Joshua balan

BA English
Guiliano Fellow, Fall 2021

"From Broadway to London"

 Looking back on the month I spent out in London this past January, I can confidently say  that the thrill of my experience has not diminished in the slightest bit. London is filled with so  much substance — from its abundance of history as told by its institutions and citizens, to the  endless influx of travelers who are compelled by numerous stories of their own — and I felt  incredibly privileged to have been able to pursue this experience for the means of my fellowship.  I was able to immerse myself in several different areas of the metropolis, from the newly  developing business center Canary Wharf, to the quietly rural borough of Hillingdon, to the  tourist-heavy streets surrounding Cutty Sark. And of course I visited several of the theaters, with  its world-renowned shows and audiences which you couldn’t never quite get enough of. Even  within a month, it felt like just a peek into the numerous experiences I could have out there.  

My arrival to London was right off the heels of the first maskless New Year celebration  since the start of the pandemic, so this gave me a basic comparison of an active versus inactive  London experience. Yet within a day of the city picking up again, I dashed into a bustling  Leicester Square which hardly seemed like it was on the process of recovery. London Bridge was  up and rumbling, Soho was shuffling tourists and children and music through the whole way,  yoga studios and coffee shops were up in Angel, and cameras flashed and strobed up the  Chinatown lanterns. If anything was willing to nod to the novelty of post-Covid life, it seemed to be the theaters. A staging issue for The Life of Pi humorously broke down the fourth wall  between Hiram Abeysekera and the fully-packed audience at Wyndham’s, and a last-minute  principal replacement in Measure for Measure was a local professional who carried a script with  her. Ironically enough, the only suspension in disbelief required here was to acknowledge either  of those as shortcomings.

 I was able to tour Shakespeare’s Globe twice, and after getting in touch with their Co Director of Education Farah Karim-Cooper, I was able to obtain access into the Globe archives.  While there, I looked into several previous recorded performances of Hamlet within the open-air  replica theater of Shakespeare’s original 1599 Globe Theater, which was closed in this time due  to the cool weather. Nonetheless, I was able to tour the Globe, where the marvelous tour guide  positioned it within the context of the nearby River Thames and St. Paul’s Cathedral. This was in  addition to watching an actual Hamlet performance in the Jacobean-style Sam Wanamaker  theater (which is used in the winter instead of the open space), as well as touring nearby famous  theaters like the Royal Opera House and the National Theater. Lastly, I visited the British  Museum several times over, per the advice of Professor Amy Cook.  

 Luckily, the abundance of shows and tours I saw got me well acquainted with the Tube  system and getting around. Or, maybe the Tube made me want to see more shows, who knows?  All I do know is I definitely want to go back, because there’s so much more which I am capable  of unpacking now that I’ve gotten a taste of it. My favorite memory might’ve been when I was  first taking the Docklands Light Railway for the first time, and I asked this one bike rider for  directions towards a coffee shop. The moment he found I was an American, he immediately  chimed in on all of our current events, and he was so eager to know what we thought of our own country, rather than what I thought of London. I felt this was worth thinking about when it comes  to my future travels, as it helps to cement my own perspective and identity in a sort of way, far  less alienated from the rest of the world. This is definitely something which I speculate I could  do more research on. Finally, I’d like to express sincere gratitude to Mireille and Edward  Giuliano, Amy Cook, Celia Marshik, and Stony Brook Foundation for this incredible  opportunity, as without all of their help none of this would be close to possible.

 

The Guiliano Global Fellowship Program offers students the opportunity to carry out research, creative expression and cultural activities for personal development through traveling outside of their comfort zone.

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