"All the world's a stage": Shakespeare's Home

A literary tour of England is not complete without going to Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace. This year just so happened to be the celebration of his 450th birthday. Our first day in the city, we visited Shakespeare's birthplace, the Nash House and New Place, and Hall's Croft. Shakespeare's birthplace was the Shakespeare family home at the time of William's birth. New Place was a house that Shakespeare bought. Hall's Croft and Nash House were houses owned by members of Shakespeare's family. Hall's Croft was owned by his daughter and granddaughter. Nash House's name comes from the husband of his granddaughter. The Nash House is a well-preserved Tudor house.  New Place is the location of Shakespeare's last home, however the building is no longer there. In the evening, we went to see Henry IV Part One at the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre. The theatre was rather vertical but it was an exciting performance.

The following day, we went to Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Anne Hathaway was Shakespeare's wife. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and catching up on journaling and the course readings.

Our last day in Stratford-Upon-Avon, we went to Mary Arden's House and Tudor Farm.  Mary Arden was Shakespeare's mother. There was not as much to Mary Arden's house as the other places we had visited. However, the farm had a number of demonstrations. We went to a falconry one. After we returned to the city, I spent the afternoon in a tea with a friend. In the evening, we attended The Roaring Girl at the Swan Theatre, the smaller theatre of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Some aspects of the play were modernized, and besides a couple ways to interpret the play, it was fantastic.