On Thursday 13th July James and I set off southwards to the Cotswolds. The principal reason for our trip is to go to the Fairford Air Show, although that only makes up three of our nine days. Our journey went smoothly; about five and a half hours plus a twenty-five minute stop at Killington Lake Services. We arrived at Stratford upon Avon in time for a cream tea at the very pleasant Fourteas Café, which we have visited on a previous trip. The friendly owner pointed out that we were using the Devon method on our scones, which is jam first and then cream; the Cornwall method is cream first and then jam. However, he told us proudly, the Buckingham Palace method used by the late Queen is to spread the scone with jam and then scoop a little bit of cream on to the edge of the scone before each bite. He seemed to feel that this must be the superior method.
The weather was neither too hot (for me) nor too cool, so we went for a nice 5 km walk along the canal and back, chatting all the way. We had dinner in the Rooftop Restaurant at the Swan Theatre again. The food and service were both excellent. And then to the theatre itself to see As You Like It. I booked this entirely because the date suited us on our way to the Air Show, and I was delighted at how brilliant it was. Rosalind was played by the superb actress Geraldine James. However at the age of 73 she would usually be too old for the part (although she looks much younger than 73 I think.) However it all worked very well because of the clever device that it was a reunion of the actors from a 1978 production of As You Like It, with a few younger actors to replace those no longer available. So most of the actors were over sixty, some of them well over, and they incorporated this into the production by grunting and groaning during fight scenes or when they were getting up from a chair. Some even pretended to need prompted with their lines. At first it all felt a bit like a rehearsal, but as the play went on the actors seemed to forget their aches and pains and to be swept into the play; a band started playing musical accompaniment and there was more use of scenery. By the forest scene at the end the actors literally walked into the forest, and as they stood in wonderment, Geraldine James turned to the audience and gave the epilogue. I thought that the whole thing was wonderful. After the performance we had just over an hour to drive to Cirencester.
The weather was neither too hot (for me) nor too cool, so we went for a nice 5 km walk along the canal and back, chatting all the way. We had dinner in the Rooftop Restaurant at the Swan Theatre again. The food and service were both excellent. And then to the theatre itself to see As You Like It. I booked this entirely because the date suited us on our way to the Air Show, and I was delighted at how brilliant it was. Rosalind was played by the superb actress Geraldine James. However at the age of 73 she would usually be too old for the part (although she looks much younger than 73 I think.) However it all worked very well because of the clever device that it was a reunion of the actors from a 1978 production of As You Like It, with a few younger actors to replace those no longer available. So most of the actors were over sixty, some of them well over, and they incorporated this into the production by grunting and groaning during fight scenes or when they were getting up from a chair. Some even pretended to need prompted with their lines. At first it all felt a bit like a rehearsal, but as the play went on the actors seemed to forget their aches and pains and to be swept into the play; a band started playing musical accompaniment and there was more use of scenery. By the forest scene at the end the actors literally walked into the forest, and as they stood in wonderment, Geraldine James turned to the audience and gave the epilogue. I thought that the whole thing was wonderful. After the performance we had just over an hour to drive to Cirencester.
No comments:
Post a Comment