Shakespearience

One of the advantages of living in Stratford (and there aren't all that many) is the vibrant theatrical scene. I mean, it is the reason I'm here. At the moment, the Royal Shakespeare Company is in the midst of The Complete Works of Shakespeare, all produced in one year. Wow, you say. Either sarcastically or in wonder and amazement.

Well, they began the project in April and it continues until next April. The RSC themselves are not doing all 38 plays, but they are doing approximately half, with visiting companies filling in the gaps with their own productions. The whole thing started with Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar, both of which I'm sorry to report are very substandard. A Munich company came in and performed an adaptation of Othello in German with subtitles and it was absolutely astonishing. There have been some other really great visiting companies. There was an Indian Midsummer Night's Dream with seven different languages and no subtitles. The great thing was: there didn't need to be! It was amazing, physical and visual theatre. Speaking of visual theatre, a Japanese Titus Andronicus blew everyone away. Easily the goriest Shakespeare play, the company performed it in style with an expensive set, lavish costumes and a really sparkling delivery of lines in Japanese. It was sensational in the literal sense of the word. This week, the Chicago Shakespeare Festival is visiting with Henry IV Parts One and Two. Quite good, if perhaps a touch too traditional.

The best RSC work has been a funny and emotional Much Ado About Nothing, set in pre-Revolutionary Cuba. I know, sounds crazy but it worked. And the star power has been provided with Antony and Cleopatra, starring Patrick Stewart. Now, the quality was fantastic as one would think, but another quick story: the Institute here holds a postgraduate Shakespeare conference every June. This year, we had Patrick Stewart as our very special guest! Sitting eight feet away, he spoke to us for an hour about his acting career and his experiences with Shakespeare. So amazing. But, for such a tiny town in the middle of nowhere really, because of the RSC, we can have interesting star encounters. I have, at various times, and always at the Dirty Duck (the actor's pub here) seen Ralph Fiennes, Jeremy Irons, Judi Dench and Alan Rickman.

I will of course update whenever there are astounding things to report. It sure looks like it though. What a great start.

The Best Guinness

Well, not a ton to add, except for the fact that I am finally going to Ireland! Yes after living over in England for three years, I'm hopping over to the other island. July 26th is the date, staying in Dublin for a few days and then touring the countryside. Woo hoo! Pictures will of course be forthcoming.

I will get around to documenting theatre experiences and general things about Stratford sometime soon. Perhaps next time. Till then, keep the peace.

Swimming in a Fishbowl

So, Syd Barrett, founder of Pink Floyd and the man whose LSD-fueled schizophrenia inspired the band to write Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall, has died.

Just to prove that the universe runs on laws that we simply can't comprehend, I have been running my IPod on random shuffle for well over a week and enjoying it. It's fun to see what songs pop up and which songs you forgot you have. This morning, I walked out the door and out of every song in the 7055 stored on my Pod, "Wish You Were Here" pops up. God, does the universe run in mysterious ways or what? Swimming in a fishbowl indeed.

Next time, no philosophy, I promise.

Live in Slow Motion

Alright, so I can already hear Chris sighing in exasperation but here they are: front row pics from David Gray at the NIA in Birmingham. Got there when the doors opened and was standing against the barricade just left of center. The piano and the keyboardist were directly in front of us so when David came out to open with Alibi, he started in front of us! I do have to say, and I'm not kidding, when he looked down into the audience, we made eye contact a few times. Probably because I was so enthusiastic!
This is the third David concert I've been to, and this was by far the best. I think that he's mastered his set list so that it is not overburdened with slower tempo songs. The energy was great, both onstage and off, there was even a bit of jamming involved! For David, that is a major step. And he unexpectedly covered "Brown Eyed Girl" in the encore. Anyways, enjoy and note the presence of Clune, the drummer, who was insane as always.
Note: I also include a pic of the opener, Ray LaMontagne, who was actually amazing. I want to get the album. Great lyrics, a great voice, and one to watch out for. He just released his first album.

So Damn Lucky

Alright, now that I have some time and the will...here are some pictures from the two amazing concerts I attended in Birmingham. The first was a small club venue, the Carling Academy, for Dave Matthews. Got there quite early and the ratio was 8:1 American.

It was fairly mellow, but the crowd was very enthusiastic. It was just a great two hour gig, with Dave telling a very random 10 minute story about some African tribe (wonder what inspired that?) and tantalisingly hinting that the whole band would be coming over next year. Wow. I was also very lucky to get some great "Dave in action" photos. Enjoy.