My love for Stratford.

I could talk about Stratford-upon-Avon for days and possibly write several posts dedicated to the days we spent there, but for time's sake...you know.

We arrived in Stratford the evening of the same day we had spent touring Cambridge and Kenilworth, so this was a very rewarding and overwhelming sort of day. I cannot recall exactly, but I believe we went to our first play at the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre that very night.

Our first play was Hamlet. Oh goodness. It was superb. Hamlet was a real nutter, completely off his rocker. And Ophelia was just fantastic. I have never been more heartbroken for Ophelia to die than I did in this particular play.

The next night we watched Titus Andronicus, which I had neither read nor seen, so I felt as though I could pat myself on the back for understanding the plot without any previous study. This play was traumatizing to say the least. So.much.blood. The company actually warns the faint of heart about the intense violence in the play, and there were many an usher standing by to aid those feeling more than usually queasy. Luckily for us {?} we had front row seats, and were literally in the splash zone. You may think I'm kidding, but there were many among us who were fortunate enough to have to wash out their clothes after the play. I think this is one of Shakespeare's darkest plays {at least out of those I am acquainted with} and I am still freaked out when I think about it. It was amazing. Horribly grotesque, but amazing.

Our last night in Stratford, we watched As You Like It, which was like a hipster party in the woods, and of course I was enraptured by it. Pippa Nixon, who had played Ophelia in Hamlet, was this play's Rosalind, and my word she was amazing. This play was just the most delightful thing I have ever seen, and it was the best way to end our stay in Stratford.

Lest you think all we did in Stratford was watch plays, rest assured that we went to all the Shakespearean places in and around Stratford including two of his daughter's homes, his birthplace, Anne Hathaway's cottage, and Mary Arden's farm. And really we spent our time traipsing about Stratford which is one of the loveliest cities in the world {in my opinion}. I am determined to spend the remainder of my days {once I get to that point} living in Stratford and watching {or performing in} Shakespeare plays every chance I get. Stratford is my sort of place.

-KB

Barely able to contain my excitement at Shakespeare's birthplace. 

One of Shakespeare's daughter's homes. 

Anne Hathaway's Cottage