Tuesday morning me and the group tubed on over to the gorgeous Westminster Abbey!
I had absolutely no idea what this building was and I learned so much! The Westminster Abbey is home to many royal coronations, burials, and several royal weddings. I read on their site that it is known as “one of the most representative places of British identity” and it was very interesting to walk around and take in so much history and culture. As I listened to the guide I learned that the Abbey dates back to the 10th century when Saint Dunstan founded a Benedictine monastery on the site, through the years it’s been a place of worship and burials and most recently held the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011.
After I read a million burials including Nelson Mandela, Steven Hawking, and even Queen Elizabeth the First, I found myself in, (arguably the best part), The Poets Corner. Here lies a memorial for many famous English actors, playwrights, authors, and poets. Three Graves that stood out to me were the ones of Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, and The Bronte sisters. In case you don’t happen to be familiar with them I’ll provide some quick facts on them!
Laurence Olivier was an English Actor and Director. He became a huge actor on stage and in tv/film performing over fifty cinema roles in his lifetime, some of his most popular being Sophocles in Oedipus, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, and Shylock in Merchant of Venice. He founded the National Theatre company at The Old Vic theatre and most notably has the Laurence Olivier Awards named after him (basically the British Tony Awards.)
John Gielgud was also an English Actor and Director who was friends with Laurence Olivier and the pair often worked together. Gielgud was a stage star in the West End and on Broadway, appearing in classics. He began a career as a director, and set up his own company at the Queen’s Theatre, London. He was regarded by many as the finest Hamlet of his era, and was also known for high comedy roles such as John Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest. In the 1950s Gielgud feared that his career was threatened when he was convicted and fined for a homosexual offence, but his colleagues and the public supported him loyally. He also was an EGOT winner. He was knighted for his distinction in 1953, and the Gielgud Theatre was named after him in 1994.
The Bronte sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, were a 19th-century English literary family raised in Haworth, Yorkshire. They defied Victorian societal conventions to publish some of the most influential and passionate novels in English literature, initially using male pseudonyms to bypass gender-based discrimination. Their stories attracted attention for their passion and originality immediately following their publications. Charlotte’s Jane Eyre was the first to achieve success, while Emily’s Wuthering Heights, Anne’s Agnes Grey and other works were accepted as masterpieces of literature after their deaths. Overall the three sisters helped change literacy for females, and that is why they were my favorite to see at Westminster Abbey.
Theatre in London U of A 