Marin Shakespeare Company's London Tour

May 4 – 10, 2008

Sunday, May 4

Arrive at London Heathrow airport and check in at City Inn, awarded Hotel of the Year 2005, and “Best Business Brand Hotel 2007” at the annual Business Travel World Awards. The short list for this award included the Mandarin Oriental and Ritz-Carlton. Ideally located next to the Tate and the River Thames with the London Eye, Houses of Parliament only a short walk away. The hotel boasts the stylish Millbank Lounge bar and the contemporary cuisine of City Cafe.

Your accommodations include a daily breakfast. Chose from the best organic fruits and yogurts, or the traditional English breakfast. The City Café, under chef Peter Lloyd, with its cool refined décor, plush booths carefully designed to create intimacy and comfort, serves pretension-free food.

Afternoon
An exceptional exhibition, perhaps at the Tate Britain or Tate Modern.

Evening
Welcome cocktail reception.

Monday, May 5

• Morning
  Meet the main protagonists: Insider Cultural Tours Director James Ryan, and London partners, Joyce Hytner and Rebecca Lassman. You’ll be briefed on the highlights of your week in London, with pointers to some of the hidden gems of our city, recommendations on restaurants, shopping, and the talk of the town.
  
  
• Afternoon
  Literary London Pub Walk. Learn about Dickens, Thackerary, Wilde, Woolf or Shaw, as we move through Georgian squares, the Museum quarter, and several venerable old London pubs, with a Blue Badge guide and raconteur.
  
  
• Evening Performance 1:
  Perhaps The Royal Court Theatre, recently described by the New York Times as “the most important theatre in Europe.”

Tuesday, May 6

• Morning
  Join Robert and Lesley Currier for a roundtable discussion on the differences – and similarities – between British and American Theater.
  
  
• Afternoon
  Tour the Churchill Museum, dedicated to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the first British museum dedicated to a politician, located in the underground Cabinet War Rooms.
  
  
• Evening Performance 2:
  Perhaps something at the Tricycle Theater tonight.
  “The Tricycle has a soaring reputation for making sure its audiences engage in what is happening in the world.” Time Out. Pre-performance discussion with a leading member of the company.

Wednesday, May 7

• Matinee Performance 3:
  Perhaps the National Theatre on London’s South Bank, home to the best of British theatre. The largest subsidized theatre in the UK and under the Artistic Directorship of Nicholas Hytner, the National has blossomed in the last few years, producing some of our finest new writers and revivals. Pre-platform discussion, perhaps with Artistic Director Nicholas Hytner, director of History Boys.
  
  
• Evening Performance 4:
  Perhaps tonight we’ll see a show at the Almeida. Under the leadership of Artistic Director, Michael Attenborough, the Almeida is one of the world’s most dynamic and innovative theatres. The Almeida has attracted a string of Hollywood superstars who have enjoyed performing in the intimate spaces to a discerning theatre audience.

Thursday, May 8

• Today we ’ll take a private coach through the rural counties of Middle England to Stratford-upon-Avon, the Warwickshire market town where Shakespeare was born and buried. A Blue Badge guide will take us on a tour of three Shakespeare properties.
  
  
• Evening Performance 5:
  Royal Shakespeare Company. Pre-performance discussion with a leading member of the RSC about its history and current state of affairs, as well as the challenges of the show you’ll be attending tonight. After the performance we’ll head back to London.
  
  

Friday, May 9

• Morning
  Roundtable discussion with Robert and Lesley Currier and a London Theatre critic on the shows you’ve seen, as well as the trends and surprises of the London season.
  
  
• Pre-theater farewell dinner at an exceptional restaurant such as the Axis Restaurant, One Aldwych.
  
  
• Evening Performance 6:
  Tonight let’s catch a West End smash hit – an elegant revival or cutting-edge musical, drama, or comedy.

Saturday, May 10

• Depart for USA.

Tour cost: $3,595

• 6 nights City Inn Westminster
• Full English Breakfast daily
• Welcome cocktail reception
• Farewell dinner
• 6 Performances including a hit West End musical and the Royal Shakespeare Company
• Trip to Stratford-upon-Avon by private coach
• Blue Badge private guide of Shakespeare properties at Stratford
• Briefing by Joyce Hytner and Rebecca Lassman
• 2 Roundtable discussions
• 2 pre-performance discussions
• Churchill Museum
• Literary Walk Tour

The price does not include airfare. This is a land package only. Please see the full Terms and Conditions on the Reservation Form.