Submitted by Jordyn Levison on the 2014 spring semester study abroad program in London, England…
This week for my theatre class, we attended the play Sizwe Banzi Is Dead at the Young Vic Theatre. The show is about the struggles of two African American men in the 1970s. When we first arrived at the theatre, there were two signs directing the viewers where to sit: ‘Whites’ to the right and ‘Non-whites’ to the left. I was dumbfounded when my friend Raily—who is from the Dominican Republic—was separated from us in the audience. There was a rope that divided the sections of the audience, and he was essentially told to sit with all the cultural “minority” audience members. Yet, this was all part of the show; the controversial play attempted to set the tone of the production before it even began by breaking the fourth wall and involving the audience. It truly put everything into perspective.
As soon as the show ended, one of my friends spotted Anna Wintour in the audience. If you don’t already know, she’s the editor-in-chief of the magazine American Vogue. Almost immediately after she was recognized, my entire class was buzzing with excitement. My friend, Haley, is such a big fan of hers that she ran and asked for a picture (I was too nervous to say anything!). Luckily, she is nothing like her character in the film The Devil Wears Prada and she agreed to a photo. The play was incredible, and we had a wonderful surprise at the end!
Starting this weekend, my roommates and I have spring break for 10 days. We will be traveling to Venice, Florence and Barcelona, and I can barely contain my excitement. I can’t wait to try real Italian gelato and have tapas in Spain!