Today is definitely an umbrella day – more typical London weather with overcast skies, cooler temperatures and moist air. We got off to a bad start by not carefully planning our route to Stratford-upon-Avon. Not realizing that Stratford and Stratford-upon-Avon were different places in completely different directions, we took the underground heading for the Stratford stop. As soon as we saw signs to the Olympic Village, we realized our error and had to backtrack to the Marylebone station to catch a train to Statford-upon-Avon. We had 1:30 pm theater tickets and had already missed the direct train that would have gotten us there on time. Instead, we bought tickets to Leamington Spa and decided to Uber the 15 miles from there recognizing that we would likely be 15 minutes late for the performance. Better late than never! We waited a few minutes for the train to arrive and marveled at the racks and racks for bikes stored along the tracks. Not sure I would be comfortable biking in London with all the traffic and congestion!
The train ride was about 90 minutes and a very comfortable way to travel. We caught an Uber from Leamington Spa station and arrived at the Royal Shakespeare Theater about 15 minutes after the start of our performance.
The theater, located on the banks of the Avon River, is the stage for the Royal Shakespeare Theater Company who were performing As You Like It this afternoon. Because the play was being filmed, we could not take our seats until intermission but were able to enjoy a cup of tea and biscuits in the theater cafe as we watched the live performance on a TV monitor.
We were seated during intermission. The theater was impressive with seats on three levels surrounding the stage on three sides. Called a ‘thrust ‘ stage, this emulates how theater was performed in Shakespeare’s time with actors closely surrounded by the audience.
Fortunately, we were familiar with the plot of Shakespeare’s As You Like It and could easily pick up the story line despite having missed the first few scenes live. The acting was incredible and really brought Shakespeare’s prose to life. Two actors in particular were very talented. Corin, the shepherd was played by Patrick Brennan – his facial expressions and antics as this eccentric but kind-hearted character were hilarious. Lucy Phelps, a young actress who hardly looks twenty, portrays Rosalind with genuine feeling while at the same time being playful and funny. The sets were simple for most of the production but in the final scene a large, 50 ft God of marriage emerges as couples wed in Arden Forest. An overall excellent production!
After the performance, we explored the building. The original theater was actually built in 1932 but underwent extensive expansion and reconstruction between 2007 and 2010. The stage was new as well as the stairways leading to the different levels. A mosaic fountain and bust of the bard graced the entrance to the main stairway.
The older part of the theater was at the back of the building away from the entrance to the stage. A more traditional staircase with wood paneling and red carpet led to the second level. Seven beautiful stained glass windows representing the Seven Ages of Men (Act 2 Scene 7 of As You Like It) adorned the wall.
Some interesting art decorated the second floor. A red mural with all things Shakespeare enveloped the window looking down at the main lobby of the theater. A wire frame of stars in the form of Shakespeare’s face was suspended from a wall of the foyer.
Back on the first floor, we passed Lucy Phelps, the amazing actress who played Rosalind, leaving the theater with her parents. She looked even younger in person than on stage. We congratulated her on a fantastic performance and she graciously posed for pictures with us.
By the time we left the theater, it was almost 4:30 pm; we wanted to explore the town and have a nice dinner before ubering back to catch the train to London. Stratford-upon-Avon is a medieval market town and as the 16th-century birthplace of William Shakespeare, has many historic places worth visiting. We walked the pathway along the Avon River; swans and other wild fowl swam along the banks.
A crew team rowed by practicing their maneuvers. Despite the overcast sky, the light on the water was breathtaking.
A man began throwing bread crumbs near the path and before long a bevy of swans gathered to feast. There was much pushing and shoving and two swans actually snapped at each other as they fought for food. The Avon River, the walkway, the swans, the theater, all reminded me of the many summer weekends my daughter and I had spent in Stratford, Ontario at its annual Shakespeare festival. Ontario has done a remarkable job of replicating its sister city in England.
We walked the river towards the steeple of Holy Trinity Church, both the baptismal and burial place of William Shakespeare.
The church is surrounded on three sides by a cemetery. Most of the tombstones are very old, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, covered in lichen with markings so worn as to be almost unreadable. I recalled visiting this cemetery back in 1987 when I came to visit a supplier in Lemington Spa for work and stayed in Stratford-Upon-Avon. I mistakenly thought Shakespeare’s grave was in the cemetery so we spent some time closely trying to decipher tombstones to no avail before deciding to visit the church.
As we opened the door, a rector was preparing to lock up and told us that the church was closing to visitors to prepare for evening services. Disappointed, we said we understood and asked if he could point out the location of Shakespeare’s grave in the cemetery. He took pity on us when he realized how far we’d come, told us Shakespeare was buried in the chancel inside the church and invited us in for a quick look at not only Shakespeare’s grave, but his wife, daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter and grandson-in-law’s tombs, near the front of the altar.
Trinity is a simple church with its oldest parts built in 1210.
Later additional aisles were added in 1300’s and the chancel and high altar in 1400’s. This was the church were young William was baptized, worshiped, served as a rector and was laid to rest.
Like then, it is still an active community church and was being readied for Holy Week services. We stayed for 10 mins to explore the church, visit the six graves, then thanked our host and went on our way.
We walked away from the river toward the town center. We passed the park that marked the site of Shakespeare’s family home but it had already closed for the day.
Likewise, we walked into the entrance way of his daughter Suzanne’s house, Hall’s Croft, only to be escorted out because it was closing time. So we peeked behind the fences, took some pictures and enjoyed the red tulips in full bloom.
Many of the stuccoed homes in the neighborhoods were covered in wisteria vines just starting to sprout their beautiful purple blooms.
I vaguely remembered the inn I stayed at 30 plus years ago while here on business, recalling that it was white stucco with brown vertical stripes and was called the Falcon. Much to my delight, I spotted a building that fit this description but saw it was a Hotel Indigo and a much larger property. Upon closer inspection, I saw a sign indicating that this hotel was the original Falcon Inn but had been expanded when purchased by the Indigo chain. I was delighted to find the Falcon and remember spending several nights in this cramped, dark, but very historic inn built in 1600’s.
It was getting cool and we wanted to dine in town before heading back to London. We walked the streets trying to find an open restaurant or a pub that served food. We tried the Old Thatch Tavern, the only remaining thatched roof building in town, but despite it being nearly empty, we were turned away because of a large group reservation later that evening. We passed near the American Fountain, a tribute to Queen Victoria, Shakespeare and England – U.S. relations, gifted by American newspaper publicist and philanthropist, George Childs in 1887.
After several inquiries, we found the Garrick Inn, advertised as the oldest pub in Stratford. The building that houses Garrick has been in existence since the 1400’s; it became an inn in 1718 but was renamed Garrick Inn in 1769 after David Garrick, a renowned Shakespeare actor credited with creating a full-fledged Shakespeare industry in Stratford-Upon- Avon due to his promotions of Shakespeare Jubilees in town. We had a lovely dinner and a glass of wine, ubered back to Leamington Spa and caught the train back to Marylebone. It was nearly 10 pm by the time we returned to Pax, but a great day!
