Given that this study abroad trip was the first time that I have left the United States, especially without knowing anyone, I was understandably nervous in the days leading up to this trip. Waiting in the airport for the plane was agony, as was the tube ride from the airport to our flats. Even before then, when I was packing, I meticulously checked over my list I made to ensure I had everything I needed. However, after an admittedly bumpy start, I have assuaged those worries and feel much more comfortable.

One of my biggest worries about going on this trip was the fact that I did not know anyone, and that this would be the first extended period of time where I would be without family. I would have told my previous self to not worry about it, as I would eventually find a great group of people. I am extremely thankful that I am now comfortable, and that the group is kind and fun to be around. Many of the adventures and sightseeing that I have done have been with the other students in the group, and I honestly do not think that this trip would be as fun without them.

Another thing I wish I could tell myself before I left for this trip is to just lean in and have fun. I am a very anxious person by nature, and, as previously mentioned, I was anxious leading up to the program start. It took me a bit to figure out the bumps, but I eventually learned that doing things outside of my comfort zone can have great results. For example, I accompanied friends on trips that might have been something I wouldn’t have done otherwise and tried some foods that I have never had before. As well, if this were not a Shakespeare-based program, I find it unlikely that I would have gone out of my way to see The War of The Roses and Much Ado About Nothing, but I was pleasantly surprised when I did see them. For me, this whole trip has been about getting out of my comfort zone, and once I got over the early bumps, I was able to just lean in and have fun. I know that I will be happy with all that I have done once this trip is over.

One of the first things I noticed when I visited London was the extensive railroad system – one of the most well-known in the entire world. Nicknamed The Tube, the London Underground system was created in the 19th century. Most stations from this era, and even modern ones, have plaques briefly describing the station’s history.

My first run-in with The Tube was when I first got to London to head from Heathrow Airport into the city on the Piccadilly line. This line uses older trains from 1973, although they look refreshed inside.

Coming from Boston, it seemed weird to be able to get on a train bound for the city directly from the airport. I was also surprised at how much time it took to wait for the next train after I missed the first one. The second train came in only 3 minutes after the first one left.

The system is most notable for its small “tube”-shaped tunnels, hence the nickname The Tube. It is evidenced by the curved roof of the trains so that it can fit into the tunnels.

Station architecture also kept up with the times, with more modern-looking stations, such as at Canary Wharf (opened 1998) and Battersea Power Station (opened 2021).

The Tube has also taken steps to improve its technology. In 1968, the Victoria line opened, and debuted a new technology that allowed trains to drive themselves. It eliminated most of the driver’s functions; however, they were still present to start the train by pushing two buttons, operate doors, and to look out for obstacles on the tracks. This eventually enabled newer trains to operate with 90 second intervals (https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/transport/victoria-line).

Overall, I found The Tube to be an interesting system. It has historical charm while keeping up with the times. I highly recommend it as a way to get across London in a breeze.

By: Lizzy Staugler

This London trip was one of my first times actually leaving the country, and my first time traveling without my parents. Leading up to the departure date I didn’t know what to expect, what to bring, and what to do beforehand to prepare. Now after being here for some time I know what I would plan to do for future trips, and what I wish I could change before leaving for this trip. 

     There’s the obvious things that everyone wishes they were more prepared for when they travel to a new country, bringing different clothes, booking more activities in advance, and just general things that you can do without. The main thing I would love to tell my past self in order to prepare for this trip is to just relax. I’d tell myself to live in the moment, to not be afraid or stressed when things don’t go to plan, to go with the flow. I’d tell myself that it’s okay to go and do activities on my own, I don’t alway have to be with a big group. I don’t need to rush around everyday trying to fit so much into it, but instead I should take the time to walk around and enjoy the sights, to sit down and people watch. 

