Billy Boyd Day! ... or Rather, Macbeth, plus Sherlock Holmes

Globe Theater Day number two, or as I’ve been referring to it, the day I get to see Billy Boyd live on stage!!! Actually, I had a very excitement packed day. First Liz and I went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. I’ve been there before, but this was Liz’s first time. And she thoroughly enjoyed it, took a bunch of pictures, and bought a bunch of souvenirs, including a poster of Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes. I was also able to get a few neat shots that I didn't get previously. You can see my other photos via Facebook.

 

Oh, and for my Beatles fan friend, there is a Beatles shop right next to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. This is the shop window. And those weird looking shelves, they actually rotate around in circles. It's actually kind of freakish.

 

And finally, because I knew my flatmate Annette was unlikely to get out of the flat much today, I decided to get a picture with the policeman in front of the museum entrance (he’s actually an employee). Annette has been collecting pictures of “cute guys” during this entire trip, and even made her photostory about the cute guys in London, so I felt she’d appreciate a picture of the Bobby.

Then Hilary and I met up for Macbeth. And oh my gosh, Macbeth was even better than A Midsummer Night’s Dream, if you can imagine that. Of course, it helped that we had a fantastic view of the stage and that Billy Boyd was in the play. Honestly, I could listen to Billy talk all day long. I love, love, love his accent. Dom makes me laugh more, but Billy’s accent is definitely more fun to listen to. You can actually hear his accent here http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/education/discovery-space/adopt-an-actor/archive/banquo-played-by-billy-boyd

We were standing just a couple rows back from the stage and right next to the stairs, which means that virtually every member of the cast walked right by us at some point during the production. I was literally about a foot from Billy. He looks even more angelic/devilish up close, because yes, somehow Billy can pull off both expressions simultaneously. Macbeth is technically a tragedy, but the actors are so terrific that they managed to work in physical humor, and occasionally deliver a line in a way that made us laugh. Billy was especially good at this, but I would have been disappointed if he hadn’t been, because I’ve come to expect a certain caliber of humor from Billy. Heck, he was even funny as a ghost, marching around after Macbeth. And the battle scene at the end was terrific. All the choreography for these plays is terrific. I wish we could clap for the directors and choreographers, too, because they deserve it. But the best part of this play, if you ask me, was the what sounded like the tune for “Loch Lomond” and the group dance number with traditional Gaelic dance steps. That dance number, and the fiddle accompaniment was so beautiful. It was a breathtaking experience and one I hope I will never forget; totally worth standing for three hours.