Out of Sorts, Walk along Southbank & Globe Theater Show

Monday, August 30, 2011
London

It was bound to catch up with me, I suppose. Jetlag, late (very late!) nights and the excitement of being in London again. Never did an adage feel truer to mine ears--The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak". So when I awoke at 7. 15 am (really late for me!) with a pounding head and the sort of weakness washing over my body that makes me feel hot and cold in quick succession, I groaned. I was well and truly ill. Although I did want to join my hosts for breakfast before their departure for the Pottery Towns, I simply could not drag myself out of bed. It was best to be sensible about it and not fight nature. So I dozed myself with an aspirin for the headache, slid under the covers and went right back to sleep thinking I would nap for another hour.

But I did not awake till after noon! Shocked but happy to discover that my headache was history, I showered and washed my hair and ate a pizza lunch. With a bit of food in me, I felt much better. Of course, it had to be a gorgeous day, the sun pouring down in warm profusion over London. Text messages from Shahnaz and Azra urged me to get out and enjoy it. I did not need much arm-twisting. They came over to Amen Court, Edward (still enjoying a lazy Bank Holiday weekend) decided to join us and we went for a walk, determined take it very easy.

A Walk in Southwark:
Of course, that's easier said that done. Thebest laid plans of mice and men and all that...London is too walkable a city to encourage sitting around--unless, I suppose, you are lounging on a green striped chair in a park with a book. So past St. Paul's and on to Wobbly Bridge we went, joining vast throngs on tourists taking the air. No sooner was I striding across the Thames than I noticed a new building on the Southbank skyline towering like a modern-day Eiffel Tower into the clouds. It is the Shard, explained Edward, a new structure comprising office buildings. Hmm...it is still incomplete and I'm not really sure I like it...but I shall withhold judgement until it is ready.

Past the Tate Modern Gallery we went and into the precincts of the Globe Theater where we discovered the Groundling tickets for standing in the Pit were available for five pounds for tonight's performance of The Globe Mysteries written by Tony Harrison and directed by Deborah Bruce. Naturally, we had to go, especially since we had wasted the morning doing nothing. Within minutes, we had our tickets in our excited hands. Having studied 'The History of Drama' way back when as an undergraduate in Bombay, I was well aware that the Mystery and Morality Plays had preceded the Elizabethan drama cycles that had produced the likes of Shakespeare and Marlowe. I was also aware that Mysteries were used to educate the illiterate theater goer and were a very popular form of cheap entertainment. But I had never seen Mystery plays in performance. To be able to see them at th Globe was special and I couldn't wait.

Our walk continued, under Southwark Bridge and into the territories of open-air wine bars until we arrived at the site of the infamous Clink Prison which is a museum today. It reproduces the torture chambers of old and not having a stomach for that sort of thing, we declined the impulse to enter. Next, we were gazing upon the ruins of the Bishop of Winchester's Palace--only one wall of his private chapel remains. This notorious prelate was so corrupt hat he owned every single brothel that existed in the area. It was individuals like him who made the Reformation necessary, I strongly believe.

Just past the Palace stood Sir Francis Drake's The Golden Hind (although the golden hind figurehead on the prow from which it derives its name has silvered from exposure to the elements) with which he circumnavigated the globe. A theatrical skit was in full spate on the deck and various costumed characters from Elizabethan days strode up and down the ramp leading to it.

After lingering a little for pictures, we soldiered on until we arrived at the flint walls of Southwark Cathedral, the area's oldest structure. Indeed there has been a church on this site since 900 AD and every poet and playwright of the Golden Age of Drama worshipped here from Gower to Shakespeare to Marlowe. Inside, the holiday had suspended the collection of payment to tour the church and we were able to take in its attractions: the mortuary statue of Gower, the sculpture of the reclining Shakespeare just below the stained glass window that depicts his plays, the superbly carved stone altar with the gilded wooden statues below it, the carved wooden choir stalls. Yes, Southwark Cathedral offers a great deal to fascinate the visitor and I always enjoy my forays inside, no matter how often I enter.

Further on, we arrived at the famous Borough Market where, over the years, I have enjoyed several free lunches in the generous 'tasters' handed out by artisinal food retailers selling unique sausages, cheeses, chocolates, bread, spreads, preserves and the like. Alas, it was all shut down for the holiday although the strong aroma of meat surrounded the space.

Then, we were crossing London Bridge Road and making our way to The George, London's only remaining 16th century 'galleried' coaching inn, now maintained by the National Trust. It continues to run business, though, in "victuals" and since it was almost 5 pm and we were rather peckish, it made sense to chow down over good British pub grub. Edward had a pint, I had cider, Shahnaz and Azra chose to eat a full meal--fish and chips and a tuna salad, both of which were so huge that we all tucked in. Replete with our meal and having enjoyed the aged ambiance of a space that has featured in the novels of Dickens, we set out again noticing a marked drop in the temperature. I hoped it would not get too chilly during our open-air evening at The Globe.

Since we were still early, we strolled to the Tate hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the ground floor installations only to realize that it was past 7 pm and the museum had long shut down. The clear light of English summer evenings can be so deceptive--it is impossible to believe it is so late when there it is still so bright.

A Performance at The Globe Theater:
Into the Globe we went to join the short queue of Groundlings eager to get the best 'seats'--although you really do not have any. The doors open half a hour in advance. We sat on the ground (as the groundlings undoubtedly did in Shakespeare's day) and arose when the curtain did. For the next two and half hours, we were enthralled by every theatrical element you can imagine--from slapstick, rough and tumble, crude puns, sophisticated double entendre, tragedy, comedy, tragi-comedy, comi-tragedy, farce, singing, dancing, instrumental virtuosity--you name it, The Globe Mysteries contained it. Part One (before the Intermission) dealt with the Old Testament and was beautifully done, while Part Two dealt with the New and was less absorbing. The spectacle of the Crucifiction was a set design marvel. I was curious to see how the Ressurection would be treated and handled but the playwright conveniently left it right out! I found the use of the heavy accents annoying because it made much of the dialogue unintelligible to me, but overall the production was highly entertaining. Our position, at center front, could not have been more strategic--we were so close, the actors actually spit all over us! Blood from Jesus' torture flew towards us and when, as in classic Elizabethan style, we were made part of the action, by dividing ourselves into two halves, we were pleased to discover that, unwittingly, we had taken sides with The Saved (rather than The Damned) on Judgement Day.

Having decided to stand for just a half hour to 45 minutes, I was shocked that I had managed to survive the entire performance while on my feet after having begun the day feeling distinctly out of sorts, Still, I felt a bit wobbly while crossing Wobbly Bridge once again to get home to Amen Court where I reached on foot ten minutes later.

I had salvaged the day rather superbly, I thought, and it was with a song in my heart giving thanks for the restoration of my health and spirits that I went to bed.