Luckily I still have sometime before we travel back to the United States. I have time to take in the day, and see the sights. I have time to let myself relax, maybe sit in a park with a nice book and people watch. This trip may be a little over half way over, but there is still plenty of time left to enjoy all the exciting activities to come. Even during the days I have things planned, it doesn’t mean I still can’t find the time to stop and take in the moment, to look around and commit everything to memories that I will always look back on.

London is one of the largest cities in the world. Whether you’ve been lucky enough to visit in person or if you’ve encounter London through some other medium (text, media, word of mouth, etc.), everybody has some preconceived notion of England’s capital. What people don’t see, however, is the lengths the city has gone to in order to disguise itself.

Disguise is everywhere in London, and to no surprise, everywhere in the world of Shakespeare. Before this trip, I would have described a disguise as something used to hide someone’s true identity as a form of deception. In this sense, I have found this during my travels. A fantastic (and probably the most relevant) example would be in the performance of Much Ado About Nothing. Though she was not aware of the despicable plan in place by Don John, Margaret, a handmaid to Hero, is disguised in Hero’s clothing whilst having an affair with one of Don John’s henchmen. This disguise works, fooling Hero’s fiancé into believing she had been unfaithful.

While this is an example of disguise in the most obvious sense of the word, I seem to keep stumbling on disguises wherever I turn. Disguise is embedded into the architecture, the history, and the very culture of London, both in the past and the present. In Westminster Abbey, there is concrete (or should I say marble?) evidence of monarchs covering up parts of the chapels and floors that they did not agree with, building over it with decorations that are meant to signify their greatness and regality. In the Tower of London, there are countless displays outlining the history of imprisonment, torture, and execution within the several different parts of the landscape. However, they are consistently downplayed and excused. I recall seeing multiple disclaimers stating that torture “technically” was not illegal, and because it was only used on a fraction of the prisoners, it should seem less horrific.

I don’t say all this to try and paint a bad picture of London. London is beautiful, and the rich history adds to the mystique of the city. Disguise is not unique to London; if I tried to count how many things are disguised in the United States, I would have to invent new numbers, or find a way to manually count to infinity. What struck me about the disguises I have encountered in London is that they’re subtle, so subtle that you’ll miss them if you so much as bat an eye. I never thought a disguise could be applied to architecture or a culture, just people and places. Safe to say, London will always keep you guessing!

“Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.”

– Kevin Petersen, and many others

Professor Petersen repeated these words to us as we waited on the platform for our train to Stratford-upon-Avon, and at the time, I didn’t know how much they would resonate with me in the following days. I have heard these words before, read them, spoke them even, but I doubt I have ever given them the same level of thought as I did after seeing The War of the Roses.

I’ll admit that I didn’t know much about Shakespeare’s Henry VI prior to our viewing of the play, nor did I know much about the history in general. Of course, I still had some moments of confusion during the play, but the premise and overall message was clear. While each actor gave a phenomenal performance and though there were many aspects of the play that inspired deeper questions, none struck me quite as much as the performance of Minnie Gale as Queen Margaret, particularly what action her character takes throughout the play.

For those of you who haven’t seen the play, Margaret becomes enraged upon hearing that Henry will relinquish the crown and throne to the Duke of York after his death, robbing his own son of the opportunity to rule (which is his birthright). In Henry’s name, Margaret takes to battle, fighting with a level of ferocity that only a parent can display. Margaret engages in vicious bloodshed, which peaks when she orders the murder of one of the Duke’s children (warning: next sentence will be upsetting for viewers). She later uses a rag soaked in the child’s blood to taunt the Duke before she orders his execution, telling him to use it to wipe his tears. Towards the end of the play, Margaret and her child are captured, and the child is killed while Margaret watches. To increase her suffering, Margaret is kept alive. I do not know what happens to her after, but I do know that she remains alive long enough to see the atrocities of Richard III.

