I arrived in London on Monday, the 16th, and caught the train to Stratford on Tuesday. Well, actually, "caught the train to Stratford" is something of a euphemism. Due to a breakdown of the board listing the tracks and times for all the trains at Marylebone Station and the level of chaos that ensued, I actually caught the train to Harrow and then had to turn around, go back to London, and wait for the next train to Stratford. But as this didn't afford as convenient a connection to Stratford as the earlier one I had missed, Miriam volunteered to come fetch me at Leamington Spa, where I would have changed trains had I taken the correct train in the first place. Confused? Not surprising. Indeed, it reminds me of the role of train time tables in Dorothy Sayer's wonderful Peter Wimsey novel 5 Red Herrings. British Rail gets you there, but not always directly or on time.
 |
| Statue outside the Swan Theatre |
The Duchess of Malfi is a terribly misogynistic revenge tragedy in which everybody dies. Director Maria Alberg doubled down on this theme, bathing the stage in blood (literally) in the second half. She chose a young black actress, Joan Iyiola, to play the Duchess as a stunningly strong woman. While those who know the play well took exception to some of the director's choices, it really was an extraordinary theater moment.
On a much lighter note (thank goodness), Miss Littlewood celebrates the career of Joan Littlewood who shook up and reinvigorated British theater in the mid-twentieth century (much as Joseph Papp did in the US with the free Shakespeare plays in Central Park). She is probably best known for bringing Brendan Behan's The Hostage and Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey to the stage and later produced Oh What a Lovely War (1963). In this new play, Joan Littlewood is on stage all the time, sometimes participating and sometimes commenting while various actresses play her at different times in her life. She wears a dark cap throughout and each of the actresses who play her (among other roles) also wears a blue cap while playing Joan. I thought that was a very clever way of helping us all keep things straight. Great fun!
 |
| Mary Arden's Farm |
 |
| Preparing the noon meal in the kitchen |
On Thursday morning, Miriam and I drove to Mary Arden's Farm, about three miles from town. It was the farm of Shakespeare's mother's family and offers a lot more kid-friendly and interesting insights into the life and times of this greatest of English writers than some of the buildings in town. There are all kinds of farm animals and folks dressed up in the clothing of the time going about the chores of the day (e.g. cooking a meal or sharpening a knife) and there's a falconer with an owl who gives a lovely demonstration. I had not been there before and was so glad to add this site to previous visits to the birthplace, school, etc.
On our last evening together, Miriam and I went to a new Stratford restaurant called Salt, created by a chef named Paul Foster who has worked in several starred Michelin restaurants. The meal was exceptional, especially the first course of mussels, out of their shells, mixed with tomatoes and some finely chopped vegetables and bathed in tomato water. I have to say I have seldom experienced anything so extraordinary. It was a wonderful conclusion to a lovely visit.
