United States/England
Best of London Theatre on Queen Mary 2
Program No. 11996RJ
On this theater-themed voyage, enjoy lectures, performances, history and the unique insight of producer/director Giles Ramsay as you sail the Atlantic and see four plays in London.
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13 days
12 nights
31 meals
12B 8L 11D
1
Arrive New York, Check-in, Orientation
New York, New York
13
London, Program Concludes
London
At a Glance
Theater and the performing arts take center stage on this enriching voyage from New York City to London aboard the magnificent Queen Mary 2. Immerse yourself in the history and practice of theater with onboard theater expert Giles Ramsay, who explores the development of drama from Greek tragedy to the modern musical. In London, experience the arts firsthand as you enjoy theater productions ranging from the classic to the cutting edge and gain insight from leading theater professionals.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
Walking up to two miles daily on city streets and in galleries. Many theaters and historic buildings in London have no elevators and are not accessible.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Enjoy engaging theater lectures led by producer and director Giles Ramsay, who provides expert insight into the historic roots of theater and its contemporary practice.
- Experience British theater with four plays in London’s West End.
- Exchange opinions on culture, politics and the arts with top national journalists, arts professionals and a leading London theater critic.
General Notes
Details of selected performances will be noted in the itinerary section of the Final Information Packet. Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Giles Ramsay
Giles Ramsay is an independent theater director and producer who specializes in creating new work with artists in developing countries. He is the founding director of the charity Developing Artists, a fellow of St. Chad’s College, Durham University. and course leader in theater at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He has devised and instructed on Road Scholar programs since the early 1990s and has run theater projects in countries ranging from Kosovo to Zimbabwe.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Giles Ramsay
View biography
Giles Ramsay is an independent theater director and producer who specializes in creating new work with artists in developing countries. He is the founding director of the charity Developing Artists, a fellow of St. Chad’s College, Durham University. and course leader in theater at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He has devised and instructed on Road Scholar programs since the early 1990s and has run theater projects in countries ranging from Kosovo to Zimbabwe.
Suggested Reading List
(10 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Best of London Theatre on Queen Mary 2
Program Number: 11996
David Garrick and the Birth of Modern Theatre
Actor, director, impresario, author, David Garrick is the most legendary man of the theatre of modern times. He reformed English theatre practice, established a 'natural' style of acting, and made the profession socially acceptable. As his great friend Dr Johnson remarked, no actor before Garrick had made so much money or achieved such an eminent position in society.
State of the Nation: British Theatre since 1945
As Britain's longest-serving theatre critic Michael Billington is uniquely placed to offer an authoritative overview of modern British theatre, and the book offers a passionate defence of the dramatist as the medium's key creative figure. Controversial, witty and informed, State of the Nation offers a fresh and challenging look at the vast upheavals that have taken place in British society, and the theatre which documents and challenges it, in the course of sixty turbulent years.
Oscar: A Life
Oscar Wilde's life – like his wit – was alive with paradox. He was both an early exponent and a victim of 'celebrity culture': famous for being famous, he was lauded and ridiculed in equal measure. His achievements were frequently downplayed, his successes resented. He had a genius for comedy but strove to write tragedies. Matthew Sturgis draws on a wealth of new material and fresh research, bringing alive the distinctive mood and characters of the fin de siècle in the richest and most compelling portrait of Wilde to date.
The Making of Modern Drama
This highly acclaimed critical exploration of modern drama begins with Büchner and Ibsen and then discusses the major playwrights who have shaped modern theatre -Strindberg, Chekhov, Pirandello, Brecht and Beckett. "The best single study of the astonishing transformations dramatic art has undergone in the last century or so."-Thomas R. Edwards, New York Times Book Review.
Will in the World
Shakespeare was a man of his time, constantly engaging with his audience's deepest desires and fears, and by reconnecting with this historic reality we are able to experience the true character of the playwright himself. Greenblatt traces Shakespeare's unfolding imaginative generosity - his ability to inhabit others, to confer upon them his own strength of spirit, to make them truly live as independent beings as no other artist has ever done. Digging deep into the vital links between the playwright and his world, Will in the World provides the fullest account ever written of the living, breathing man behind the masterpieces.
180 Years of Cunard
Cunard’s first ship, Britannia, set sail across the Atlantic on 4 July 1840, inaugurating a service that has endured for 175 years. Cunard’s success is in part due to its continuous technological advances; from the early years of wooden paddle steamers to steel-hulled leviathans, electric lighting to steam turbine engines. But it is the ships themselves, the shipbuilders, managers, crew and guests that have had the greatest impact on the success of the line, creating unique environments full of personality. This book uses stunning photographs and personal stories to explore the history of these magnificent ships.
A History of the Theater
A comprehensive, chronological tour of 3,000 years of dramatic history (including opera and ballet). With color photos throughout.
Shakespeare
Examining centuries of myths, half-truths and downright lies, Bill Bryson makes sense of the man behind the masterpieces. As he leads us through the crowded streets of Elizabethan England, he brings to life the places and characters that inspired Shakespeare’s work. Along the way he delights in the inventiveness of Shakespeare’s language, which has given us so many of the indispensable words and phrases we use today, and celebrates the Bard’s legacy to our literature, culture and history.
From Gods to Bad Boys: A History of Theatre in Twelve Lives
From Gods to Bad Boys examines the history of theatre from cave paintings to the swinging-sixties through the lives of some of its leading practitioners. Putting plays into their historical context, Giles Ramsay looks at lives of playwrights such as Aeschylus, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Behn, Wilde, Rattigan and Orton. The worlds they lived in are reflected in the plays they wrote.
A Short History of London: The Creation of a World Capital
London: a settlement founded by the Romans, occupied by the Saxons, conquered by the Danes and ruled by the Normans. This unremarkable place - not even included in the Domesday Book - became a medieval maze of alleys and courtyards, later to be chequered with grand estates of Georgian splendour. It swelled with industry and became the centre of the largest empire in history. And rising from the rubble of the Blitz, it is now one of the greatest cities in the world.