The third day of our tour took us to Stratford-on-Avon. As with the previous days, there was a certain sense of “always returning” about the visit. One new thing in particular was nice: we went inside Holy Trinity Church, which is where Shakespeare was buried. We have often gone to see the graveyard, but never gone inside. We were there at a time with good natural lighting. I also go to sit in on a part of their morning prayers.
There’s one thing that we get to do each visit that always chokes me up a little bit. At the end of the walk through Shakespeare’s birthplace, we get to listen to actors present scenes upon request. As last time, I requested Propsero’s final speech in The Tempest, which always brings a tear to my eyes. Then I requested some banter from Much Ado About Nothing that was brilliantly funny.
We ended the night with a play by Christopher Marlowe, Dido, Queen of Carthage. Not exactly my cup of tea. Lots of talking. Lots of high emotion. And lots of special effects that were both brilliant and a little frustrating. Wonderful acting, though.
