Friday, August 5, 2011
11 a.m. – Lobby Talk: The Merry Wives of Windsor
Noon – Lunch at PAZZO pizzeria
• Panini with prosciutto, bocconcini, fresh tomato, arugula and lemon aioli
• Stratford Common
2 p.m. – Merry Wives of Windsor
I had low expectations for this play as several of the essays I read on this play were negative. I do not know Falstaff from the other plays, so he was new to me. This is a popular comedy and it is not hard to tell why. It struck me that it was like a situation comedy, "What's going to happen to that crazy Falstaff this week?" So it was not very cerebral but it was funny. I laughed. The audience laughed. The cast laughed.
Geraint Wyn Davies was great as Sir John Falstaff. Tom Rooney was excellent as Master Ford. He held up a glass at one point and stuck his hand in it to show he was going to look everywhere for Falstaff. He couldn't get his hand out so for the rest of the play, he had his hand in a glass. Pure slapstick! Janet Wright, famous for being Emma in Corner Gas, was Mistress Quickly.
6 p.m. – Supper at Tango Grill & Cafe
• Moroccan Lamb Shank
• Tango Dark Ale
8 p.m. – The Misanthrope
I didn't know what to expect of this play. I had seen a modern version in the spring at the Tarragon Theatre but I didn't know how much it was modified.
I was stunned by the quality of this play. It was so very funny, and smart funny. Ben
Carlson was brilliant as Alceste. The costumes were exquisite. How much time did it take to create them or just to put them on? However, I think the real star was Richard Wilbur's translation. It made me think how much of the play was Moliere's and how much was Wilbur's. The character names and the basic plot were the formers, but the rhymes were the latter's.
I don't think Alceste is a misanthrope. He's just honest and doesn't like small talk.
Slept at the Albert Street Inn.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
8 a.m. – Breakfast at Let Them Eat Cake
• Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon
11 a.m. – Garden Tour
This was a fun tour and recommended and I am not a gardener. I learned lots as we walked around the various gardens by the Festival Theatre. Hybrid roses look great, but don't have any smell. The carpet garden was a delight, so much work. The shade garden was fine. The Elizabethan Garden is very structured while the big English Garden is purposely chaotic.
And never plant a female Ginkgo biloba tree, they are too messy!
Noon – Lunch at Backstage, 27 Market Place
• Fish and Chips
• Strongbow
• Half of the former Othello's
2 p.m. – Richard III
This was the highlight of my weekend. It was so very intense. Seana McKenna was brilliant as King Richard! She was very masculine until near the end. When she went to lay down to sleep the night before the Battle of Bosworth Field, she took off her armour and her sword and, for the first time, look small and vulnerable. The final battle scene was fought in slow motion that really worked.
Bethany Jillard played Lady Anne and really spits on poor Seana. What's it like to be spit upon daily?
6 p.m. – Supper at Downie Street Burgers
• Cheeseburger and fries
• No milkshakes!
7 p.m. – Ice Cappuccino at Balzac Coffee
• Nice presentation but tasteless
8 p.m. – Twelfth Night
I was underwhelmed by this initially as I was overwhelmed by the music and the odd set. I've seen this play twice before in the last year and they just had the fool playing a guitar. Here we had a huge band on stage. I was not sure if they were all playing their instruments. But I was won over by the end and left singing one of the songs. Not often does that happen after a Shakespeare play.
Ben Carlson was fine was Feste but he was much better as Alceste. I really enjoyed Brian Dennehy as Sir Toby Belch and Cara Ricketts as Maria. In an unscripted moment, I think, the towel that Stephen Ouimette as Sir Andrew Aguecheek wore almost fell off. That caused laughter in the audience and I am sure a minor heart attack for Stephen.
Mike Shara was a very weak Orsino. He seemed to suck the energy out of the room whenever he walked into it. I didn't like Tom Rooney as Malvolio. (I just realized how odd it is that I liked him on Friday and didn't like him on Saturday.)
It is a dark play where Malvolio gets destroyed because he complains about noise in the kitchen late at night, plus his own vanity. At the very end, after the applause, the spotlight is on him just as the stage goes dark.
Slept at the Albert Street Inn.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
7 a.m. – Breakfast at Features
• Texas skillet
9 a.m. – Festival Theatre Tour
• Fine but very structured. Each stop was timed to the minute.
• Once is enough
10:30 a.m. – Shakespearean Gardens Guided Tour
• FREE, fun tour that's not very structured and highly recommended
• Learned more about Justin Bieber than I had ever known and he seems like a nice kid
Noon – Slow Food Market
• Ate a Water Buffalo Burger
2 p.m. – Titus Andronicus
I was expecting blood and gore and got it to some extent. It could have been worse!
When Titus goes to cut off his hand, and the process is drawn out a bit much, I didn't know where to look. Do I look at him and see the blood or do I look at Lavina for her reaction. My choice was made easy when the lights went out and a spotlight was put on Lavina.
Claire Lautier was outstanding as a very cruel Tamora.
Amanda Lisman was good in the challenging role of Lavinia. It is hard to act with no tongue nor hands.
The ending was disappointing. Red confetti shoots out of a cannon covering all. Then Lucius holds the crown up over his head but then walks off the stage and puts the crown on a woman in the front row and gives her a thumbs up!
5 p.m. – Drove home
• Sad to be leaving Stratford
• Eager about my return
SUMMARY
Richard III was the best. The comedies were all funny but I think the dialogue in The Misanthrope gives it the top mark. Titus was troubling.
Make dinner reservations in advance!
Bookstores
The Book Vault (131 Ontario Street)
• Great selection of remainders, impressive Shakespeare selection
Fanfare Books (92 Ontario Street)
• Good selection of Shakespeare books
Book Stage (126 Waterloo Street South)
• Nice used bookstore - getting stale
Stratford Summer Strolls
www.visitstratford.ca
