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The Stopfordian 2011–2012
discussion about the different ideas and directorial choices
that had made the play so enjoyable. We all found ourselves
humming the tune to Madcon’s catchy tune, ‘Beggin’ for the
rest of the trip!
Thursday was an action-packed day, beginning with a trip to
Shakespeare’s birthplace on Henley Street, where we learned
about the Bard’s family and childhood circumstances. The
tannery run by his father is still in the house and we learnt that
gloves are mentioned seventy times in Shakespeare’s plays
and also that the phrase ‘goodnight, sleep tight’ came from
truckle beds, the base of which had ropes which needed
tightening every night before the sleeper could retire.
Following our tour, we relaxed in the gardens and listened to
some actors reciting some famous speeches. Impressively, on
request, they performed some Richard III for us – even
fetching a sword. This prepared us for our lecture on Richard
III, which was educational, interesting and informative and
after lunch we headed to our afternoon workshop on the
same play. This was one of the highlights of the trip. On
arrival, we were introduced to two actors, Simon and Oscar,
who were to run the workshop. Oscar we immediately
recognised as the actor who had played the Dauphin in King
John the previous evening. Both workshop leaders were
professional RSC actors and we had an afternoon of mime,
games, insults (Shakespearean of course), speeches, sword
fights, grim deaths, body language and detailed exploration of
the ways in which an actor might interpret the famous ‘This is
the winter of our discontent’ speech.
Now, ‘An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told’ so I’ll
move on. The workshop and the morning lecture had been
fantastic preparation for the evening performance of King
Richard III, which enabled us to see what directorial approach
had been taken and to compare a more traditional
performance with the modernised play the night before. We
returned to the hotel tired, but full of new information and
insights. We celebrated this (and Andrew Ward’s 18th
birthday) with a chocolate cake and retired for the evening.
On Friday morning we said goodbye to Stratford and had a
pleasant morning exploring Oxford, before returning to SGS.
All in all, a wonderful whirlwind of Shakespeare. We returned
with new ideas and wisdom, but not too much; we hope after
all, ‘So wise so young, they say, do never live long.’
S.L. Moore
OXFORD TRIP
The Oxford trip was a wonderful experience for all the
students who went and gave us a real flavour as to what life in
Oxford would be like. Reverend Leaver helped us get the
most out of the trip by providing an information booklet
before we went, which included a map of the colleges and
events that were on while we there. This helped us plan our
visit so that we could find out as much possible about the
university and the courses we wished to study there.
However, we were also given a large degree of responsibility
to plan our own itinerary which was a great experience in
itself as we went round Oxford by ourselves or in small groups
and had to arrange meeting with professors or lecturers
ourselves. Whilst teachers were always on hand to offer
advice or help, it was fun to go round the colleges with
friends.
Going to the university gave me a far better insight into the
course and student life, than simply trawling through their
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