The Tempest - An English Literature Theatre Trip

On Friday 22^nd of September, year 12 and 13 English Literature students were lucky enough to attend our first 6^th form trip of the year to The Globe Theatre to watch a modern interpretation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. 

It was definitely a trip to remember; from the journey there to the people I got to share the magical experience with.  On the way to the theatre we saw The Shard, St Paul’s Cathedral and crossed the Millennium Bridge taking in the amazing views of London in the late September sun.  Of course, we had to stop to take pictures!

The Globe Theatre was incredible and such a special experience; definitely not what I was expecting.  When we heard a bell ring (indicating the performance was about to begin) we made our way to the theatre’s gallery where we had an overhead view of the performance.  It was as if we had been teleported to the 1600’s.  The theatre is not like any modern theatre (definitely not warm and comfortable) but we appreciated the authenticity of the experience.

When the play began we were introduced to one of the characters on stage named Prospero. To our surprise, he was wearing swimming trunks and Crocs!!  The performance had been modernised which catered well to a younger audience; there was even reference to Harry Potter and KFC!  The props on stage were simplistic and cleverly used which allowed us to completely focus on the performance itself.  The actors’ improvisation was excellent.  At one point a helicopter flew overhead and the actors started to call to it for help because in the play the characters are actually on a deserted island having been washed up there after a shipwreck!  As year 12 students, we are yet to study the play in class so I was very grateful to the year 13s for explaining the plot to me.

Overall it was an amazing day filled with great theatre, stunning sights and unforgettable memories. 

Written by, Harmani , Adegoke and Ephraim Year 12