After a relaxing Sunday, it was once again time to get up bright and early on Monday morning. This time our destination was the BBC! Due to living in Singapore, a former British colony, I've had my share of BBC and really loved the channel. I was excited to see what the inside of a television studio looked like. We were handed our handy dandy lanyards with our fancy looking BBC badges, and after the tiny hassle of traveling the metal detector and having to find all the loose change in the bottom of my pocket we were on our way. Before we even entered the building Lauren burst out into a fervor of excitement, I understood why, because there was the Tardis from Dr. Who, just chilling right outside the building. Of course some serious photo moments to be had. I was quite excited to make my Dr. Who loving boyfriend quite jealous. (Which he was)
After that the tour went a little down hill for me. We were immediately whisked away to the new department, which was kind of interesting to see, but didn't really hold my attention. I was really excited to see some sets and scenery and hopefully some workshops. When we were told we were being led to a studio I got excited again, but then I realized it was a completely empty studio. I mean our tour guides explanations of how the studio lights and walls and everything worked for different sets was interesting, but I was really disappointed when we did get to see any real sets. In fact we never even saw a camera he entire time we were there. The rest of our tour included a quick rush through the weather department and into high status dressing rooms but we never actual got to see any real productions or real employees making anything. I just wanted more. There was a fun little quiz show at the end, but overall the tour just left me very underwhelmed.
Well after a good ol' nap to brighten my mood we once again headed off this time we were destined for the grand Westminster Abbey! It was getting cold and despite two layers of sweatshirt It was definitely still feeling a bit nippy. While this may sound again like a broken record once again we were to meet an amazing tour guide at Westminster Abbey. He was super informative and had one of the best mustaches I have ever seen. He delightfully reminded me of Bilbo Baggins and it only made my tour experience more enjoyable.
One thing about Westminster Abbey that really surprised me was just how many dead people were inside it. I knew that a number of famous people "slumbered" inside its walls, but wherever you looked there was memorial after memorial after memorial. I was even more surprised to hear that they even outlawed burying anyone else there due to sanitation. I was trying not to think about just how many toes, arms, legs, or faces I was treading across. It was such a variety of people in there as well. From religious figures, to authors, to artists, to actresses, to kings. Everyone was included, even people whose beliefs were sometime not exactly "faithful" to the church were not denied, they also lied beneath the Abbey's roof. It occurred to me that the Abbey was less of a Religious building and more a national monument. While it still held religious connections, it really represented all the great people Britain has produced and their accomplishments. It was a fantastic building that held so much history. Not to mention it was beautiful example of gothic architecture. Though I admit by the end of the tour I couldn't even feel my toes and I was grateful to hop into the heated gift shop for a few minutes before heading back to the Abbey for the Evensong.
The Evensong was really beautiful, it seems so unfair that little boys have the most beautiful voices and are just destined to grow out of them. It was really useful that they gave us a program of sorts so we knew when to sit and stand and can understand the words. I'm not really one for religious ceremonies so it was better to think of it as a concert. It was really beautiful and it was wonderful to hear a performance in the cathedral. The acoustics were beautiful, after all it was the church was really built for. It's not hard to imagine how people could feel the presence of God in such a building, it certainly did fill one with awe.
After listening to the Evensong it was time to rush off to our next performance. This time it was the Blackwatch at the Barbican theatre. Now I admit I was apprehensive for Blackwatch. I had read about the play while doing the pre-departure assignments and I thought I was going to hate it. I thought it was going to be this over serious piece of dramatic acting. Instead I was quite PLEASANTLY SURPRISED. Within the first few minutes of the play I was immediately proven wrong. The very first war imagery of the soldiers ripping through the red felt of the pool table and emerging, guns at the ready sent shivers down my spine, it was just so beautiful. It really changed my mindset for the rest of the play. I was constantly being surprised by sudden musical numbers and "dance" fight choreography that was just engaging and really mesmerizing. It didn't take away from the mood of the work at all, rather i felt it wasn't jarring but rather perfectly woven in with the rest of the performance. I really REALLY enjoyed Blackwatch, unlike being my least favorite performance, instead it turned out to be my favorite. It was just so innovative and creative and masterfully done from a technical angle, not to mention a truly moving piece of work that really had me evaluating my stance on important issues.
After a spectacular evening and a truly amazing show it was time again for bead and then DAY 9!
No comments:
Post a Comment