last time I went to Disneyland and stayed for two weeks. It was too short".
"There will be a lot to do and see here. You have so many world famous museums, historical buildings, and you have Shakespeare", Jian retorted, "We want to see Shakespeare plays in the Globe".
Upon this he sighed: "Shakespeare? Yes, we have Shakespeare. But Shakespeare makes me sleepy. If you really want to see performance, go to see Billy Eliot, the new musical. It is not cheap and I already got a £50 ticket. It is something that depicts the life of ours. But if you like Shakespeare, go to see it." He really sounded that he could not stop us but could care less.
It would have made the taxi drive sigh again. We did go to see Shakespeare, not only once but twice and we really fell asleep the first time.
The second day after we arrived, we went to visit British Museum. We had not recovered from the fatigue of the flight and were still feeling a little sleepy from the jet lag. But returning to the flat in the afternoon we found a note tucked under the door from our dear professor, who cordially invited us to go to a play with him that night. The play only ran for a week and it was Friday already. We hurriedly finished our dinner and rushed to the tube station. The theater was at Richmond, the last stop southwest of London on its tube line. The ride was longer than we had thought, involving changing trains twice. As a result we arrived at the theater at least 15 minutes into the play.
After being led to our seats we were immediately drawn into what was happening on the stage. It was one of Shakespeares tragicomic romances, called The Winter's Tale, with a cast of all male performers. (This is even more true to Shakespearean time. Females were not supposed to be performing on stage as you have seen in the movie "Shakespeare in Love")
Anyway, the jealous husband or the king in the play was raving about his wife's supposed infidelity. He really reminded me of King Lear, another character of Shakespeare, who reacted to something with such a vehemence and madness for no reason at all. Pretty soon the play came to its darkest moment: the accused wife gave birth to a girl and was put into prison and later reported dead. The girl, thought to be illegitimate by the father, was ordered to abandon to a faraway place. With all the tension on the stage Jian and I could not help but doze off among all these tragic events. Then suddenly, I did not know how much time had elapsed; we were jotted out of our slumber. As the story on the stage went, sixteen years had passed; the mood changed, with spring in the air, music playing, and people dancing. We were then wild awake. The remainder of the play was really enjoyable. The lost daughter was finally reunited with her father. Even the presumed dead mother was rejuvenated and brought back to life. What was more; all male actors were very convincing in their roles, male or female.
By the time we left the theater everyone was smiling, and yet very content with the outcome of the happy ending. The professor apologized to us again and again for dragging us to see the play with him as we were still in the state of jet lag. But we told him we really enjoyed it, even though only half of it. Chang, young and more energetic, was not afflicted by any of these inconveniences. She saw the whole play and was urged to ask questions by the professor as a reward.
This went our first encounter with Shakespeare in London. The second time we really enjoyed it from beginning to the end. It was a sunny and warm day when we realized our dream to see a play in the Shakespeares Globe. It is supposed to see the play in the Globe when the weather is nice since the stage is in the open and any bad weather might call off the performance.
It was a matinee on a sunny Thursday afternoon. We started the day by going to Westminster Abby in the morning, which was close enough for us to catch the play in the afternoon. By the time we arrived at the gate an old man flashed a deck of tickets at us and asked if we'd like to have standing tickets. "They just cost £5 each but the play is three and half hours long", he added. We were immediately chickened out and bought three £18 seating tickets.
The Globe, as its name suggested, was a spherical structure with roofed seats on three sides and a thrust stage facing the audience on one side. The theater was not filled to its full capacity but the size of audience was impressive. Apparently a lot of people bought standing tickets. The pit in front of the stage was full of people, some sitting on the ground, some standing there with arms folded and some leaning against the stage. Some of them wore paper caps on their heads. They were handed out to them since they would be in the sun for more than three hours. Quite a few people, just like us, bought the seating tickets. We, sitting under the roof, were well protected from the sun. To give the audience a taste of what people at Shakespearean time would have experienced all the seats were wood benches with no back support or comfortable cushions. But for £3 you could rent a cushion.
I noticed that the staff, who ushered us to the seats, handed out the caps and rented out the cushions, was elders. They were like those retired grandmas and grandpas you would find in China, who volunteer at community centers or collect fees at bike parking lots.
Pericles, Prince of the Tyre, was what we saw that afternoon. It was another Shakespeare's tragicomic romance. It, like the first one we saw, was both ranked as his minor works. But the staging and performance were nothing but first rate. Most cast members were young and had acrobatic training apparently. As the plot required several scenes of shipwreck they acted them out by climbing onto the ropes, dangling from the ladders, clinging to the rails of the balcony. With the help of sound effects and their agility they really conveyed the danger of treacherous seas. The actor as the old king did not perform any acrobatic tricks, but he portrayed a very convincing character. He was so tormented by his losses that the look of terror and lament was very detectable on his face and in his eyes whenever the story required. Pericles, same as The Winter's Tale, told an old wife's tale, but the actors/actresses made it come alive and quite enjoyable. Our hearts pounded when we sensed imminent danger and pained when we saw the old king suffer. Of course we were also rejoiced when finally a happy ending concluded the play.
There was an old usher in his late 60s, who just stood across from where I was seating. Throughout the play he was standing at the same spot and watching attentively everything on the stage, smiling when it was funny and becoming solemn when something grave was going to happen. I could not help but notice his presence and marvel at his sincerity. He might have seen the play many times since he worked there but he looked like a first timer and truly enjoyed it. While Shakespeare would make our taxi driver fall asleep, he has certainly brought a lot of joy to people like the old chap. I was so moved and glad to find kindred spirits there.
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