Al fresco entertainment at Shakespeare's Birthplace. Picture by my husband, Paul
This is slightly off-topic for a costume dramas blog, but I just wanted to say that I had a great time in Stratford upon Avon – we were actually staying just outside in a small village, which was probably just as well, as Stratford itself is rather overwhelming! Since I was a tourist myself I’m clearly not in a position to complain about the tourists (though I did briefly live in the area as a child, in Henley on Arden, so maybe I can claim a local link), but the sheer numbers made it difficult to get around the town at times.
I didn’t actually look round the Birthplace Museum, as the queues were enormous, but my husband and daughter, Charlotte, did brave it while I took my son to a local butterfly museum, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Charlotte thought it was too focused on audio-visual items rather than letting her stop and see the First Folio, but the gardens were nice and they enjoyed watching a couple of actors putting on an al fresco show.
Stratford town centre - another picture by Paul
We also saw several people in Stratford putting on performances as living statues – they stood there looking just like golden or silver statues, then suddenly moved, much to the amazement of passers-by who had assumed they really were statues! Charlotte and I enjoyed our visit to the Shakespeare Bookshop, where we were tempted to buy some RSC editions of plays as well as the DVD of Twelfth Night which I’ve just written about - but the biggest hit in Stratford for my son, Max, who is keen on wildlife, was an elaborate nest built by a proud pair of coots on the River Avon.
The statue of Shakespeare, photo by Paul again
We saw two plays during our visit – at the Courtyard Theatre, since the main RSC theatre is out of action at the moment for major rebuilding work. The first play we saw was The Winter’s Tale. This had a minimalist set dominated by some enormous bookcases, which crashed down at a key moment at the end of the first half, with the books falling across the stage. The pages of the wrecked books were then used as snow in the second half of the play. I found this a powerful production and was especially impressed by the tragic first half – Greg Hicks was tremendous as Leontes, speaking the verse wonderfully. Kelly Hunter was also very moving as Hermione. I really liked the bear in this production, a giant puppet creation. The one sequence which puzzled me somewhat was a satyr dance, which seemed slightly out of place in my opinion, though I suppose it added some visual spectacle.
Barges on the River Avon, by Paul
I also liked the Michael Boyd production of As You Like It. I hadn’t booked in advance for this, but Charlotte and I were lucky enough to get some “restricted view” seats – we just had to look round a thin pillar, which was no problem at all! I had recently watched two movies of As You Like It, which may be the reason that I enjoyed The Winter’s Tale slightly more. For me Katy Stephens gave the stand-out performance as Rosalind, making the character bewitching, humorous and vulnerable - and she was reasonably believable as a man, too. The set for this production was fairly minimalist again, as with The Winter’s Tale. We were sitting in the Circle and it was an added thrill when some of the actors climbed up ladders right next to us at some points.
We failed to take a picture of The Courtyard Theatre, so I'm gratefully using this one by Jazza2 at Flickr
[...] upon Avon This is just to say that I’ve just written a posting at my other blog, Costume Drama Reviews, about my family’s visit to Stratford upon Avon and the Shakespeare productions we saw, for [...]
Thanks for sharing, Judy! Lovely atmosphere in that pic. Have a nice Sunday!
Thanks, MG – I’m working later but hoping to pop to a riverside event in my own town first! Hope you have a good day!
This is truly a stupendous report of a respite you will surely reference for the rest of your life Judy! I greatly enjoyed the recap and the lovely photos your husband Paul negotiated! I find it interesting that you consider yourself a “tourist” even though you have resident claim to so much of this “other Eden.” There is nowhere in this world I would want to visit more than this hallowed place, and I read through this post in part as a kind of motivational warm-up!
Fantastic.
Thanks very much for the kind words, Sam, and I hope you are able to visit Stratford some day! I know the RSC is visiting New York next year, so you may get to see one or two of their productions before that.
I really enjoyed the account of your trip. Somehow I never got to Stratford. I was put off by the prospect of bumper to bumper tourists. Reading your review makes me regret that.
There certainly are a lot of tourists, Janette – I couldn’t face battling through the crowds and queues for all the Shakespeare museums, but still enjoyed the town and the area. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed your week. The first photo is marvelous.
Winter’s Tale is hard to do well. That long 4th act is hard to put over — it’s a relief but is also a long interval where dramatic tension can be lost. There’s probably also a temptation to overproduce so a minimalist approach makes sense.
BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) in Brooklyn is a place these kinds of British productions come to. A bus takes you there from Manhattan.
Ellen
Thank you, Ellen. I don’t think I’d seen ‘The Winter’s Tale’ before, but am interested to hear what you say about the fourth act, since I did think the tension fell off a little at this point, excellent though the production was. I am hoping also to see a movie of this play soon to compare. I’ll tell Paul you liked his photo.:)
Sounds like you and your family had a great time. In my one trip to England back in the 1980;s we did not make it to this intriguing spot but certainly would be one to put on the agenda if we ever get back there. Thanks for sharing the photos!!!
Thanks, John – it is definitely worth seeing, especially the river and the RSC.
I’ve been keeping up the Shakespeare theme tonight by seeing an open-air production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk – we also had a shortened version of ‘Macbeth’ in Ipswich town centre earlier this week, in the pouring rain. Luckily the rain held off tonight!