Margaret’s character and her actions have haunted me since the performance, especially when viewed in conjunction with the quote from Professor Petersen. While many (including myself) can say that Margaret’s rage is justified, what she does with her rage is jarring. One of the most important pieces of learning, academically or otherwise, is taking your experiences and growing from them. What you do with the obstacles thrown your way is what shapes your history. How you act and react shapes not just your history, but the history of others as well. Margaret was presented with a threat/injustice to both herself and her child, and chose a path of violence to eliminate the threat. If we take a look back at history to every person who chose the path of violence when they believed they were wronged, we would see some of our most heinous villains. We would see figures who have committed war crimes, mass atrocities, people who have destroyed entire cultures and civilizations in the name of their own motives.

As I said before, it’s what we do with our experiences that shapes our history. In The War of the Roses, Margaret became the very thing she feared in the first place. In her fight to protect her family, she lost everything- and was kept alive to watch the cycle repeat itself under Richard III’s reign. Even now, four days later, I can’t help but find myself thinking of the implications of the play’s message. It was a phenomenal experience, and I would definitely recommend seeing it if you have the chance.

Before coming on this trip to London, I had a much more closed-minded view of what life in England was like. All I knew about England had been taught to me during history courses in school and images that I had seen online. This led me to believe that Englishness corresponded with properness. I believed that Englishness meant that the people were almost stuck back in the times where Kings ruled, and people were still getting their heads chopped off.

On my first day in London, I was pretty much instantly proven wrong. Riding the tube from Heathrow to King’s Cross and then to Angel was enough to show me that England is definitely not a country stuck in time but one that very much encompasses the definition of modernity. Watching people quickly move on and off trains and run from station to station to get to where they needed to be was almost impressive. Once we reached the surface, it was more of the same. People would rush past in all directions whether they were on foot, in a taxi, or on a bike. While Englishness still very much holds the definition of “classical” in my mind, I have gained a new respect for the country’s modernity during my time here.

On our mini trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, our group was given the great opportunity to see a performance of The War of The Roses (or, Henry VI Part 3) performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Despite this study abroad program as a whole being based around Shakespeare and his works, this would actually be my first time viewing a performance of a Shakespeare play. I have had mixed feelings about reading Shakespeare in the past, as I have felt that some of the dialogue was too far disconnected and some of the humor that might have been funny during his time was not as funny to me. Due to my previous experience, I was nervous that might happen when I viewed the live performance as well.

I am quite happy to say that I was mistaken.

Everything about the performance of The War of The Roses was phenomenal to me, from the sets and the use of lighting and projection, to the sound design from booming speakers, and the intense choreography of the action sequences. However, nothing stood out to me more than the performances of the actors, specifically Minnie Gale as Margaret. I have heard that the Royal Shakespeare Company is top tier when it comes to performing the Bard’s works, but I was absolutely blown away by Gale’s acting. She was intense, most of the times shouting so loud I was surprised that her voice didn’t give out towards the end of the performance. Her anguished cries and curses of rage throughout the play became more and more fierce, with saliva expelled at one point in a particularly passionate performance in the later section. As well, we were very close to the stage, so we could see every minute facial expression that channeled how her character (and the other actors and their characters) felt. With every word I was absolutely entranced.

This, to me, is absolutely crucial to the performance of Shakespeare now. Many times when I have read Shakespeare, that passion does not translate the same way through the text as it does when performed, making the reading seem somewhat boring. General audiences might be turned away from the language, as it often feels inaccessible and held in high regard. However, when the passion for the work is clearly put on stage by those performing, such as Minnie Gale, it makes the story much easier to follow because you become fixated on what might happen next. While certain words may not make sense or some jokes might go over the audience’s heads, I could clearly follow what was happening within the play without having read the text before due to how every actor felt so strongly passionate in their roles. An actor’s performance can truly pique the interest of an audience who might have been put off by just the text, and this performance of The War of The Roses did just that.

Follow 17 students, 1 faculty and 1 staff as they explore the literature and theatre of London with a focus on Shakespeare. Traveling to the birthplace of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, they will consider the commodity of Shakespeare and enjoy local theatre.

More information can be requested via email: studyabroad@uml.edu.