England, May 17-29, 2016

England, May 17-29, 2016
photos by Jeff Hohner
the following photo essay and photographs are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

The Globe Theatre, London: pre-show rehearsal.

Globe Theatre: perspective of a 'penny stinker.'

Globe Theatre: inside the reconstructed theatre.

Globe Theatre: intermission, "The Taming of the Shrew."

Globe Theatre: timberframe and the only thatched roof in London. Permits for the roof delayed construction for years. London still remembers the great fire of 1666.

Globe Theatre: after a show, this gate opens so patrons can stream out of the complex onto the bankside.

West End: the Palace Theatre. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" was about to open.

West End: a ticket agent for West End theatres was outside our hotel window.

The Royal Opera House, London: waiting for "The Winter's Tale" by the Royal Ballet.

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House: Mrs. White, in the conservatory.

Royal Opera House: the ballet was wonderful but at intermission I stumbled into this swank space and discovered what these evenings are really about.

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House: Intermissions were long enough for a quick meal. Ordering is done ahead of time.

Royal Opera House

Imperial War Museum, London: best use of projection ever. The shadows falling on the trench wall are animated. A soundtrack lets you listen in on the soldiers casting the shadows. The Holocaust Exhibition was theatrical too. It included video interviews with survivors.

Buckingham Palace, London: the Changing of the Guard. Theatre of a different sort.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon: primary home of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre: stage setting for "Hamlet."

Royal Shakespeare Theatre: our seats were fantastic, right by the stage.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Royal Shakespeare Theatre: the dimensions of the stalls look strangely familiar.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre: the Royal Shakespeare Company production of "Hamlet." rocked on all levels.

The Garrick Theatre, London

Garrick Theatre: the final show of the trip. An obliging gentleman sold me a ticket for half-price just outside the theatre. The show had long been sold out.

Garrick Theatre: intermission.

Garrick Theatre: the leads were movie stars who had just starred together in the wonderful 2015 version of Cinderella. Sadly, neither one could act for the stage. This was the only bad production we saw on the trip.

Garrick Theatre: Richard Madden, Lily James, Derek Jacobi, Meera Syal, directed by Branagh & Rob Ashford. The art direction and costumes were wonderful, and the veteran stage actors were good. Sadly, the youngsters were not. Their beautiful faces and famous names made for a wonderful marquee though. I suspect they got rushed direction. Such are the economics of theatre in the West End.