Thing 5

I tried uploading this photo from Flickr, and I couldn't get it to work right, so I've decided just to include the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/imipolexg/351709012/ If anyone figures out how to upload directly from the Internet, let me know.

This picture reminds me of some of my undergrad days of yore. I majored in English literature, and in my classes on Restoration literature and drama, we learned that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the theatre was THE place to go for gossip and entertainment. People went there not just to watch the show, but also to watch each other. In fact, Pepys includes in his journal a scene from when he went to the theatre and observed the conversation between two people nearby him. He doesn't mention the play much at all, but focuses on the people around him. Although you can't really see it in this view, this picture is of the seats across the theatre from the photographer (if you look closely at the left side of the picture, you can see a small glimpse of the stage). I don't know what was the reasoning behind the person taking this particular picture, but I have always believed that it's just as fun to watch people watching a show as it is to watch the show itself. Think about it: when we go to see live entertainment, don't we go just as much for the social aspect (getting out of the house, seeing other people) as we do for the entertainment aspect of the show itself?