About

"This wooden O." -- William Shakespeare

Britain has the longest and richest theatrical tradition in Europe, a tradition that famously orients itself around the drama produced during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, and the achievement of that era's most supple and profound playwright, William Shakespeare. In modern terms, that legacy has been upheld by playwrights like Edward Bond, Caryll Churchill, and Tom Stoppard. "The British Theater, Past and Present" will take students to London to experience at first hand the richness of that tradition.

London's Lyceum Theater

Our first order of business will be to attend plays together, as many of them as we can fit into our two weeks in London. In the evenings, we will attend plays drawn from the full range of English-language theater, mixing in productions from the Royal Shakespeare Company with current West End dramas, National Theatre productions, a blockbuster musical, and at least one avant-garde performance from London's vibrant fringe theatrical culture. Since the London theater world is a living, breathing, and highly changeable entity, it's impossible to know right now what productions will be available, but in January 2009, for example, we would have been able to see productions of classic plays like Shakespeare's "All's Well that Ends Well", "Hamlet", "Macbeth", "Romeo and Juliet", and "Measure for Measure", Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House", Wole Soyinka's "Death and the King's Horsemen", George Bernard Shaw's "Heartbreak House"; modern works like Wallace Shawn's "Aunt Dan and Lemon" and Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia"; musicals like "Billy Elliot", "Oliver!", "Wicked", and "Les Miserables". An equally enticing lineup surely awaits us in January 2010. All theater tickets will be included in the cost of the program.

The Modern Globe Theater, South Bank

We will also make pilgrimages to significant sites in London such as the reconstructed Globe Theater on the South Bank, the ruins of the original Rose Theater located nearby, and the Drury Lane Theater, in its current incarnation dating to the early nineteenth century, but located on a site that has had theaters standing on it since the 1660s. We will also read virtually everything we see and combine textual analysis with our pleasure.

Faculty
John O'Brien is an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of Virginia. A specialist in eighteenth-century literature, Professor O'Brien is the author of Harlequin Britain: Pantomime and Entertainment, 1690-1760 (published by Johns Hopkins University Press), the editor of Susanna Centlivre's 1714 comedy The Wonder: A Woman Keeps a Secret, and numerous articles on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century theater, fiction, and philosophy. He has spent considerable time in London as a student, researcher, theatergoer, and tourist, and looks forward to sharing one of the world's great cities with UVA students.

Accommodation
Faculty and students will be staying together at Bedford Place, located in the vibrant Bloomsbury neighborhood of London, close to Russell Square. We'll be within walking distance of many London landmarks, including the British Museum and the British Library. Each apartment has a kitchen and wireless internet. Welcome and departure meals will be included in the overall cost.

Accommodations at Bedford Place

"I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being." --- Oscar Wilde

The British Theater:
Past and Present
ENGN 2559/ENGN 3559 (3 credits)

1803 Painting of the Interior of the
Royal Drury Lane Theater

Course Information
2010 January Term: ENGN 2559/ENGN 3559 Syllabus
2010 January Term: ENGN 2559/ENGN 3559 Itinerary

Study Abroad Policies
General Information Session
Students must attend a General Information Session (GIS) prior to completing the UVA Study Abroad application.
Fall 2009 GIS Schedule

Refund policy
Withdrawal and Refund Policy

Important
Students attending the London program must have proof of insurance and must be prepared to pay cash for emergencies at local hospitals, etc.

Cost
The program cost and payment schedule are listed under the "Budget Sheets" link at the top of this page. In addition to these, students are responsible for the following expenses:

• International Airfare
• Meals
• Course materials
• Local transportation costs
• Personal expenses.

Further Information
Program Director:
John O'Brien
Department of English
PO Box 400121
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904
jo6p@virginia.edu

Galleries in the Globe Theater