Post 16 English and Drama students went to London last week, marking the return of the annual trip to the college calendar. Here's just a snapshot of what they got up to:
Reading Hamlet on the coach
Visiting Borough Market and Covent Garden
Watching Hamlet at the Wanamaker Playhouse (Globe Theatre)
A tour of the Globe Theatre and drama workshop with one of their actors
Visiting the National Gallery and Tate Modern
Watching Mamma Mia at the Novello Theatre
Shakespearean Shenanigans
They began their trip at 5am, with an impressive rendition of Hamlet on the coach to while away the journey. That evening, they watched the masters at work in the Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe Theatre, with gallery seats to see the evening performance of Hamlet. The stage was lit with candlelight and the candelabras were raised and lowered throughout the performance to change the lighting and ambience.
The next day, they returned to the theatre for their own tour and got the chance to shout
'to be or not to be, that is the question'
from the Globe's stage for themselves. One of the actors gave them a workshop in cadence and rhythm when delivering lines, which brought the play to life in a whole new light.
Arts and culture
The group got to experience art from hundreds of years ago, with a tour of the National Gallery. Their guide revealed the significance of the colour blue in showing wealth, as well as the subtleties of religious imagery.
The following day, it was the turn of modern art and the new exhibitions at the Tate Modern. Below is a video of one of the sculpture installations in the main atrium, which uses remote robotic technology to travel through the gallery:
Markets and Underground Adventures
They travelled the city by foot and on the Underground, experiencing the subterranean network of London - some for the first time. At Borough Market, one of the train lines ran overhead and encased the stalls beneath the bridge. Covent Garden was placed right at the edge of the Underground and London Museum of Transport. Here, the group explored the vendors and even splashed out on some Sherlock hats as a 'thank you' present for the teachers on the trip.
The Finale
To top it all off, the group watched Mamma Mia at the Novello Theatre and had a sing-along in the finale before hopping on the coach. On the journey home, they were surprised with an entertaining poem of their adventure as a keepsake.