TCNJ British Theatre 2018

We had an outing yesterday to the theme park version of a castle--Warwick Castle. We are all a little tired, and we didn't take a group picture. Today we have a packed itinerary that I am sure will result in lots of good pictures.

We had some complications early Friday morning, but the students are still in good spirits despite everything. Everyone is ok, although we had to contact the police and the embassy because of a hotel robbery. The three students affected have talked to their families, so if your child is with us and you haven't heard anything, all is well. We went to Hampton Court and saw a magical Jennifer Saunders (of Absolutely Fabulous fame--oh, and the fairy godmother in Shrek) in Lady Windemere's Fan. It was extraordinary and helped to soften the blows of a difficult day. Once again, TCNJ students prove to be the best in the world. One special treat of this trip has been getting to catch up a little bit with two alumni who live and work in England. I think our current students appreciate seeing students 10 and 13 years out. It certainly has helped them see where a TCNJ English degree can take you.

We spent our day immersed in 17th century London and its reconstruction--the Globe Theatre on the South Bank. After a tour of the theatre, a visit to the exhibition (and gift shop), and a costume demonstration, we had a lunch at the Midle Temple Hall in the Inns of Court. No pictures are allowed in the Middle Temple, so today's pictures are of the group outside the Globe and of Jenna Burke being transformed into Lady Ophelia. The group photo includes our CEPA coordinator Greer, to whom our students have grown mightily attached.

We had a long day on our feet today with one museum and a tour of the British Library. In addition, we took in the History of Magic exhibition celebrating 20 years since the publication of Harry Potter. Many students went through the Holocaust Exhibition galleries at the IWM, which are extraordinarily curated and incredibly moving. They have changed slightly since I first toured them, providing slightly more information about the history of antisemitism in Europe prior to the war. Given our own historical moment and the resurgence of antisemitism in the United States, these changes are important and cautionary. Both the Holocaust Exhibit and the Harry Potter exhibit prohibit photos, so today's are in front of the big guns and a selection of artifacts related to the British Fascist party that link up--remarkably enough--to Harry Potter.

After a day where students could go out and explore on their own (many went to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, one to Chelsea Stadium), we were all back to work with a trip to the Museum of London and St. Paul's Cathedral. Here we art next to the glorious horse outide the museum.

Even though we all transfer to Stratford at the end of next week, we had an outing today by train to see Twelfth Night on Twelfth Night. We started the day by heading through Baker Street on the Bakerloo line. Then we had lunch in the Round Room of the RSC restaurant. I think the students will likely go back.