Where in the World is Ridley College?: London Edition

Sadly our trip has come to an end. We have spent our last few days seeing the sights of London and of course doing a little shopping …some more than others – Colin practically bought out Primark. Last night we had a final dinner with the whole group at Zizi’s – an Italian restaurant (how appropriate since the play is Italian). We then went for some ice cream! Today we made our way to Shakespeare’s Globe theatre where we had a tour and a drama workshop. What better place to have a drama workshop! As I sit in the airport I see a lot of sad faces because our trip has come to an end, but we will always have the memories “….when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...that's AMORE...” Congratulations to the casts of the Servant of Two Masters on an incredible drama tour!

Where in the World is Ridley College?: London Edition

Last night we had our largest audience of the UK tour so far! Many family members, friends and OR's came out to watch our performance which made it a very exciting and special night for the cast. The audience was very receptive and the cast was able to interact with them and use their improv skills. Today we went to Warwick Castle where we met with court jesters, lords and ladies. This afternoon was performance number four. Tomorrow the tour continues on to Oakham for our final performance.

Where in the World is Ridley College?: London Edition

Oxford was beautiful and relaxing, but the tour must continue so on to Warwick for performance number three. I had a moment while on the bus yesterday on the way to Oxford where I kind of felt like I was a part of a British rock band. Every couple of days we load up our tour bus with our luggage, costumes and set. We travel through the English countryside and arrive in a new location every so often ready to perform. I think at the end of this performance we should shout out “WE LOVE YOU WARWICK- YOU HAVE BEEN GREAT!” (in our newly acquired English accents of course) Anyway, we are looking forward to tonight. As a warm up, this afternoon we participated in a drama workshop with students from Warwick school, it was interesting to see the different improv activities and work with drama students from England. We will have many special guests in attendance tonight including Ridley’s former headmaster Rupert Lane and his wife Judy.

Where in the World is Ridley College?: London Edition

It's day four of the Ridley UK drama tour. Yesterday we went to Hampton Court, Henry the VIII's old stomping grounds. Then it was on to Wellington College where we performed in front of an intimate crowd. The theatre was being occupied by another performance, so our crew performed in a room instead of the theatre. It was a great opportunity to interact with the crowd and both the actors and audience really enjoyed this experience. We were happy to have former Ridley chaplain Tim Novice, his wife Catherine and their three children at the show as well as two former Junior Masters. Today we moved on to Oxford. Oxford has some Ridley history. .in fact there is a stone still present in the area that marks Bishop Ridley's martyrdom site--a must see for any Ridlean who visits Oxford. Tomorrow we are heading to Warwick for two shows.

Where in the World is Ridley College?: London Edition

The casts of the ‘Servant of Two Masters’ have just touched down in London town!!

After spending a delightful evening with our new English families (billet families) eating some crisps, riding the tube and watching some telly, we’re ready to make our London theatre debut. Our first performance is at Latymer day school in the heart of London, England. Perhaps Hugh Grant or Alan Rickman will be in the audience (both are alumni of Latymer). We are very excited to have some OR’s attending tonight’s performance and meeting up with us after for a reception. Off to Wellington College tomorrow for performance number two! Keep watching the blog for updates on our theatre tour of England!