Wow, I am behind on blogging. To put it simply so much has happened that it's hard to keep track of it all, so I'll try to go over some highlights of the past few days. First off, Wednesday night, Rissa, Lauren, Emily, and I had the privilege of watching "Much Ado About Nothing," which featured Catherine Tate and David Tennant of Doctor Who fame as Beatrice and Benedick. Tennant was simply incredible in his role, definitely the best interpretation of Benedick I have ever seen. It was a delight.
However, what really struck me about the performance was the intense darkness in moments of it. You see, the performance was set in the 1980s, which provided opportunity for some very loud and catchy music, but also for some much more scandalous moments--such as the implication of drunkenness and the inclusion of a "male stripper" at Hero's "bridal shower"--which was of course a silent scene included only for effect--and Claudio's attempted suicide by Hero's grave during his specified funeral vigil. Now, don't get me wrong, it was still generally a very high quality production, but there were definitely moments when the events displayed on stage really were a bit disturbing, and for some reason particularly impacted me as being the work of the Enemy in the world that evening. One doesn't think about the darker aspects of Shakespeare's comedy, often, when enjoying the brilliant repartee between the lovers or Dogberry's oftentimes-maddening malapropisms. But the atmosphere of this production truly brought it out for me.
Anyway, on to Thursday, when we visited Canterbury Cathedral. It was absolutely gorgeous, a marvelous holy place. For those of you who do not know, Canterbury became a famous site of pilgrimage after Thomas a Becket, its Archbishop, was martyred in the church in the 11oos. The church is massive, part of it gloriously high-arched and gothic, and the crypt below dark and romanesque, tremendously atmospheric. Wandering by the various chapels and altars, I couldn't help wishing to be there when all the tourists had departed and the church was truly full of prayerful silence. Environments like that make me long for a real spirit of peace--the kind that is in communion with God in every place, however peaceful or not it may seem. As inspiring and restful as such a beautiful, silent place can be, it does not represent true peace. Christ's peace that passes all understanding is not about location. It exists in spite of it. More on that later.
Friday we toured the Globe Exhibition and saw the excavation of the Rose Theatre foundations, where Shakespeare actually acted. We had a wonderful tea in a shop right by the reconstructed Golden Hinde, Sir Francis Drake's ship, and then went back to the Globe for their production of "Much Ado." Of course, it was much more traditional. All the acting was good, but there was no standout like Tennant, at least in my opinion. The greatest thing about the production was the experience of the theatre itself--it's much more interactive. The groundlings lean right up on the stage and the actors involve them in their speeches. The entire audience laughs uproariously, and sighs "awww" or hisses at the appropriate moments. So much fun.
On the way back from the theatre, we walked right by the front of St. Pauls, and it was so beautiful in the darkness. Seeing the ball and the cross on top of the theatre reminded me of Chesterton's writings, and suddenly everything I love in London came flooding back to my memory. It was a wonderful moment. We're touring on Tuesday, so I'm excited.
Yesterday we toured the Tower of London and watched "The Mousetrap," which was a delight. The longest running play in history. I do love Agatha Christie.
So, that brings us to today, which was much more uneventful in many ways. We went to church at St. Helen's Bishopsgate, an ancient evangelical church in the financial district of London, which is probably the most vibrant congregation in the city. On the way there I was really not at rest, because of some mixups with Harry Potter ticket planning which were my fault and caused trouble for a lot of people. Also, I left my scarf on the bus we took to the church, so I was really unsettled going into the meeting. For some reason, losing things really upsets me: this is the third scarf I've lost all year, and I do love my scarves, so I was really out of sorts. But I sat down in the church and immediately upon the beginning of the service, the person running it announced that the theme was the present victory of Christ. Worshiping and meditating on that idea was so uplifting, because it reminded me that no matter what happens in this life, I have victory and hope in Jesus, and no mistake can outweigh it or take it away from me. Praise God!
Besides being really blessed by the service, I managed to buy five scarves for five pounds (less than $10) in a street market and to enjoy probably the most fantastic ice cream bar I have ever eaten. So that was a lovely blessing. It's been ridiculously warm here today, and I'm very lazy. Watching "Prince of Persia" right now and folding clothes. God is good! Blessings on your Sabbath.
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