Globe Theatre, London

Before arriving in Prague, I spent two days in London and one day in Munich. The first day in London was mainly exploring the elegant neighborhood of South Kensington and JET LAG. The next day, we toured all the major sights- Big Ben, London Eye, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, and such. I tried fish and chips with London Pride beer (both winners!). Later my friends and I checked out the Tate Museum of Modern Art, and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre! 

I'll admit it killed me a little to be in London and not see a show (*cough* WARHORSE), but I am so grateful I got to see the Globe. It is of course a replica, the third of its kind as the first two burned down- thatched roofs are not the most practical! The Globe's current thatched roof is equipped with a sprinkler system, though, so no worries there.

This is the exterior, from the Thames River. Above you can see the Millennium Bridge, which was sadly destroyed by the Death Eaters in HP6... alas, alas. 

At its time, Shakespeare was trashy stuff. The globe theatre was built on the other side of the Thames- outside the City of London, so that it wouldn't infiltrate lovely London with its theatre slew of nastiness and filth. Along with going to the theatre came gambling, drinking, and visiting brothels. Such delightful activity was most common among the "groundlings", or "penny stinkards", the lowlifes who paid a penny to get into the theatre and crowded the standing-room, ground level. They were smelly (bathed ~2 times per year, wore garlic to fend off evil), loud, rowdy, drunk, dropped a piss wherever they pleased... essentially, they were University of Pittsburgh students. Ha ha ha. I'm so funny. 

The inside of the theatre is stunning; filled with colorful frescoes depicting various Greek mythological scenes. Here's some shots of the interior:

 The heavens are beautifully painted on the ceiling above the stage:

And this is me in front of the stage:

In honor of the 2012 Olympics in London, the Globe will stage all 37 of Shakespeare's plays in 37 languages. This makes super duper excited.

As excited as I get for contemporary Shakespeare adaptations, it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to know Shakespeare is still performed traditionally, too. Hopefully I'll get to return to the Globe to see a performance!