Random Theatre People

While here in England I have met more people with opinions on theatre than anywhere in the United States. This evening Jane and I went to Waitrose for groceries and we ended up talking to the cashier. The conversation began because I mentioned that it had been a long day for us and so he asked about what we were doing. I explained how our class was here and we had just seen Titus Andronicus at The Globe. Apparently our cashier was a theatre student (stage managing) who didn’t like Shakespeare! This being said both Jane and I immediately wanted to know what about Shakespeare he didn’t like and who he liked instead. His reason for not liking Shakespeare is because of the hype and status given to the plays (a reasoning I disagree with and think Shakespeare has definitely earned his popularity) and gave us a list of playwrites he did enjoy. Now I don’t remember who he named, but it did get me to thinking about people back home. My family may be weird in this regard, but we often talk to people who work at the grocery store and I don’t think I would have been able to discuss theatre with them. The fact that I have met so many people here who have some interest in theatre is something that I absolutely love. I wish that the culture in the United States was more focused on the theatre because it is something that connects people in such a unique way.