During breakfast, I found out that it was another free day – once more, Wroclaw was our playground to romp around in independently, followed by another version of Hamlet (HAMLET. SILENCE FROM THE BODY by Roberto Bacci) that night.\u00a0 It was also our last night in Wroclaw – we were going to leave for Krakow early the next morning.<\/p>\n
The deal was even sweeter when Tamara handed us a 250z cash-infusion.<\/p>\n
So what did I do?\u00a0 Did I hit the town, and eat at restaurants?\u00a0 Did I go sightseeing?\u00a0 Did I go shopping?<\/p>\n
Actually, I did laundry.\u00a0 Yep, I had accumulated quite a collection of dirty laundry at this point, so I stayed back at the hostel, and slammed some dirty clothes into the washing machine.\u00a0 While waiting for my clothes to get washed, I hung out in the hostel kitchen with Chantelle.<\/p>\n
While talking with Chantelle, I learned that a few of the ladies in our group had noticed that men in Poland were a lot more obvious when “checking out” the women around them.\u00a0 Chantelle told me that a few of them had even felt uncomfortable at times, and that it was almost as if some men wanted <\/em>them to notice.\u00a0 I told her that I wondered if it was just a European thing, and she said that she didn’t know.<\/p>\n I also took a time out to play with the Hostel Dog:<\/p>\n [simage=379,288] With my laundry air-drying on a clothing rack in the hostel, I eventually left to go exploring on my own.<\/p>\n [simage=376,288]<\/p>\n It was chilly, rainy and grey out.\u00a0 I also wasn’t sure where everybody was – we seemed to be all scattered about.<\/p>\n I eventually bought some postcards and a calling card – I was going to call Em later on that day.<\/p>\n I ran into Tara, Tom, Alex (or was it Alexi? My writing is a bit sloppy), Sonia, Ryan and Jiv at the milk bar we had originally seen during our tour of Wroclaw<\/a>.\u00a0 I had something to eat, and then we all left together.<\/p>\n Eventually, Ryan, Jiv, Alex (Alexi?) and I split off and walked through some of the small artisan shops.\u00a0 We talked with a shopkeep, who told us about a major flood in Wroclaw that had happened about a decade before<\/a>.\u00a0 Apparently, flooding in the area was quite common.<\/p>\n We thanked the shopkeep, and left.<\/p>\n Somehow or another, I had gotten back to the hostel, and started writing postcards.\u00a0 I also took the opportunity to call my girlfriend Em, and tell her how I was doing.<\/p>\n After the phone call, I felt a little Wroclaw-ed out, and felt I needed some downtime to recouperate.\u00a0 I went into the common room and watched some BBC News.<\/p>\n Finally, I got up, and went out again for something to eat with Tom, Tara, Ryan, Alex, Una, and Linn.<\/p>\n If it hasn’t become clear already, the bunch of us became expert restaurant-hoppers.\u00a0 Choosing restaurants, however, could be a bit of a chore.\u00a0 Often, there were times where we’d travel the entire square several times before deciding on something we could all agree upon.<\/p>\n And for that night, the restaurant was a Greek place called “Ready’s”.\u00a0 This is what my guidebook says about that restaurant:<\/p>\n Paper napkins and plenty of plasticky bits and bobs greet you in what rates as a very poor man’s Sphinx<\/a>.\u00a0 Eating is just a means to an end here, with plates of kebab meat, fries and chicken being the core dishes.\u00a0 You may enjoy Ready’s, but only after a dozen beers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Maybe it’s my attraction to no-frills stuff, but I enjoyed this place.\u00a0 I’d eat there again.<\/p>\n In fact, we were enjoying our meal so much that we lost track of time!\u00a0 We paid our bill, rushed out, and tried to figure out how to get to the theatre to see Bacci’s HAMLET.<\/p>\n After a failed attempt at walking to the theatre, we decided as a group to try to take a cab.\u00a0 Eventually, we were able to hail one down, but only four of us were able to take it.\u00a0 After a quick discussion, Ryan, Alex, Una and Linn hopped in, and the rest of us tried to hail another cab.\u00a0 Tom, Tara and I were doubtful that we’d make it.<\/p>\n Luckily, we were able to hail a cab.\u00a0 After flailing some arms, and gesturing wildly at our maps, we were able to communicate to the driver where exactly we wanted to go.\u00a0 I think he knew we were in a hurry, because he floored it.<\/p>\n He pulled up right to the theatre entrance.\u00a0 We paid, hopped out, and rushed into the theatre.<\/p>\n When we got inside the theatre, the show was just about to begin.\u00a0 There was no seating left, so I sat in the aisle.<\/p>\n The lights came down, and the show started.<\/p>\n This version of Hamlet was spoken in rapid-fire Italian.\u00a0 There were English and Polish subtitles projected on a surface above the stage.\u00a0 Half-way through the production though, the English subtitles stopped.\u00a0 They just stopped coming.<\/p>\n I think this was a good thing though, since it allowed me to focus on what I was seeing and hearing on stage, as opposed to flicking my eyes up to the screen every few seconds to get my place in the story.<\/p>\n So what did <\/em>I see?\u00a0 This version of Hamlet had the cast (with the exception of Hamlet himself) dressed in fencing armor – masks and all.\u00a0 I thought the masks helped them pull off some nice sleight of hand, since it allowed them to “dissappear” characters into the anonymous chorus, and have them re-emerge elsewhere.\u00a0 Actual fencing was performed on stage as well, which was exciting to see.<\/p>\n The stage was panelled in wood, giving it a very red, and earthy tone.\u00a0 The major set piece was what appeared to be a large, rusty frame or scaffolding, somewhat like a jungle-gym.\u00a0 This apparatus was climbed upon, walked through, and even had “drawbridge” doors on either side of it.\u00a0 It was a neat contraption, though I was worried for the actors safety when they were climbing it at some points, since it seemed to have a very high centre of gravity.\u00a0 I also wish they had used it more – it seemed to have a lot of potential.<\/p>\n The acting was decent.\u00a0 I had a conversation with Tom about the show afterwards, and we seemed to agree that this was a pretty “meat and potatoes” Hamlet.\u00a0 It did the job of telling the story, and it told it pretty well, but nothing blew our socks off.\u00a0 Tom said that Bacci’s Hamlet was “like a Soul Pepper<\/a> production, if they had hired a kind-of experimental director.\u00a0 Pretty strong, but nothing special.”<\/p>\n We talked about Hamlet for a bit, and then walked back to the Hostel.\u00a0 I hung around in the common area for a bit, and then I went to sleep early – we had to wake up around 5:30AM to get ready for our bus trip to Krakow the next day.<\/p>\n Click here to go to Part 10:\u00a0 Journey to Krakow, Wawel Hill, and The Dragon<\/a><\/p>\n
\n[simage=380,288]<\/p>\n2:15PM<\/h2>\n
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HAMLET. SILENCE FROM THE BODY Directed by Roberto Bacci<\/h2>\n