Shakespeare and me

One of the most influential moments of my early life was when the English A Level teacher arranged a trip to Stratford, to see Hamlet which was the set play or the upper sixth. We girls from the lower sixth were allowed to join in, although our set play was Anthony and Cleopatra. So, sitting in a row only about two back from the stage, I watched David Warner  as Hamlet. It was first really good theatre I had ever seen, and it was the most enthralling experience I had ever had. The next day, being by now completely possessed, I queued for cheap student tickets, and sat on a strapontin to see Ian Holm play Henry IV Part 1.  


So, after our marriage, living in London, we made the theatre our main pursuit. Then we moved out, had children and a lot less time and money and opportunity. But gradually, we've revived the habit, and we've had some wonderful experiences. It's not too far to Stratford or Sheffield, and we've found that Milton Keynes sometimes gets pre London runs. We saw Waiting for Godot there, with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. There are some excellent productions at Nottingham Playhouse and the Theatre Royal, although more popularist, also has good productions. 


Our children bought us theatre tokens for a ruby wedding present, and I can't describe what pleasure we've had from them.  So we've set ourselves the goal of seeing all of Shakespeare's plays. We decided to start again from resuming serious theatregoing, which may be unwise, because we did actually see Troilus and Cressida in about 1972, and it may be difficult to bag again! We have managed to see other less frequently performed plays at Stratford. Really enjoyed Measure for Measure. But we went to a matinee for King John, and much as we admired the production, the audience definitely let it down. It was full of really old people - remember I speak as one myself - who often proceeded to sleep through the whole thing, very obviously. The Swan is a theatre in the round, and the audience is in touching distance of the actors, and it must have been so off putting for the cast. It wasn't even as though there were long spells of plotting, or silences. One lady in the front row slept perfectly soundly through the whole first act, woke up during the interval to consume an ice cream, and then slept solidly through the second act. It was a  "shoot me now" experience for us. Still, soon off to the Globe to see Henry V, and then in the autumn to see Timon of Athens. We're well on the way to our goal.