the main hall was filled with what seemed like enlarged versions of simply boy toys. however, our professor brought us to one particular item that wasn't displayed any more prominently than the rest of the items. it was the shell of the little boy bomb dropped on hiroshima on august 1945 during World War II; the first ever atomic bomb. it was almost frightening to see this incredible and historic weapon of death placed among so many others, and almost lost in the clutter. this single object reminded me that no matter how aesthetic a "war museum" strives to be, it is about ultimately about war and death and suffering.
then, after the class was dismissed, I, with a couple other people, decided to walk through the holocaust exhibition. My knowledge of the holocaust was peripheral at best, and I really wanted to learn more in depth about it after studying the art that came out of the event. It traced the history of the rise of hitler, nazi germany, and the genocide that happened in the early 40s. it was truly harrowing. I made it a point to read every plaque and description, and watch all the video clips to really peruse the exhibition; it was less an attempt to retain all the minute details, but to really give myself a chance to place myself in that time and learn as much about the event as possible. it wasn't a particularly jolly note to start my weekend on, but it was informative and necessary, considering I'm learning about WWII.
after i got back from the war museum, i went out to dinner with a few people in my shakespeare class before going to watch a performance. had a really nice, fun dinner at il casaarle an italian restaurant that opened on the 1st floor of our housing building. great food, friendly owner and the proximity is a huge plus. then we made our way to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, RADA, to see another production of Measure for Measure. I was excited to compare and contrast this production with the almeida production that I went to go see about a month ago.
however, everyone, including our professor, found the production mediocre at best. despite rada being the most prestigious acting school in london, none of the actors were spectacular. they all their short moments, but in general it was a very flat and static performance. it made me appreciate everything that the almeida production had: interaction with the audience, the performers' comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of their characters, and staying true to the text and not jeopardizing the power of the text. but due to the extensive voice training rada students go through, all the performers were excellent speakers. their speech also made me appreciate how great it is to watch shakespeare in london and hear it in its intended beautiful british accents. the most disappointing part was that the production WAS NOT FUNNY. measure for measure can be classified as a "tragicomedy" with as much comedy as there is tragedy and problems. unfortunately, the humor was just not there.
during intermission, our professor came over to our class and simply said, "I'm sorry." haha. he apologized for the quality of the production and told us that "productions are like parties, where maybe 1 in 7 is excellent." well, guess we've been really lucky this semester because the past three production have all been fantastic.
in about 7 hours, I'll be at heathrow airport picking up one of my oldest friends, jae lim. and i'm already too excited about the amazing week we're going to have. more pictures are to come to chronicle her visit in london!
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