 |
| Photo by Marlon Hazlewood |
November 12th, 2010
Hi Folks,
I'm a little late on my blog this week, as I was in London over the last few days researching, as I will be during most days the next two weeks. Now that my time here is down to a few weeks I'm realizing fast that the rare documents, sound archives, photos and so on will not be available to me after the end of the month!
I'm planning to spend two more days in the Imperial War Museum, a day in each of the National Archives and London Metropolitan Archives and a day at The Wellcome Trust Library for the history of medecine. On November 25 in London I will be meeting a leading UK history professor from the University of Kent in Canterbury. Doctor Julie Anderson is a leading academic on the history of disability and I will be speaking with her about the treatment of the disabled during the World War One period. In an email she said she grew up in Canada so it will be interesting to learn about that also.
I have just finished reading the published history of Earlswood Aslyum in Surrey, written by a McMaster university professor named Wright. Nice to know that we Canadians are doing such ground-breaking research in the UK!
The night before last I saw Warhorse at the New London Theatre in the West End. An amazing production on many levels, especially the life-size puppet horses manipulated/created by three people per horse. You had to see these creations to believe them. It was special seeing this play about World War One and its effects on man and beast on the eve of Remembrance Day. If the play comes to Canada I highly recomment it to everyone. I don't know how the Handspring Puppet Company in the UK will train Canadian puppeteers to do what they did. It was a highly unusual and compelling theatre experience that comes along every once in a while but not often.
In the afternoon before seeing the play I went into Saint Paul's Covent Garden - known as the Actors' Church - on a recommendation from Canadian theatre critic Lynn Slotkin. Although built in the 18th century the walls are covered with 20th century plaques commemorating film and stage actors, dancers, directors, producers etc who have passed away. I saw plaques to Boris Karloff, Lawrence Harvey, Robert Shaw, Vivien Leigh, Charlie Chaplin to name a few. Apparently all of these artists worshipped here at one time or another or had a memorial service here. There was even a plaque to Gracie Fields. Was she English?
An older gentleman who seemed to be living in the church with a couple of tabby cats gave me a blow by blow run down of the various actors' lives including details on how Vivien Leigh died in London and how she planted flowers in the garden outside the church. The detail of his knowledge about all things cinematic and dramatic far surpassed mine and I consider myself a bit of a film buff. For example I didn't know that John Gielgud squashed Greer Garson's first professional attempt at acting in his theatre company or that Burt Lancaster produced Arthur Miller's All My Sons on the West End with Edward G. Robinson or that Elizabeth Taylor's first two husbands had no money or that Robert Shaw drove Mary Ure to suicide or.... I could go on and on but I won't.
Last weekend I attended the Guy Fawkes celebration, walking through Farnham with a lit torch along with thousands of others and witnessing a bonfire that would make even the Cavan Blazers envious. Guy Fawkes weekend is a lot bigger here than the upstart Hallowe'en which many object to.
The weather has turned blustery and nasty here, wet and windy as they say. Apparently that is the first sign of true fall. So far I haven't been hit by a falling branch but I've come close. Wish me luck on my home stretch.
Oh, and I saw the Sutton Hoo burial helmet at the British Museum in London yesterday. For those of you who are Saxon aficionados that will mean something. For the rest of you wait till 2016 and you may see me wearing something like it on stage in our biggest production yet! Cheers.
Rob
No comments:
Post a Comment