London was very kind to me on my return. I was out of the airport and on the Tube within an hour of arrival. All the trains were just–there. I made it all the way out to my hostel across the Thames from Greenwich, and back to The Globe in time to see the play I’d foolishly booked, thinking I arrived at 8 AM instead of 11.
The play was Doctor Scroggy’s War . I am a sucker for World War I. I used to love it for the adventure, but I was a kid and just didn’t get it. Later, it was the period, and the way that stupid set of decisions shaped the present day. This play *got* that. It was sad, and wonderful, and funny, and absolutely ridiculous–just like that war was. The hospital at the heart of this took care of men who were disfigured. It was a perfect way to show the way we deal with war. It was as if someone had done a play on our current stupid war and used brain injuries. We want to forget about these people once they’re hurt–we don’t want to remember, or take care of them as their service to us deserves. We want to move on, but they can’t. In the beginning of the play, there’s a bit about how useless the idea of issuing these men tin hats would be–how they would survive without faces…
I am really glad I decided to go with what I wanted to see instead of going traditional and seeing Shakespeare. Maybe I’ll do that too, if I can face standing for three hours… The Yard is five pounds a ticket, people literally stand there with their elbows on the stage. I, on the other hand, was in high style, sitting on a bare wooden bench in the middle gallery. The theatre is really amazing. It’s the first performance I’ve ever seen where pigeons flew through the action. It happens in other outdoor venues, but it’s different when you’re sitting at roof level. And all the wood, real thatching, real wattle and daub (or real whitewashed plaster, anyway) was a trip back in time. I expected it to be a lot bigger than it was from the pictures, but it’s really small, warm, and feels more like a village than Theatre. Real Ren Faire, but I suppose I should have expected that.
