St. Paul's Cathedral

This photo shows St. Paul’s on the other side of the Thames River from Shakespeare’s Globe theater, where we had just seen the Globe’s 2009 opening production of Romeo and Juliet (along with our friends from St. John’s, Alix and Nicky Kotar). The play featured several young actors, and the inexperience showed in some ways. But some of them, especially the young woman playing Juliet, gave strong performances and fresh interpretations of their characters. The music, dancing, and humor were especially enjoyable, in particular because of the way the Elizabethan stage allows the actors to engage directly with the audience. Also notable to our group was the sound of the British accents by the British actors. Attending this play in this remarkable theater was a great way to celebrate Shakespeare’s 445th birthday.