Independent Schools Cultural Alliance - ISCA – Summer Programs in the UK

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre & St. Paul’s Cathedral

19th July 2018

The Globe Theatre

Today we went to the Globe Theatre in London.  We saw the place were Shakespeare produced most of his plays, for example Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, or for example the one that they were practicing today, Othello. The original theatre was rebuilt on 1614 after it was burned down back in 1613 while they were performing the play King Henry VIII.  The theatre that we were in today was built in 1997.

In those days, people used to attend to the theatre very often. The reason is that they didn’t have technology to produce light. That’s why they also needed to do the performances in the afternoon because they used sunlight. People would only need to pay one penny to stand in front of the stage. The better the seats the more pennies that you would need to pay.

One of the rules was that women couldn’t speak in public, but thanks to Shakespeare, they started to be heard. But during the plays he had men act out all the parts. So the men would also play woman roles.

 

St. Paul’s Cathedral

We went to St. Pauls Cathedral. Inside of the cathedral there is an area underground called the crypt. It is the burial ground for influential and important figures in English history such as the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, and Admiral Horatio Nelson, who defeated the Spanish and French forces at the Battle of Trafalgar. If you take the time to walk 259 steps to the Whispering Gallery, which is a cylindrical shaped balcony with no roof, where if you stand on one end and whisper, someone on the other side can hear it. It is an amazing experience. If you walk the remaining 269 steps, you will reach the Golden Gallery. From this point, you have an amazing view of the entire city of London.