Hampton Court and the Misanthrope
Jan. 29th, 2010 08:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakYesterday kathyh and self went to Hampton Court, which despite so-so weather was a delightful trip. I had been there before, but many years ago, and I needed to refresh my memories for several reasons. Little did I know we'd actually converse with kings and queens there!
As palaces you build for yourself and then have to hand over to the king after pointed reminders he'd much like the gift go, Cardinal Wolsey didn't do too badly with that one, did he? The kitchens are something else, too. Gigantic, and you believe these were feeding hundreds and hundreds of mouths.
After the kitchens, we visited the Clock Court.
Where we happened to to stumble upon Sir Thomas Seymour, because, as it turns out, at Hampton Court they reenact Henry VIII & Katherine Parr's wedding day every day, with various characters from it providing useful information for the tourists. I've seen this kind of thing before, but I have to say, the actors here were pretty amazing, really remained in character during all conversations and knew their background inside out. So her's Thomas Seymour (he of "much wit and very little judgment", as Elizabeth Tudor would later put it), brother of the late Jane, uncle to Edward, childhood sweethart of Katherine Parr, whom he'd marry after Henry's death only to then go after her stepdaughter:
As this was Katherine's wedding day, he hinted he might try to persuade her to change her mind later. Then we went to Base Court:
Where we made the aquaintance of William Finn, in charge of the festivities, and Anne Herbert, Katherine's sister. The lady playing her had a ball, being an ambitious scheming noblewoman gleeful about her family's elevation, and we as her newly recruited hangers-on had great fun as well.
We were brought into the pseudo medieval great hall which as Anne informed us just proved what upstarts the Tudors were because nobody build in that style anymore, not fashionable at all, which is why the courtiers didn't dine here, the staff did:
The window there is actually showing Henry's dubious claim to the throne via his Lancaster and York ancestors:
After crossing the gallery where Katherine Howard supposedly ran in a last attempt to reach Henry after he ordered her arrest, and where her ghost still haunts the palace, we got to the fashionable hall where Katherine Parr and Henry were receiving:
I've got a better Henry photo later, outside, but I kept this one because of the candles in the background. Anyway, the Tudor Courtyard is pretty in spring and summer when the plants are actually in bloom, but at this time of the year, you can only admire the crest animals on display, to wit:
The red dragon of Wales:
The panther whom the Seymours picked. They would:
The white hart of York:
Back to the Base Court, where we encountered his majesty again, who identified my companion as another Katherine and promptly started to chat her up:
Meanwhile, Thomas Seymour was busy making eloping plans:
Katherine Parr, pondering her predecessor's jewelry and fate and her fondness of Sir Thomas, was tempted:
kathyh & self nobly restrained ourselves from pointing out that while Henry was bad, Tom Seymour wasn't much better (except looks wise), and reflected after Katherine made the head-saving choice that surviving Henry VIII only to die in childbirth with a broken heart after your beloved turned out to be a stepdaughter-groper really was a depressing fate. On a more cheerful note, one last look at Hampton Court from the other side, which isn't Tudor at all but Stuart:
In the evening, I did my favourite thing for London evenings and went to the theatre again, this time The Misanthrope by Moliere in an adaption by Martin Crimp, starring Damian Lewis as Alceste and Keira Knightley as Jennifer (Celimene in the original), with Tara Fitzgerald and Tim McMullan in supporting roles. It was delightful, and Crimp's updating worked, as did the rhyming couplets/free metre combination he had chosen. Incidentally, since I mentioned the credits in the program the last time, Damian Lewis' tv list starts with Life, of course. Keira Knightley, whose first stage role this is, didn't just list the usual suspects of her film successes but also Star Wars: The Phantom Menace which reminded me what a geek I am since I know which role she played. As far as her acting was concerned, I thought she was a bit more high strung than the other, stage-experienced actors, but it worked for her character. Damian Lewis hugely enjoyed himself with Alceste's rants and complete inability to deal, but Tara Fitzgerald sort of stole the show whenever she appeared as Marcia (Arsinoe in the original).
