Of the Stage

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..."

As quoted from Shakespeare's famous cross-dressing comedy, "As You Like It" and one of the most famous monologues in the Bard's repertoire. It was also the play that led me back into London, for the last time, to the Globe theater (the second version since the first version burned down during the English Renaissance). This was also where I got to play another part: groundlings.



We were the Elizabethan poor villagers who could not afford the seats but instead, could only stand. Despite that, where we were, in front of the center stage steps, were the best view in the house. Orlando and Rosaline were close enough to touch and from that vantage point, I could see every flicker of emotion that passed their faces and every quirk in their body language. I had never been so close before in the theater and now, the mezzanine will never be the same again.

In truth, it was the best 5 pounds I had ever spent and a poignant last overnight trip, at the place where I first came into England. In a way, listening to this speech was a fitting in since it is just indicative of the end of another act in my life. And as I'm writing this, two days before I fly back home, the Bard's words have never held more resonance. It is time for the scene to change and for the actress to bid adieu to the audience. Adieu!



"Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

P.S. To complete my Shakespearean experience, I also made a pilgrimage six days later to Stratford Upon Avon, the childhood home of the bard and the place where he died (now converted into a little Shakespeare town with matching Renaissance style buildings and streets). There, in the backyard of his childhood house, I also encountered the monologue again. We never escape the bard.