Bankside

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The River Thames from the Millenium Bridge, looking toward London Bridge (hidden), Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.  St. Paul's is on the left, Bankside on the right.

Bankside, just across the Thames from central London, used to be a little seedy (and before that it was underwater).  A symbol of its revitalization is the Tate Modern, an art museum in what used to be a power plant.

The wall of an ancient church was uncovered when one building came down to make room for a new one.

Shakespeare's Globe Theater, recently built in Bankside near the site of the original Globe, is a theater, museum and school all in one. One organization housed there is the Rutgers University Theater in London program, directed this year by my sister-in-law Jen.  It was she and my brother Dan who served as our gracious London hosts.

Shakespeare's Globe Theater was built from drawings of the original Globe, using the same materials and techniques. It was the brain-child of American actor Sam Wanamaker, who did not live to see it completed.

Now as then, the covered seats are the expensive ones.  "Groundlings" pay just £5, but the show goes on rain or shine, and umbrellas are prohibited.

Two crazy lovers take a break from the Globe Theater tour.