DAY 8: We started the day at St Mary's in Cambridge in the morning, and were greeted by one of their English teachers, Mr Peachy. The students are preparing for their O's at the moment, so we didn't get to meet any students our age. We met some of his students, aged 14-15, and split into groups for a discussion between students of the two countries.
It was interesting to note the differences between our schools and hobbies. Students at St Mary's have opportunities to take a wide range of up to 14 classes, selecting 10 for their O's. Although they are a smaller school(500 in the senior school, aged 11 to 18, and 200 in the junior school, aged 4 to 11), their subject choices are broader and more varied, including Latin, Religious Studies and Textiles. They are also offered the opportunity to take two other languages besides English, without a selection process. They were very warm and welcoming, and we exchanged contacts and gifts at the end of the discussion.
Following that, we were given a tour of the school. Here's us in the common room at St. Mary's:
The walls are lined with the students' coursework, from paintings to fashion design and textiles. It could be seen that they were very talented individuals. We stepped into a few classes, including a very engaging discussion taking place in the sixth formers' Classics class with only 4 students, and a series of very charming drama presentations by the junior students.
After the school visit, we left for London. We settled into the Travelodge there and met for a debrief, then set off for dinner at a restaurant in Chinatown. The Chinese food was surprisingly good, and we enjoyed some very "intellectual" dinner conversation.
We then walked to the Criterion to watch 'The 39 Steps'. The Criterion was a charming little theatre that was smaller than our school auditorium.
The play is a comedy based on Alfred Hitchcock's film with the same title. The story is originally from a book written by John Buchan ('The 39 Steps'), but Hitchcock changed some of the details, adding female characters to make the plot more exciting. The play is rather comic compared to the more serious movie.
The play is acted by a cast of 4 actors. There is one actor who plays Richard Hannay, the protagonist. The other 3 characters play all the other characters- the good the neutral and the bad. Altogether there are 3 men and 1 woman. Richard meets a mysterious foreign woman who tells him that there is a conspiracy going on, some very important national secrets are about to be stolen, that would threaten the whole of Britain. The woman is found the next day dead, and he has to escape both the police and the conspirators.
It was absolutely fantastic. It was amusing largely because of the excellent comic timing between the actors. The transitions of actors from one character to another, whether on stage or back stage, were seamless and flawlessly smooth to the point of laughter. The crew was also excellent. The comic timing depended on coordination between actors and the lights and sounds. Additionally, there were special shadow puppetry effects at some points of the show. All these were highly enjoyable and could not be done without the impeccable timing and skill of the crew. It was on the whole, at Charlotte says, 'sharp'.
Furthermore, the actors frequently broke out of the fourth wall. Their actions and words were deliberate (and outrageously hilarious). Often one would be stunned, or one's expectations flipped. Moreover, the actors had excellent voice and acting, and that led to the whole enjoyment of the show. All their characters were portrayed very differently, and with deliberation. The references to Alfred Hitchcock's films were also humorous in their own way, as famous films like Vertigo and Psycho were referenced at some parts of the show.
It was an enjoyable night for us (well at the very least for the two of us), and we went back to the Travelodge worn out but very happy.
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