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Shakespeare's London with Tim Barron
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It's surprising how much of London's South Bank would be recognizable to the young William Shakespeare today. Join actor and Blue Badge Guide Tim Barron, as he strolls in the path of the Bard, discussing the Globe Theatre and Elizabethan and Jacobean drama.
We start our walk at the George Tavern, the last coaching inn on the South Bank, a performance site known to travelling players in Elizabethan times. Walking westward we encounter Southwark Cathedral, where William Shakespeare’s brother Edmund is buried, and compilers of the first Folio prayed. Further along the Thames is the Bishop of Winchester's Palace. The Bishop ran the brothels, the Clink prison and demanded a hefty fee from the Globe Theatre. Sam Wanamaker's re-creations of 'The wooden O' and his Jacobean indoor theatre are simply magnificent.
On crossing the Thames we can see the remains of his not so successful closed theatre in Island Yard and the house he bought the year before he died in 1616.
Led by an expert on London and theatre history, the actor and Blue Badge Guide Tim Barron, this interactive seminar will entertain and educate. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased awareness of Shakespeare's London, his life and times.
It is surprising how much of London's South Bank would have been recognisable today, to 28 year old t.
Tim Barron has been a Blue Badge London tour guide for the past 5 years, working extensively for Context Travel. Having graduated in Environmental Sciences back in the 1970s, he followed his passion for the performing arts and became an actor/musician, starring in the West End. He has varied interests from archaeology, architecture, and modern art to classic cars and guitars. A Londoner who loves nothing more than to share his knowledge with others.
This conversation is suitable for all ages.
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
Very enjoyable - Tim is energetic, engaging, and really knows his stuff
I wanted so desperately to see this and booked it a long time ago as a little window into the world which has become so narrow. And then! I thought it was at 1pm but it was actually at 11am, so I missed it. I am already booked for two other Context Conversations in the next month so you can believe I will be setting alarms for their correct times!
An excellent overview of the theatres associated with Shakespeare, including the Theatre, the Globe, and the Swan. Tim Barron was well informed and engaging.
I’ve experienced a dozen or so Context Travel seminars so far and have benefitted from each, but Tim Barron’s seminar on Shakespeare’s London far exceeded my expectations. His command of the subject spanned from identifying the many locations and history and relevance of each to his reciting lines from Shakespeare’s plays that breathed such charm and life into the subject. As he is also an actor, Tim added wonderful stories and theatre trivia along the way to create a complete experience for his guests. I simply couldn’t recommend this seminar with Tim any higher.
Tim Barron infuses his “walking” Conversation with a broad sense of theatre, history and culture. His personal experience as an actor brought life to his insertions of Shakespeare’s lines. Being somewhat familiar with both Shakespeare and London, I was pleased to learn new information and gain new insights into the playwright and his times.