Submitted by Katherine Slough on the 2024 Winter ENGL/THEA program in London, England…
Life in London is feeling more natural. This week, the school has stepped up as we have a paper due about Hamlet. We saw Operation Mincemeat, which was a great show. The show was at the Fortune Theater, which felt much more intimate than the national theater. The show was also much more entertaining than The Witches, which is what we saw last week. It was a
five-person cast, and they were spectacular; they moved sets themselves and switched costumes so fast.
The show was the second best thing I did, the first being reconnecting with a childhood friend. In elementary school, my best friend was Kobie; she was from the UK, and her parents relocated briefly to Pennsylvania. She moved back to England before high school, and I have not seen her in 7 years. I took the tube and overground by myself for the first time and felt lost but confident. She was in tears when I saw her as I got off the platform. We walked around Hackney Wick along the canal and got tacos. The life update happened for hours as we laughed, talked, and cried.
The biggest thing I realized this week is that I want to enjoy the arts more. The discussions in class on what to look for in a play have helped me think more, thus making the shows more intellectually stimulating. I still have room to grow and want to continue to appreciate art more. (Submitted on January 15, 2024)