I recently joined the English Honors Society for simply resume building. I didn't realize I would enjoy it as much I am. We have quick monthly meetings and have events for holidays. For Halloween this year we all decided to go to downtown Atlanta to the Shakespeare Tavern to see a play. Hence the name of the establishment, they had a couple of different famous Shakespeare plays.
As tough as it was to decide on which play to attend, but to keep the spookiness theme going of Halloween we went to see Macbeth. A tragedy that emphasizes the psychological effects of one who aspires to have complete political control. After a heaping amount of pressure from his wife, Lady Macbeth, he finally kills the king of Scotland and takes the throne for himself. He is forced into his own madness from guilt and complete paranoia.
When I arrived at the tavern I walked into the entrance which guided me down to their gift shop. It was Shakespeare galore, seeing simple little nic –nacs, t-shirts, playing cards, and pens all plastered with famous Shakespeare quotes and his face.
I picked up my ticket in will call and approached the auditorium. The décor took me back to 17th century Scotland. The walls were covered in armor and flags, and all around were people dressed to fit their role in Scotland.
The auditorium is open seating with dinner tables all around. I picked a seat with some friends and went off the back where they were serving food cafeteria style. I waited in a line and proceeded to order the best Indian curry I'd ever had with a nice wine chaser. The selections of cuisine and drinks were endless, and upon delivery of my food, I found it was also delicious. The volunteers cleared my table after I finished which helped me focus on enjoying the play.
The play itself was two hours long with a fifteen-minute intermission in between the hours. Act one began and before I knew it the act was over; I was anxious to see more. The actors were absolutely phenomenal in letting their passions for the text roam free in their delivery. I was truly amazed during their performance. There was a multitude of intimate surroundings, the actors performed beyond the stage and came down to where guests were seated making us feel involved.
Shakespeare's writing is difficult to follow, we all know this. But the Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta not only made the play easy to follow but relatable for all involved. I haven't been driven by guilt so madly before that, I was seeing ghosts, but because these actors were so dedicated I felt as though it were my friend that was being tormented by his inner demons.
This was an experience I'll never forget and yearn for another opportunity to attend. The ticket cost was covered for me because of the university, but I would gladly pay the 25 dollars to go again. The food cost me around 15 dollars, and across the street parking was five dollars. A fun date night where it truly is dinner and a show would cost around 100 dollars. Which may sound like a lot of money to some, however, the experience was truly priceless.