In conclusion: I so love visiting this town. Now off to work.
kathyh and self went to Hampton Court, which despite so-so weather was a delightful trip. I had been there before, but many years ago, and I needed to refresh my memories for several reasons. Little did I know we'd actually converse with kings and queens there!
As palaces you build for yourself and then have to hand over to the king after pointed reminders he'd much like the gift go, Cardinal Wolsey didn't do too badly with that one, did he? The kitchens are something else, too. Gigantic, and you believe these were feeding hundreds and hundreds of mouths.
After the kitchens, we visited the Clock Court.
Where we happened to to stumble upon Sir Thomas Seymour, because, as it turns out, at Hampton Court they reenact Henry VIII & Katherine Parr's wedding day every day, with various characters from it providing useful information for the tourists. I've seen this kind of thing before, but I have to say, the actors here were pretty amazing, really remained in character during all conversations and knew their background inside out. So her's Thomas Seymour (he of "much wit and very little judgment", as Elizabeth Tudor would later put it), brother of the late Jane, uncle to Edward, childhood sweethart of Katherine Parr, whom he'd marry after Henry's death only to then go after her stepdaughter:
As this was Katherine's wedding day, he hinted he might try to persuade her to change her mind later. Then we went to Base Court:
Where we made the aquaintance of William Finn, in charge of the festivities, and Anne Herbert, Katherine's sister. The lady playing her had a ball, being an ambitious scheming noblewoman gleeful about her family's elevation, and we as her newly recruited hangers-on had great fun as well.
We were brought into the pseudo medieval great hall which as Anne informed us just proved what upstarts the Tudors were because nobody build in that style anymore, not fashionable at all, which is why the courtiers didn't dine here, the staff did:
The window there is actually showing Henry's dubious claim to the throne via his Lancaster and York ancestors:
After crossing the gallery where Katherine Howard supposedly ran in a last attempt to reach Henry after he ordered her arrest, and where her ghost still haunts the palace, we got to the fashionable hall where Katherine Parr and Henry were receiving:
I've got a better Henry photo later, outside, but I kept this one because of the candles in the background. Anyway, the Tudor Courtyard is pretty in spring and summer when the plants are actually in bloom, but at this time of the year, you can only admire the crest animals on display, to wit:
The red dragon of Wales:
The panther whom the Seymours picked. They would:
The white hart of York:
Back to the Base Court, where we encountered his majesty again, who identified my companion as another Katherine and promptly started to chat her up:
Meanwhile, Thomas Seymour was busy making eloping plans:
Katherine Parr, pondering her predecessor's jewelry and fate and her fondness of Sir Thomas, was tempted:
kathyh & self nobly restrained ourselves from pointing out that while Henry was bad, Tom Seymour wasn't much better (except looks wise), and reflected after Katherine made the head-saving choice that surviving Henry VIII only to die in childbirth with a broken heart after your beloved turned out to be a stepdaughter-groper really was a depressing fate. On a more cheerful note, one last look at Hampton Court from the other side, which isn't Tudor at all but Stuart:
In the evening, I did my favourite thing for London evenings and went to the theatre again, this time The Misanthrope by Moliere in an adaption by Martin Crimp, starring Damian Lewis as Alceste and Keira Knightley as Jennifer (Celimene in the original), with Tara Fitzgerald and Tim McMullan in supporting roles. It was delightful, and Crimp's updating worked, as did the rhyming couplets/free metre combination he had chosen. Incidentally, since I mentioned the credits in the program the last time, Damian Lewis' tv list starts with Life, of course. Keira Knightley, whose first stage role this is, didn't just list the usual suspects of her film successes but also Star Wars: The Phantom Menace which reminded me what a geek I am since I know which role she played. As far as her acting was concerned, I thought she was a bit more high strung than the other, stage-experienced actors, but it worked for her character. Damian Lewis hugely enjoyed himself with Alceste's rants and complete inability to deal, but Tara Fitzgerald sort of stole the show whenever she appeared as Marcia (Arsinoe in the original).
In conclusion: I so love visiting this town. Now off to work.
