On Thursday, we saw  A Light Shining in Buckinghamshire. Honestly, it was neither my nor Terrance’s favorite show. We saw the show at The National Theatre and the space was amazing. It was the biggest theatre I had ever been in. It was a techie’s dream to explore but, probably a nightmare to work on. When the curtain opened at the beginning, everyone’s jaws literally dropped because of how big and extravagant the stage was. It looked about the same size as half a football field and the stage dressings fit the space. It opened on this grand table that someone could easily do a gymnastics routine on. It was founded in 1976 and, for the time being, England is beating America in that department. America has not even made moves to have a national government subsidized theatre. Sadly, we’re being beaten to a pulp by Europe because they realize how important the arts really are, especially to the youth. I think that is probably the reason that the theatre is so big, it’s supposed to be there for the masses and London has over 8 million people living here. They make sure to have enough space so as many people as possible are able to see shows and become more cultured. It’s a chance for politics to be explained, just like when theatre first started. I feel like the play we saw was meant to educate the people about the restoration but, I think that Caryl Churchill made it too difficult. It was like she was purposely trying to confuse people with her writing style. At intermission, Terrance and I, both, needed someone to explain what was going on because of all the speeches (which are harder to understand with accents) and the lack of education in America about other countries’ struggles. I think the theatres here are far more used as a leisurely activity than we think of them in America. To me, it seems that going to the theatre is more common here and I wish it was like that in the states for people other than the ones that are also making the theatre. The picture is from the night we saw the father, there wasn’t a good opportunity to get  picture of Terrance on the stage at the National.