DEP Cadets visit London to study Shakespeare’s War Plays

This June Cadets travelled to London, England to study Shakespeare and learn more about his historical influences. Focusing on Richard III and Macbeth, the cadets toured historical sites and took into account how historical realities affected Shakespeare’s fiction. Highlights of the trip included a tour of the Bloody Tower at the Tower of London, where Richard III allegedly had his two nephews killed, as well as the Richard III Museum in Leicester, England where the cadets viewed Richard III’s burial place and his skeleton, complete with the deformed spine. The high point of the trip was attending the Globe Theatre’s production of Macbeth after a day learning about the historical accuracies and inaccuracies regarding the actual Macbeth, as well as taking a class on stage fighting with both swords and daggers. While in England, the cadets also had the opportunity to visit the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst where they learned about their sister academy and socialized with British cadets. The cadets also had the rare opportunity to take part in the Academy’s Key Leader Engagement exercise, which included a mock Middle Eastern city.